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CALENDAR
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FEBRUARY
February 29, 6-8pm
Holy Family Retreat Center
March
March 3rd
Caritas Christi Center-Hamden
March 16th
St. Bridget-Cheshire
March 3rd, 7-9pm
March 6th 12:30-4:30
St. Thomas Seminary,
Bloomfield
APRIL
April 9th, 8:30-2 pm
Laudato Si Workshop
St. Elizabeth All Seton,
Rocky Hill
April 20, 6-9pm
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Join Our List
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| From the Director |
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The few, the brave, the social ministry advocates. Among the 200 people who made it to the annual Catholic Social Ministry Gathering in Washington, D.C. despite the blizzard is yours truly. One highlight for me was attending the Roundtable's Annual Awards Banquet. The Roundtable is a professional organization of Catholic Diocesan Social Action Directors. As a new Roundtable Board of Director, I am blessed to be surrounded by such kindred spirits.
I was privileged to sit next to John Carr, former Executive Director of the USCCB's Justice Peace, and Human Development Office, and across from Jeff Korgen, author of several books on Catholic social ministry including Solidarity will Transform the World, and The True Cost of Low Prices. Both have visited our diocese on several occasions to share their knowledge and expertise.
At the Banquet we honored Rev. Fred Kammer with the Harry A. Fagan award and Mr. Tom Ulrich with the Servant of Justice award. Our former director, Joe Symth, had received the Servant of Justice award years ago. I am standing in the feet of giants. Tom Ulrich also visited our diocese in the past. You might remember him for his colorful flip charts. I like to share with you the flip-chart Tom used in his thank you speech The Spirituality of Social Ministry. It summarizes why folks travel across the country to gather each winter.
Lynn Campbell, Executive Director
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| A Celebration of Sacred Scripture | | |
Sunday March 6th at 12:30pm
Archdiocesan Center at
St. Thomas Seminary
Bloomfield, CT
Presenter: Dr.Barbara A. Bozak, CSJ All are welcome. |
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| Message For Lent 2016 | |
"For all of us, then, the season of Lent in this Jubilee Year is a favorable time to overcome our existential alienation by listening to God's word and by practicing the works of mercy. In the corporal works of mercy we touch the flesh of Christ in our brothers and sisters who need to be fed, clothed, sheltered, visited; in the spiritual works of mercy - counsel, instruction, forgiveness, admonishment and prayer - we touch more directly our own sinfulness."
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| Cooperative Parish Sharing - Thank You! | |
This time each year, many parishes renew their commitment to support our Cooperative Parish Sharing (CPS) program. We are truly grateful for their ongoing support. CPS collects voluntary pledges from parishes, then distributes funds in the form of grants to eligible low-income parishes to enable them to develop and sustain projects to address local community problems. CPS is a program of the Archdiocese of Hartford since 1968 at the time of the creation of our office.
The Teens United in Christ" program of St. Louis Church, West Haven, is an example of how a parish uses the funds to support youth ministry in a low-income area. This program provides an opportunity for teens to experience leadership, integration, and the better understanding of the importance to give of their time and talent.
The generous support of YOUR PARISH makes the work of CPS possible.
Thank you!
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| Save the Date! | |
2016 Bishop Peter Rosazza Social Justice Conference
Saturday June 11, 2016
St. Thomas Seminary, Bloomfield
"Rooted in Faith,
Caring for Our Common Home"
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Announcing the Annual Social Justice Conference Speaker
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Heeding the "Cry of the Earth and the Cry of the Poor"
We are pleased to announce this year's keynote speaker: Sister Damien Marie Savino, FSE, Ph.D., the Chair of the Department of Environmental Science and Studies, with a joint appointment in Theology at the University of St. Thomas, Houston, Texas.
Sister Damien will explore Pope Francis' ideas in Laudato Si' on how we are to heed the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. Who are the poor in our midst? What is our responsibility for them? In what ways can we heed "the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor" in our families, communities, and daily lives?
"A true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor." - Pope Francis
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| Mercy Works - Workshop | |
Mercy Works!
An Evening Workshop for Parish Leaders
February 17, 2016
7:00-9:00pm
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish Hall, Hamden
We are in the midst of an extraordinary Jubilee Year!
How do we make it real in our parish setting?
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This workshop will explore what it means to respond to Pope Francis' invitation to live a Jubilee Year of Mercy as parish leaders, catechists, catechetical leaders and parishioners. Mercy is about loving another with the mind of Christ and going beyond what is expected or required. We will discover the intersections between the Jubilee Year of Mercy, the parables of Mercy in the Scriptures, the Corporal Works of Mercy and Catholic Social Teaching, and we will share with one another creative and practical ways to bring it all together in our parish settings. Our evening will include prayer and a presentation led by members of the Archdiocesan Committee on the Jubilee of Mercy.
DIRECTIONS:
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish Hall -- 2819 Whitney Ave Hamden, CT 06518
From all points use Interstate 91: Take Exit 10, (the Route 40 Connector), all the way to the end. At the light, take a LEFT on to Whitney Avenue, (Route 10). At the next stoplight, turn left into the parking lot.
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| Consider becoming an intern with us! | |
Do you have an interest in fighting poverty?
Would you like to work with a committed group of people, putting Catholic Social Teaching into Action?
Consider becoming an intern with us!
We have received funding from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) and are looking for interested applicants. CCHD internships are open to Catholics in the United States who are interested in applying their skills and learning more about the social mission of the Church. Openness to the CCHD values of solidarity building, participation of the poor, and Catholic social teaching is essential.
The internship is for the 24 weeks during the 2016-2017 Academic Year, 14 hours per week, and is for young adults and adults. Working from our office in Bloomfield, the intern will assist in the promotion of the CCHD collection and support the grant process. The intern will have additional opportunities to support the mission of our office.
The intern will be required to attend an all-expenses-paid orientation in Washington, DC on Wed., June 1 through Friday, June 3, 2016.
To apply, complete the application form found on our website, include your resume and send it to our office. Applications received by March 1, 2016 receive priority . For more information contact Lynn.Campbell@aohct.org
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| Vulnerable Children Need Your Voice! | |
Connecticut's human trafficking statue has been on the books for ten years. Yet, according to the 2015 Report of the CT Trafficking in Persons Council, "only 10 arrests have been made and there have been no convictions." Why? At the federal level, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of CT has prosecuted only 20 child trafficking cases in the past decade.
Vulnerable children need your voice. Contact your state representative and express your concern. Click this link to find your representative. Click here to read the CT Trafficking in Persons Council 2015 Annual Report. And take a look at all the policy recommendations for 2016.
"Human trafficking is a horrific crime against the basic dignity and rights of the human person. All efforts must be expended to end it." (USCCB's Committee on Migration's Statement On Human Trafficking, 2007.)
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New Resource "Creation at the Crossroads"
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Are you looking for an easy to use, faith based, program to help you break open the Pope's new encyclical, Laudato Si?
Creation at the Crossroads was written in collaboration with RENEW International, GreenFaith, and the Catholic Climate Covenant to help participants understand the Church's teaching on the care of creation and the impact of environmental change on the poor and vulnerable. It contains twelve sessions on Pope Francis' encyclical. Each session includes Scripture, prayer, reflections, faith-sharing questions, and practical ideas for protecting and caring for the environment and people. You can check out a sample here.
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| Take Action Now! | |
Despite over 200 attendees at the Annual Social Ministry Gathering in D.C., the weather did not cooperate with their ability to meet with their members of Congress. We need your help to share this message.
1. Caring for our neighbor: In his September 2015 address to Congress, Pope Francis cited the "refugee crisis of a magnitude not seen since the Second World War," and called for us to respond to refugees and immigrants in ways that are "humane, just and fraternal."
- Reducing global poverty is an investment in people and in peace. That is why it's essential for Congress to strengthen funding in the Fiscal Year 2017 budget for poverty-focused international assistance that saves lives and reduces crushing poverty. The plight of refugees fleeing Syria and Iraq, human trafficking, and continuing food insecurity in Ethiopia, South Sudan, Guatemala, Burundi and other places, are grim reminders of the lives at stake and of the need to fund these accounts adequately.
- Congress also must avoid anti-resettlement, anti-asylum legislation and maintain U.S. leadership in refugee and asylum protection, especially regarding the crises in Syria and Central America. The Catholic Church urges the United States to maintain its strong commitment to resettlement of refugees based on their vulnerability, regardless of nationality or religion. There are already strong, multilayered security procedures in place for screening refugees.
2. Caring for our common home: Members of Congress need to ensure that the Green Climate Fund is included in the Fiscal Year 2017 budget. This is the main international mechanism to assist developing countries in protecting their people from the consequences of climate change (adaptation), and to adopt alternative sources of energy while continuing to grow their economies and reduce poverty. The negative effects of climate change represent a very real and serious threat to our world, especially to people who are poor.
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| CRS Rice Bowl: Local poverty alleviation efforts | |
For more than 40 years, CRS Rice Bowl has been Catholic Relief Services' Lenten faith-in-action program for families and faith communities. Through CRS Rice Bowl, we hear stories from our brothers and sisters in need around the world, reflect on our own lives and faith, and devote our Lenten prayers, fasting and gifts to transform the lives of the poor.
This year we had a focus on increasing the participation of Hispanic parishes in the Rice Bowl program. Arturo Iriarte and Ana Landskron have been doing the legwork to make that happen by calling and visiting the Hispanic priests, deacons and parish Social Ministry groups. They made great progress and as a result, distributed a large amount of Spanish Rice Bowls.
Thank you for participating in Rice Bowl!
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| Upcoming Immersion Trips | |
Outreach to Haiti has as part of it's mission, building relationships and understanding between Americans and our Haitian brothers and sisters. This is done through what we call "immersion" visits. We provide complete itineraries, 2 meals a day and in-country transportation.
Days are spent in and around Port-au-Prince visiting programs managed or supported by Outreach, as well as other agencies and places. This typically includes schools, clinics, neighborhoods, Sunday mass at a Haitian church, and the national museum. Travelers get a glimpse into the lives of the Haitian people through their environment and culture, their way of life and their faith. The cost is $100 per night plus airfare and incidentals.
We are currently offering the following dates:
April 5-12
April 26 - May 3
May 9-16
Dates MAY be slightly flexible if the needs of the group dictate. A minimum of 6 is needed for each trip. Please contact the Outreach to Haiti office by email or phone(see below) if you would like more information. You will have an UNFORGETTABLE experience! If you are interested, and these dates don't work, you can contact us to put your name on a list to be contacted for future trips.
Sa je pa wè, kè pas tounen. What the eye does not see, the heart does not feel. Haitian Proverb
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| New! Year of Mercy Resources Available | | |
Incorporate the Year of Mercy into your ministry with the OCSJM's downloadable Corporal Works of Mercy series that can be used as discussion starters or for parish bulletins.
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Resources for the New Encyclical Laudato Sí
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8 Page Study Guide from the Sisters of Loretto
The following study guide is divided into 7 sections, the 6 chapters of the Encyclical are followed by a final discussion on how to live the teaching. A meeting template for group discussions is included. You might want to meet in one large group or divide into smaller groups; you could meet on 6 separate occasions or you could meet less frequently and combine chapters. Click here for the pdf.
19 Page Pauline Press Study GuidePope Francis addresses his encyclical Laudato Sí to all the people of the world. This guide can be used either for individual study or for group discussion of this important document. The guideincludes a summary of each chapter of the encyclical, along with study questions and some reflections for prayer. Click here for the pdf.
CRS and Ave Maria Webinar
In this webinar Ted Miles, Youth and Education Relationship Manager at Catholic Relief Services, highlights some of the core themes of the Holy Father's recent encyclical in light of the environmental challenges faced by the world's most vulnerable people. Explore the collection of resources offered by Catholic Relief Services and others that aid in fostering dialogue and faith-filled engagement with young people on this core issue of our time. Watch it here.
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