By Taylor Kingston, Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, Archdiocese of Santa Fe

I recently attended the 24^th annual Social Action Summer Institute (SASI) at Santa Clara University in San Jose, CA for parish and diocesan social ministry.  The theme for this year’s SASI was Peacebuilding for the 21^st Century. Seven representatives from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe attended including Anne Avellone, Director of Social Justice and Respect Life, Bunny Miller, theology teacher at St. Pius, Susan Tomita from St. Bernadette, Emmet Garrity from Newman Center, Christina Benitez from Holy Rosary and UNM student, Joseph Montiel from Holy Rosary and UNM student, and myself, Taylor Kingston from St. Charles, UNM student and office aide for the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry.

The 4-day conference focused on how Catholic leaders could be peacemakers in these times of conflict in our world and was packed with prayer, workshops, and speakers from around the world.  SASI was a great opportunity to learn about social issues across the globe and how Catholics are called to respond.  I learned about how social justice is rooted in Scripture and about the basics of Catholic social teaching.  I heard about great work being done in parishes, in dioceses and organizations such as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Catholic Charities USA, and JustFaith Ministries.

Like many young people, I knew that social justice is about respect for human life, service to the poor, and aiding those who have been through natural disasters.  While these are all important parts of our faith, I learned that social justice is all those things and more!  For instance, one presenter told a story of how young people wanted a skate park in their community so they could have a safe place to skate.  Community organizing members from parishes in this community trained these young people in leadership and gave them the tools to advocate for themselves.  They approached city officials, presented their reasoning for a skate park and in the end received it.  Giving those who do not have a voice the tools to speak for themselves is a part of social justice that I am excited to put into action throughout our diocese.

I also learned new ideas for other ministries in which I am involved.  For example, there was a wonderful workshop Hispanics and Social Ministry: Time for a New Conversation? with Fr. Eduardo Fernandez and Ms. Anne Grycz, Diocese of San Jose.  These speakers talked about how they have been successful with Hispanic Ministry in their diocese, what challenges they faced and how they overcame them.

Another workshop was a panel on the state of social action and included Greg Kepferle, Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, Ralph McCloud, USCCB/CCHD, Joan Rosenhauer, CRS, Kath Saile, USCCB/JPHD and others. Panel members were asked various questions about their organizations and about social justice issues.  One question raised was about how young people fit into social justice ministry and what is being done to help these young people stay involved.  Panelists mentioned that young people need to have opportunities to do service for others, that we need to encourage them to ask questions, to reflect on their service and to give them tools to speak for themselves.  In the end the best advocates for young people are in fact young people.

As a first-time attendee, I found SASI very helpful, educational, spiritual and fun.  The Archdiocese of Santa Fe Young Adult Advisory Team is looking to grow in numbers, spiritually, educationally and now in social justice ministry.  Through this conference I learned there are many resources and organizations that will be able to help the young adults implement plans in the area of charity and justice.  I am looking forward to working with others on social justice issues and helping build from the strong social justice communities the Archdiocese of Santa Fe has in place.

Tags: advocacy, Archdiocese of Santa Fe, community organizing, Hispanic ministry, justice, SASI, Social Action Summer Institute, young adult ministry, young adults

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