At the Social Action Summer Institute on July 29-Aug. 1, Fr. John Rausch of the Catholic Committee on Appalachia will address participants on maintaining hope in the face of great challenges.

He has plenty of experience in this regard; the strip mining that the coal industry engages in throughout the region in which we will gather is a source of numerous injustices. However, the response of Catholics and others of conscience in the continued struggle to ensure that the dignity of all people is respected and the integrety of  creation is preserved is a great source of hope.

Read the article by Kyle T. Kramer printed in U.S. Catholic.

Watch The Cross in the Mountains video (referenced in the article):

We’re excited to announce that Registration is now available for the 2012 Social Action Summer Institute!

And we have even more exciting news; costs are even lower than previously advertised!

- Entire institute: $240 (tuition & meals), $60 dorm (includes housing Sunday – Weds nights)
- M & T only: $150 (tuition & meals) $30 dorm (includes housing both nights)
- W only: $80 (tuition &meals), $15 dorm (includes housing Weds. night)

This year, payment is available online with credit card via PayPal, or by check to “The Roundtable.”

Scholarships are available.
This year, priority will be given to diocesan staff who apply for assistance with another key leader from their diocese who will work together with the diocesan staff in the coming year. Invite a colleague or key volunteer who could benefit from this training opportunity! Scholarship award notification for diocesan directors will be made on a rolling basis, beginning May 15. Decisions on scholarships for parish participants will be made June 15.

Join social action ministers from across the country for a four-day institute: Called to Transfomative Community: Addressing Poverty Today. The SASI will feature many engaging  speakers including David Beckmann, President of Bread for the World; Jack Jezreel and Joe Grant of JustFaith Ministries; Fr. John Rausch, Director of the Catholic Commission on Appalachia;  sessions on international & domestic poverty by staff of Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Relief Services, and USCCB-JPHD; and more.

**Additionally, JustFaith Ministries will host a day of visioning on creating momentum for hope in our social action ministries**

For more program details, visit the SASI webpage. A press release is also attached to share with your diocesan newspapers and others.

Join us July 29-Aug 1, 2012  at Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY!
Please share this information with your friends and colleagues. We hope to see you there!

We have some exciting news – the Roundtable has secured grant funding to hire a full-time coordinator for the next three years. This will allow the coordinator to better serve Roundtable members, and also to do more outreach to organizations and your diocesan colleagues engaged in restorative justice/prison ministry, Latino/Hispanic, and multicultural ministries to build relationships, share resources, and create deeper national collaborative training and advocacy opportunities.

Due to my own change in circumstances this summer, I’ll stay on as coordinator until July 1, which will allow more time for the board to find a full-time coordinator. Please see the job description below (and also posted at http://catholicroundtable.org/about/jobs/) and share the posting widely.

Full-time Coordinator, Roundtable Association of Catholic Diocesan Social Action Directors

The Coordinator is the staff person who implements the Roundtable’s mission of providing professional support to members through education, formation, professional relationships, and management development. S/he will:
- Assist the board in planning, funding and implementing the Annual Symposium and the Social Action Summer Institute, as well as serve on planning committee for the Social Ministry Gathering.
- Ensure that the Roundtable is responsive to the needs of diocesan social action directors through services, networking, training and other means.
- Staff and coordinate the working committees of the Roundtable Board of Directors.
- Actively outreach to ministers and organizations engaged in restorative justice/prison ministry, Latino/Hispanic, and multicultural ministries to build relationships, share resources, and create deeper national collaborative training and advocacy opportunities.
- Promote and coordinate Roundtable communications, including the Virtual Roundtable, blog and quarterly web-based issues of the Roundtable Report, while maintaining vibrant website.
- Collect dues from members, maintain a budget, and report to the Board.
- Actively seek additional financial support from grant sources.
- Stay current on Catholic Social Teaching and disseminate new documents and information to members.

Skills and abilities:
- Superior interpersonal and project management/coordination skills.
- Self-motivated, able to work independently, and as part of a team.
- Superior written/verbal communications and presentation skills
- Exceptional networking and relationship-building skills.
- Strong planning and organizational ability required.
- Creativity and innovation are critical.

Qualifications:
1. Bachelor’s degree in theology or other relevant discipline; Masters’ degree preferred.
2. 5+ years of experience in social ministry, training, facilitation or an equivalent combination of education and experience
3. Strong experience working in Catholic diocesan and parish social ministry in the U.S.
4. Proficiency with Microsoft Office (particularly Word, Excel and PowerPoint), design/layout & photo editing softwares, WordPress and basic HTML.
5. Willingness to occasionally travel in the U.S.

This is a full-time consulting position, based in Washington DC, to begin July 2, 2012.

Language: Spanish proficiency desired.

To apply: Send cover letter and resume to Scott Cooper, Roundtable Chair, at scooper@ccspokane.org by May 31.

EOE/M/F/D/V

Dear Roundtable members,

On behalf of the Symposium committee and in order to best serve you and all Roundtable members, I invite you to suggest themes and speaker ideas for the 2013 Symposium (February 9-10 n Washington DC). The committee has begun its planning but asks for your input in moving forward.

What themes and sessions would be most helpful for you? What types of speakers would you like to see?

A couple themes that were brainstormed are listed below – please respond to these or suggest others!
(emailed to coordinator@catholicroundtable.org).

- 50^th anniversary of the 2^nd Vatican Council

>> Reengaging The Church in the Modern World

>> Faith, Culture, and the Global Church (evangelization & inculturation)
>> Pacem in Terris

- CST & the New Evangelization: Unpacking the role of social action in evangelization

Thanks for your feedback in order to help make the 2013 Symposium the best yet!

Dear Roundtable members,

The Roundtable seeks to provide you with relevant formation and professional development opportunities to enhance your work in the midst of a changing world. To this end, we’ve developed a series of education and formation opportunities that respond to the greatest needs and interests that you’ve expressed over the past year.

We hope you’ll join us again on Thursday, May 31 at 1-2pm ET (10-11am PT) for a webinar on Developing Leaders in your Diocese.

This interactive webinar will examine the disciplines of doing justice ministry in a relational and engaging way. It will feature the topics of: deepening relationship with leaders, especially young people; the importance of focus and vision for teams; and making justice ministry integral to the practical realities of parish life.

Featuring Lonnie Ellis OFS, age 30, who has six years of faith-based organizing and parish experience, much of it in St. Paul, MN. He now works for Franciscan Action Network.

To receive call-in information for the webinar, please RSVP to coordinator@catholicroundtable.org. Our conversation will be limited to 25 participants. Thank you!

This Easter season, Seeing the Word at Saint John’s School of Theology Seminary is reflecting on the faces of women illuminated in The Saint John’s Bible. These often overlooked Biblical women exhibit remarkable faith, courage, and love. Every Monday during the Easter season a short audio-visual reflection focusing on one of these inspiring female figures is published.

Last week Kathy Langer, M.A., Director of Social Concerns for Catholic Charities of Saint Cloud and Adjunct Instructor for the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, shared a reflection on names and forgiveness in “Woman Taken in Adultery” (John 7:53-8:11).  She reflects on the Scripture, illumination, and the experiences of women.  Check out her powerful reflection!

Seeing the Faces of Women – Seeing the Word & The Saint John’s Bible – Woman Taken in Adultery from Web Coordinator on Vimeo.

WASHINGTON—As Congress began working on the FY 2013 budget and spending bills this week, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) wrote several letters that repeated and reinforced the bishops’ ongoing call to create a “circle of protection” around poor and vulnerable people and programs that meet their basic needs and protect their lives and dignity. The bishops’ message calls on Congress and the Administration to protect essential help for poor families and vulnerable children and to put the poor first in budget priorities. The bishops’ letters oppose measures that reduce resources for essential safety net programs.

In the letters, Bishops Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, California, and Richard E. Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, chairmen of the Committees on Domestic Justice and Human Development and International Justice and Peace, respectively, urged Congress to resist proposed cuts in hunger and nutrition programs at home and abroad saying that “a just spending bill cannot rely on disproportionate cuts in essential services to poor and vulnerable persons.”

On April 4, Bishop Blaire cautioned that “at a time when the need for assistance from [affordable housing] programs is growing, cutting funds for them could cause thousands of individuals and families to lose their housing and worsen the hardship of thousands more in need of affordable housing.” He also reminded Congress that the Catholic community is one of the largest private, nonprofit providers of affordable housing in the country and is deeply involved in meeting the health housing and nutrition needs of families across the nation.

Bishops Blaire and Pates reaffirmed the “moral criteria to guide these difficult budget decisions” outlined in their March 6 budget letter:

1.Every budget decision should be assessed by whether it protects or threatens human life and dignity.

2.A central moral measure of any budget proposal is how it affects “the least of these” (Matthew 25). The needs of those who are hungry and homeless, without work or in poverty should come first.

3.Government and other institutions have a shared responsibility to promote the common good of all, especially ordinary workers and families who struggle to live in dignity in difficult economic times…

Just solutions, however, must require shared sacrifice by all, including raising adequate revenues, eliminating unnecessary military and other spending, and fairly addressing the long-term costs of health insurance and retirement programs.

In April 16 and April 17 letters to the House Agriculture Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee addressing cuts required by the budget resolution, Bishop Blaire said “The House-passed budget resolution fails to meet these moral criteria.” Bishop Blaire also wrote that cuts to nutrition programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP- food stamps) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC) will hurt hungry children, poor families, low-income workers and other vulnerable people. Additionally, he wrote that if cuts to the federal budget need to be made, savings should first be found in programs that target more affluent and powerful interests.

To see these letters, visit the USCCB website.

The Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award is given annually to a Catholic young adult (age 18-30) engaged in efforts to end the root causes of poverty in the United States. The Award is an excellent opportunity to recognize a deserving young Catholic from your diocese. The annual winner is recognized at the annual bishops’ meeting in November and provides an important opportunity for the bishops to celebrate the work of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development to fight poverty in the United States. The department of Justice, Peace, and Human Development of the USCCB needs your help identifying deserving young adults!

Please help by: (1) Nominating young persons from your diocese before July 31, and (2) Getting the word out about the award to other potential nominators, including parishes, community organizations, college campuses, your diocesan newspaper, electronic newsletters, and your diocesan young adult ministry office. Access the nomination form here.

Roundtable members and friends,

It is with bittersweet emotion that I write to let you know I am leaving the position of Coordinator on June 1. During the summer and months that follow, I will work to complete my MA in Theology from Washington Theological Union, as well as discern next steps. I expect to continue working within the field of Catholic social action and hope my path will continue to intersect with yours.

It has been an absolute joy to serve as Coordinator for the Roundtable these past 2+ years. The tireless work that each of you do to engage in the Church’s social mission is a daily inspiration. I could not have asked for a better network of people to work with and serve, and have learned so much from you.

My departure also means that the Roundtable board is currently seeking another Coordinator. Please see the Job Description below, as well as posted on the Roundtable’s Jobs page.

Please share this information widely with your networks. You can link them to this PDF: http://catholicroundtable.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Roundtable-Coordinator-Job-Posting.pdf

Grace & peace,
Jenn Svetlik

Job Opening:  Coordinator, Roundtable Association of Catholic Diocesan Social Action Directors

The Coordinator is the staff person who implements the Roundtable’s mission of providing professional support to members through education, formation, professional relationships, and management development. S/he will:

• Assist the board in planning, funding and implementing the Annual Symposium and the Social Action Summer Institute, as well as serve on planning committee for the Social Ministry Gathering.
• Ensure that the Roundtable is responsive to the needs of diocesan social action directors through services, networking, training and other means.
• Staff and coordinate the working committees of the Roundtable Board of Directors.
• Promote and coordinate the Virtual Roundtable.
• Create and maintain vibrant website and blog, including quarterly web-based issues of the Roundtable Report.
• Collect dues from members, maintain a budget, and report to the Board.
• Actively seek additional financial support from grant sources.
• Stay current on Catholic Social Teaching and disseminate new documents and information to members.

Skills and abilities:

- Superior interpersonal and project management/coordination skills.
- Self-motivated, able to work independently, and as part of a team.
- Superior written/verbal communications and presentation skills
- Exceptional networking and relationship-building skills.
- Strong planning and organizational ability required.
- Creativity and innovation are critical.
Qualifications:
1. Bachelor’s degree in theology or other relevant discipline; Masters’ degree preferred.
2. 5+ years of experience in social ministry, training, facilitation or an equivalent combination of education and experience
3. Strong experience working in Catholic diocesan and parish social ministry in the U.S.
4. Proficiency with Microsoft Office (particularly Word, Excel and PowerPoint), design/layout & photo editing softwares, WordPress and basic HTML.
5. Willingness to occasionally travel in the U.S.

This is a part-time consulting position, based in Washington DC, to begin June 1, 2012.

Language: Spanish proficiency desired.

To apply: Send cover letter and resume to Scott Cooper, Roundtable Chair, at scooper@ccspokane.org by May 1, 2012.

We hope that you’ll be able to join us for the 2012 SASI Called to Transformative Community: Addressing Poverty Today, July 29-Aug. 1 in Louisville, KY.

Thanks to the support & generosity of SASI’s national planning partners, we’re pleased to offer a limited number of scholarships to Roundtable members to cover costs associated with the Social Action Summer Institute. Scholarships do not cover travel expenses.

Scholarship award notification for diocesan directors will be made on a rolling basis, beginning May 15, 2012, but you’re welcome to submit your application at any time. Decisions on scholarships for parish participants will be made June 15, 2012. To explore additional sources of financial aid, contact your diocesan social action director or pastor.

Priority will be given to diocesan staff who apply for scholarships assistance with another key leader from their diocese who will work together with the diocesan staff in the coming year. Invite a colleague or key volunteer who could benefit from this training opportunity!

Note:  Scholarship recipients will be asked to volunteer ~2 hours during the conference.

To apply: Please email coordinator@catholicroundtable.org with a brief statement on 1) why you are interested in attending the SASI, 2) how you hope to apply the skills gained at the SASI to your work when you return home, and 3) how much funding is needed.

For diocesan directors seeking to apply together with a key leader from their diocese: Please submit one brief request (written collaboratively by both applicants) to coordinator@catholicroundtable.org, indicating: 1) how you hope to benefit from attending the SASI together 2) ways in which you hope your two offices could collaborate more in the coming year to build capacity in both your offices and 3) how much funding is needed.

Please see the SASI July 2012 Flyer and share it with your offices and diocesan partners. You can also get more information at http://catholicroundtable.org/events/sasi/.

_________________________________________________________

Verbage for Local Fundraising for Conference Travel

We recognize how crucial it is to gather together in person with key academics, leaders in social action, and your colleagues around the country.  We know, too, that travel budgets have decreased in many offices in recent years, so attendance to the Social Action Summer Institute may require additional creativity.
We continue to make it a priority to offer financial assistance so that we can gather together in person as a community.

We hope you’ll also be able to solicit funds locally to enhance your ability to receive in-person training and development. One colleague shared that she makes funding requests from local parishes & organizations using the following verbage, which she shares as a template for your own funding requests:

Rationale: We also find that the necessary additional training and orientation in Catholic Social Teaching for our staff and volunteer leaders is being severely hampered by cuts in budgets that have prevented attendance at the national Catholic Social Ministry, Social Action Summer Institute, and Catholic Charities USA conferences.

Cost of training for __ people at 2 national conferences: $___ (Breakdown available if necessary. We have $__ available.)

Have you had success in raising funds for training opportunities in your office? Please share your own tips with the Roundtable!