In July, I attended the annual Social Action Summer Institute in New Orleans and was asked to reflect on my experiences there. While I feel like I’m strong academic and advocacy writer, I am not as comfortable writing emotively about experiences. The SASI conference was such a great experience for me that I agreed to write this reflection anyway. That’s proof right there that it was a powerful and important event for me!

My first experience at SASI set the tone for the whole event. I attended the energizing, spiritual and upbeat first Mass. While my church in Minnesota has a wonderful music director and musicians, there was something special about hearing a saxophone solo of Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World reverberating through a beautiful church in New Orleans.

I arrived at SASI knowing one other participant. Typically I would have introduced myself to people milling about before Mass, but I was exhausted from an early flight. I sat in an empty pew, feeling too tired to meet anyone. Not two minutes after I sat down, people reached out and started introducing themselves to me, genuinely interested in who I was. I met SASI veterans who throughout the conference introduced me to people they knew. The SASI conference was full of great people, and there was time for excellent, engaging discussions at evening socials, meals and during coffee breaks.

At one table discussion I heard colleagues’ reflections on work they had done – Days at the Capitol, Life and Justice Committees, Action Alerts, etc. This gave me a chance to reflect on my own work and inspired some ideas for future projects.  I saw the unique issues of our diverse dioceses, from the diocese of Salt Lake City, which encompasses all 84,900 square miles of Utah and has 63 Catholic parishes, to the 108 parishes of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, which is a mere 4,208 square miles.

I especially appreciated Tricia Hoyt’s presentation on Biblical Justice. The piece that resonated most with me as I approach my advocacy work was the reminder of who was meant by the terms “widow,” “orphan” and “alien” in the Bible. Deuteronomy 10: 17-19 reminds us:

For the Lord, your God, is the God of gods, the Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who has no favorites, accepts no bribes; who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and befriends the alien, feeding and clothing him. So you too must befriend the alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.

I was reminded that the word “widow” at the time Deuteronomy was written did not simply mean a woman whose husband has died. Rather, the widow was a person who was utterly powerless and had no voice in the public arena.  A widow’s husband had died, and she had no son, or brother, or father. She had lost any man who could speak to her interest in the public forum, and so needed protection from society as a whole. The same is true for the orphan and the alien – they had no one to speak for their interests, so the community needed to look out for them. At SASI I was able to explore this concept in more depth than I had before, with people who do similar advocacy work, and I brought back renewed passion in my work for giving voice to those not allowed a voice.

Upon return to work where I occasionally listen to webinars that are not particularly engaging, I’ve appreciated the seminars at SASI even more. Every session was interesting and energizing, and caused me to  learn and grow. The bar is set high for future conferences and events!

My experience at SASI will be useful in my professional life for a few reasons: I built a network of people I can ask questions and to continue to grow and learn with, and I developed a better background of biblical justice and Catholic social teaching that I can apply to my advocacy work. Finally, I am energized and renewed for the challenges ahead. I am grateful for my time at SASI.

Marie Reigstad is Public Policy Manager at the Catholic Charities Office for Social Justice in St. Paul, Minnesota, She represents the office at the state Capitol and mobilizes parishoners on select public policy issues. She is a licensed attorney who previously worked as Leadership Assistant for the Minnesota State Senate.

Photos by Pat Dougherty, Archdiocese of St. Louis.

By Chris Ruff

The following is adapted from an article that first appeared in the July-August 2010 issue of the Catechetical Leader Magazine.

I have been involved in and passionate about small-group faith-sharing for more than twenty years. It is a powerful means for drawing closer to Christ and deepening the bonds of community. More recently, it has taken on even greater significance.

About five years ago I was looking for a way to make the outreach of justice and charity in parishes less committee-centered and more “common.” I wanted to foster a deeper awareness that it is the mission of every disciple of Christ. Could Jesus have made it any clearer that he will judge each one of us – without exception – on what we have done, or not done, to him in “the least of these my brethren” (cf., Mt 25)?

It struck me that a properly focused faith-sharing program would make an ideal setting for fostering compassion and care for our neighbor in need. I began looking for resources that would embody this goal. Nothing I found quite matched what I had in mind. I wanted something that would engage people in a manageable way and not overwhelm their busy calendars, and I wanted it to speak to their hearts with Gospel simplicity. I also wanted to avoid any hint of particular social agendas, other than enkindling the flame of the great Commandment of Love. It seemed to me that in this way I could help bridge the gap that has too often existed between the contemplative spirit and zeal for social action. Is that not what Dorothy Day and, more recently, Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, were all about?

I decided to write my own resources, a set of books I have called the Discipleship Series.  There are three of them so far—As I Have Loved You, (also in Spanish as Como Yo Los He Amado), The Greatest of These is Love, and Who Is My Neighbor?—and for the past four years they have been utilized fruitfully in the Diocese of La Crosse, several other dioceses around the U.S., and most recently in the Archdiocese of Vancouver. The books contain a blend of Scripture, brief commentary, snippets from the Catechism and modern papal writings, illustrative stories (Jean Vanier, St. Damien the Leper, Dorothy Day, etc.), discussion questions and prayer. A modest commitment to loving service – at least an hour or two a month – is woven into the program.

Thanks be to God, this faith-sharing experience has borne the fruit of love lived in service, and the palpable joy that overflows from it. Did Jesus not tell us to abide in his love, “that you may have joy, and have it to the full”? I believe joy in the Lord is the sure hallmark of faith-sharing done well, because it is a process not of academic learning, but of lived assimilation of the Gospel at the level of the heart. And because it is lived in companionship with others, it leads to deep and lasting bonds of friendship.

And why should this joyful assimilation not flower – always and by a kind of law of the Spirit – in a love that extends from the group and its members to the hungry and the poor, the sick and the aged, the lonely and the marginalized? Truly, I can no longer imagine doing small-group faith-sharing in any other way, in any way that fails to recognize the blessed calling expressed so beautifully in the words of St. Teresa of Avila:

Christ has no body now on earth but yours,

No hands but yours, no feet but yours,

Yours are the eyes through which

He looks with compassion on this world;

Yours the feet with which he walks to do good;

Yours the hands with which he blesses.

The Discipleship Series is published by Novo Millennio Press. Information, preview samples and testimonials regarding the series can be seen at www.novomill.com. A glimpse into what has been done in the Archdiocese of Vancouver, where a major Lenten launch is underway, can be found at www.rcav.org/discipleship. Two articles from the archdiocesan newspaper can also be viewed: one from August (click here) and one from early March (click here).

Christopher Ruff, S.T.L., has been director of the Office of Ministries and Social Concerns for the Diocese of La Crosse since 2001. He assists the bishop in matters of social justice and the outreach of charity, as well as directing programs for the formation of the laity and working as associate director of deacon formation.

This week in the Washington Post, Cardinal Donald Wuerl of the Archdiocese of Washington addresses some of the issues we will discuss at our annual Symposium next week “Fear Not: Addressing a Culture of Fear with Prayerful Conversation.”

Re-posted from the On Faith Column, Washington Post, 2/2/11

The preacher’s pulpit, the politician’s podium and the print and electronic media all bear some responsibility to encourage a far more civil, responsible and respectful approach to national debate and the discussion of issues in our country today.

Over and over again, we are hearing, in the wake of the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, that it is time to examine the tenor and tone of debate. Sadly, it took something as tragic as the Tucson shooting to generate a conversation about how we debate issues, especially those that engender great emotion.

A wise and ancient Catholic maxim has always insisted that we are to “hate the sin and love the sinner.” At the heart of this time-honored wisdom is the simple recognition that some things are wrong and yet we still distinguish between what is done and who does it.

Increasingly, there is a tendency to disparage the name and reputation, the character and life, of a person because he or she holds a different position. The identifying of some people as “bigots” and “hate mongers” simply because they hold a position contrary to another’s has unfortunately become all too commonplace today. Locally, we have witnessed rhetorical hyperbole that, I believe, long since crossed the line between reasoned discourse and irresponsible demagoguery.

It should not be acceptable to denounce someone who favors immigration reform that includes the process to citizenship as a “traitor” and “unpatriotic.” The representatives in federal and state government who voted against the District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program or against tax credits for Catholic schools educating minority children should not be labeled in the media as “anti-Catholic bigots” or “racists” since the majority of the children are African American. People and organizations should not be denounced disparagingly as “homophobic” simply because they support the traditional, worldwide, time-honored definition of marriage. The defaming words speak more about political posturing than about reasoned discourse.

Why is it so important that we respect both our constitutional right to free speech and our moral obligation that we not bear false witness against another? A profoundly basic reason is that we do not live alone. While each of us can claim a unique identity, we are, nonetheless, called to live out our lives in relationship with others — in some form of community.

All human community is rooted in this deep stirring of God’s created plan within us that brings us into ever-widening circles of relationship: first with our parents, then our family, the Church and a variety of community experiences, educational, economic, cultural, social and, of course, political. We are by nature social and tend to come together so that in the various communities of which we are a part, we can experience full human development. All of this is part of God’s plan initiated in creation and reflected in the natural law that calls us to live in community.

What does this have to do with toning down our rhetoric? Everything! No community, human or divine, political or religious, can exist without trust. At the very core of all human relations is the confidence that members speak the truth to each other. It is for this reason that God explicitly protected the bonds of community by prohibiting falsehood as a grave attack on the human spirit. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Ex 20:16). To tamper with the truth or, worse yet, to pervert it, is to undermine the foundations of human community and to begin to cut the threads that weave us into a coherent human family.

The call to truthfulness is far from being a denial of freedom of speech. Rather, it is a God-given obligation to respect the very function of human speech. We are not free to say whatever we want about another, but only what is true. To the extent that freedom is improperly used to sever the bonds of trust that bind us together as a people, to that extent it is irresponsible. The commandment that obliges us to avoid false witness also calls us to tell the truth. We, therefore, have an obligation to ascertain that what we say or hear or read is really the truth.

Someone once described a “gossip” as a person who will never tell a lie if a half-truth will do as much harm. When we listen to news accounts or read what is presented in the print and electronic media, we are too often reminded that spin, selecting only some of the facts, highlighting only parts of the picture, has replaced too often an effort to present the facts — the full story. We all know the tragic results of gossip against which there is little or no defense. In an age of blogs, even the wildest accusations can quickly become “fact.” Gossip is like an insidious infection that spreads sickness throughout the body. These untruths go unchallenged because the persons who are the object of the discussion are usually not present to defend themselves, their views or actions.

Irresponsible blogs, electronic and print media stories, and pulpit and podium people-bashing rhetoric can be likened to many forms of anonymous violence. Spin and extremist language should not be embraced as the best this country is capable of achieving. Selecting only some facts, choosing inflammatory words, spinning the story, are activities that seem much more directed to achieving someone’s political purpose rather than reporting events. One side is described as “inquiring minds that want to know” and the other side as “lashing out in response.”

We need to look at how we engage in discourse and how we live out our commitment to be a people of profound respect for the truth and our right to express our thoughts, opinions, positions — always in love. We who follow Christ must not only speak the truth but must do so in love (Eph 4:15). It is not enough that we know or believe something to be true. We must express that truth in charity with respect for others so that the bonds between us can be strengthened in building up the body of Christ.

Freedom of speech and respect for others, freedom of expression and regard for the truth, should always be woven together. This should be true of everyone, whether they speak from a pulpit, a political platform, or through the electronic and print media and other means of social communications.

In its October issue, The Valley Catholic wrote about the ‘Hispanics & Social Ministry’ panel that took place at the 2010 SASI in the Diocese of San Jose.

The article is printed below, or view it at its original location:

We’ll have more reflections & photos about SASI to come, but I wanted to share a few snippets of the feedback from participants about what they gained from this year’s Social Action Summer Institute, August 1-4, 2010 at Santa Clara University. As you can see, there was a diversity in what people liked and gained from this year’s training. Over 110 people from 24 states were gathered together this year.

Have a story/reflection about SASI you’d like to share? Or pictures? Ways you’re using what you learned in your ministry? Share them to the Roundtable!

What did you like most about SASI?

• I liked meeting fellow workers in the vineyard from different levels of responsibility in the Church and from different parts of the country. I liked our tour to the Day Workers’ Center and the Coalition for Homelessness.

• I was included in an inspiring community.

• We have a great community of social action advocates! Thank you for the opportunity!
• Peacebuilding workshop was good as it was highly participatory. I also really enjoyed the presentation by Congolese women.
• Worth the registration fee! Tricia Hoyt’s presentation was informative, timely, relevant and delivered an engaging, entertaining and captivating manner.

• Peacebuilding training: The approach/pedagogy was powerful because it made us the meaning makers.

• Poverty USA / CCHD-funded tours – It touched my heart to see and hear the stories the workers and the enthusiasm of director. It helped me to grow a little in my feelings about immigration reform.

• Appreciated the diverse panel on Hispanics and Social Ministry: women and men, young and old, Anglo and Spanish-speaking immigrant, and U.S.-born Latino, priest and lay, student and minister. Each added unique richness to the experience.

• Joe [Grant] is a gem. [His closing plenary on "Engaging Spirituality for our times" was a] great way to close the week. This intentional focus on spirituality should permeate the entire conference
• I really felt like I got more relationship building work done, while attending everything without feeling rushed.

• The richest experiences of the conference were those that involved testimonies from diverse persons with genuine experiences with the poor and vulnerable  – the Congolese women, Deacon Sal & his farmworker’s prayer and experience, the community organizing testimonies. Include more of these next year. It helps ground us in the ministry we’re doing and gives us powerful stories to share with our constituencies.

What learnings or plans will you take home to your work/ministry?

• Amy Carpenter’s two day session was excellent and I will be sharing a portion of her manual during an upcoming staff meeting.
• Personally I plan to push for support for JustFaith programs in our diocese, and in my parish. I hope we can once again try to organize around social justice in our parish. I will try to communicate what I learned about “Peace Building” to our Director of Parish Social Ministries.

• I would like to practice the peacebuilding skills I learned so as to become more able to identify what kind of conflict I am facing and apply some of the techniques we learned for resolving and transforming conflict.

• I will take home courage, encouragement, and the belief that peacebuilding is possible.

• I will take peacebuilding skills that I’ve learned and use them in my parish to help integrate our Hispanic community & Anglo community into one cohesive community

• I will bring home new ways to look at CST, and the idea of relationship instead of an event checklist.

• The sense that social justice ministry is core to our faith tradition and can involve all people of the parish if a vision & plan is made and implemented. Also persistence.

• I gained good suggestions on how to start a global solidarity team at local parish.

If you were able to make the 2010 SASI, thanks so much for taking part! And to all of our readers, we hope you’ll be able to join us in the future!

By Christine Smith, Catholic Charities of Idaho, Parish and Community Partnership Coordinator

When I first moved to Idaho two years ago from Catholic Relief Services in Baltimore, I did not realize that I would have to apply the Peacebuilding ideas and skills that I had learned. As I went throughout the state (which is the entire diocese), I discovered enormous division not only between cultural groups, but in particular, around immigration. While this is not uncommon in the U.S., I quickly realized that getting people through the faith development levels to legislative advocacy is hard enough, but to have this obstacle of parish polarization on any social position in a parish called for something much more basic; people needed a safe place to talk about things. If we Catholics do not know each other or trust each other, achieving one voice as Catholics on any issues would not be possible.

The idea that peacebuilding was needed was confirmed by the negative emails, phone calls, letters we would receive from Catholics to the Idaho Catholic Register and Catholic Charities legislative advocacy, when Catholic Charities moved on immigration at the state or Congressional level. In addition, as Bishop Mike Driscoll went throughout the diocese, he was hearing that the number one issue that drained parish clergy and staff of energy was when there is a contentious legislative issue that polarized the parish, such as healthcare or immigration. As a result, it was clear that parishes were really asking for was a way to resolve community conflicts.

As a result, the Diocesan Justice for Immigrants team recognized the need to ensure the matches that would light a fire needed to be blown out or never ignited in the first place. In examining possible tactics in peacebuilding, dialogue seemed to be a good place to start before the national Comprehensive Immigration Reform rolled out.

The goals of the dialogue were simple: Catholics would know the USCCB Comprehensive Immigration Reform legislative framework, Catholics facilitators would be trained with potential replication of dialogue in other deanery parishes, and Catholics would have a process (dialogue) to talk/listen to each other on any contentious topic, in this case immigration.

The dialogue was a great success due to identifying facilitators, training them and asking them to invite other people and to the high level of structure that was put into place by Chris West and Joe Hastings from Catholic Relief Services. Over one hundred people, from three deaneries, representing ten parishes came to the dialogue. Within the three-hour dialogue, five questions were asked for the table dialogues.

After the dialogue, when asked verbally in the room to raise their hands if people thought the dialogue was helpful or valuable, 98% of the room raised their hands, and when asked if they would like the dialogue repeated, about the same number raised their hands in agreement. When asked what they learned, the evaluation showed 48% of people said faith dialogue even with differing opinion works, and they learned something about dialogue processes, such as that conflict results from different values and resource scarcity. Thirty-one percent of people said they learned US Catholic Conference of Catholic Bishop’s position on Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Seventeen percent said they wanted to repeat the dialogue and wanted to get trained and use facilitation and dialogue skills in other parishes and places. When asked what other lingering questions they may have, 43% of the people said, “What do we do now?” and “How do we do legislative advocacy on Comprehensive Immigration Reform?”

Collaborating with Deanery and the Diocesan Justice For Immigrants team, we pulled together the feedback and action steps and sent those out to all people at the dialogue. The next steps are to identify and train more facilitators in each parish and then organize the dialogues in each of the eight parishes throughout the fall and winter. Other Deaneries have asked for the JFI Team to come into their regions and replicate this process. Last, a Diocesan Conference workshop for models of dialogue and skill training for facilitators has been organized for on-going education for facilitators and for parish people interested in becoming a peacebuilder.

Catholic Charities of Idaho now has one hundred more people to add to our legislative network and communication list and a foundation of Catholic leaders for peacebuilding processes when needed in the diocese and a good base of support for any future immigration actions.

Roundtable member’s can download Christine’s Catholic Dialogue on Immigration Entire Process Document at the Virtual Roundtable.

By Barbara Blossom for the Sisters of Charity of New York

O God, in these troubled, uncertain times, we commit ourselves to peace. We remember that each thought has the power to inspire action, and that the actions we take can transform the lives of all of those around us, all those whom they encounter, and ultimately, the world.

We will not make room in our hearts for hatred and intolerance. Instead, we live in joy and wonder, marveling at your beautiful creation, especially our sisters and brothers from lands near and far.

We ask you for strength, vision, and perseverance to reject violence in all of its forms as we lovingly work towards justice for all of your children.

We trust in your ways, dear God, and we ask you to inspire us as individuals, leaders, and nations to create a glorious community that embraces and celebrates life.

Reprinted with permission of Barbara Blossom. Also reprinted in Living God’s Justice: Reflections and Prayers, 2006.