Activities

Social Action Summer Institute (SASI)

This five-day program offers first-time participants grounding in Catholic social teaching, biblical theology, and the spirituality of social justice. Returning attendees take part in an advanced program focused on particular areas of social action ministry. SASI is planned jointly with national collaboraters and partners, including the Offices of Justice, Peace, and Human Development and the Catholic Campaign for Human Development of the USCCB, Catholic Relief Services, and Catholic Charities USA. Recent topics covered at SASI have included Addressing Poverty, the Dignity of Work, Peacebuilding for the 21st Century, Economic Justice, Racial Reconciliation, and Restorative Justice, as well as numerous skills-building workshops.

Virtual Roundtable

The Virtual Roundtable is a discussion group, moderated by the Roundtable’s coordinator, on key issues of interest to members. Recent topics have included responding to economic strains, voter’s guides, partnering with Latino/Hispanic ministries and more.

Peer Consultation

Roundtable members and staff serve one another as consultants on issues, strategies, board and commission development and other matters of mission and management. The Coordinator serves as a source of referrals and information for members, linking people with potential allies and pertinent resources.

Roundtable Report: An E-Newsletter

This quarterly newsletter, geared to the needs and interests of diocesan social action offices, keeps members abreast of developments in the field, activities of member offices and resources for social action ministry.

Harry A. Fagan Roundtable Award & Servant of Justice Award

Named in honor of the Roundtable’s first secretary, the Harry A. Fagan award is given annually by the Board to a person or persons who have made an outstanding contribution at the national or international level to the Church’s social justice mission. The Servant of Justice award is given to a member or former member of the Roundtable who has made an outstanding contribution to the Church’s social justice mission at the local level. The awards are presented during the Social Action Summer Institute each July.

Annual Catholic Social Ministry Gathering (CSMG)

The Roundtable is a major partner in planning the CSMG, a joint project led by USCCB-Justice, Peace, and Human Development and co-sponsored by the Roundtable’s SASI partners and a number of other national organizations and USCCB offices. Current information about the gathering is available here and a brief history of the gathering is available here.

Training Webinars

The Roundtable organizes webinar discussions on practical topics of greatest interest to the membership.

Roundtable Publications

When specific needs arise, committees of the Roundtable develop publications geared toward the membership. Some current publications include “Standards and Expectations for Diocesan Social Action Offices” and accompanying “Evaluation Tool,” “Congregation-Based Community Organizing,” and “Choose Life: A Roundtable Strategy Guide on the Death Penalty. The Roundtable also undertakes a comprehensive study of diocesan social action offices every five years. These studies, dating back to 1985, document trends and developments in the field.

Roundtable Annual Report

pdfFY 2017-2018 Annual Report and Newsletter

pdfFY 2016-2017 Annual Report