Office for Social Ministry e

Office for Social Ministry

e-link

The Diocese of San Diego

858-490-8323

Dear OSM e-link Member,

Welcome back! This week our membership reached 350. We hope you will help us grow at a faster pace, as we have much to do in the community. How? Just share the link to our "Culture of Life" activities - http://www.osmelink.org/ - with friends from your parish and neighborhood.

Thanks and God Bless!

Tuesday, June 3, 2003

OSM e-link - Bulletin #6

Table of Contents:

Comments from Kent Peters, Linda Arreola, Jim Walsh, and Jo Brower

Key Upcoming Gatherings (please join us if at all possible)
          - Retreat with respect-life theme by Fr. Mitch Pacwa in July
          - Meeting for all Parish Social Ministry Coordinators on the Living Wage Ordinance
          - Worker rights meeting at St. Anthony's Parish
          - Reminder for the citywide meeting on the San Diego housing crisis at St. Jude Parish
          - Save the date for the Diocesan Church Ministers Conference in September

Updates from the Office for Social Ministry
- Culture of Life Coordinators' Meeting

Advocacy Feedback
- Kent reports on SCA 8, California prisons to evaluate new arriving inmates

Advocacy Request
- Call California Senators in support of S. 1019, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act

Web and e-mail-based Resourses
- Link to "Life Options" brochure on the OSM e-link server

Article/Statement for June 3, 2003
- The "Life Options" program of the Office for Social Ministry is highlighted

Remarks from Kent, Linda, Jim and Jo

Recently, a member of the Social Ministry staff shared a conversation that took place with a colleague a few years back. The staff member was complaining that we, as Catholics, don't seem to have a setting where young people can publicly declare their personal commitment to Jesus. Our youth experience frustration when confronted by friends who are committed Christians. Evangelical Christians have faith-demonstrating altar calls; we don't. This staff member was immediately rebuked and corrected by that co-worker. We do have altar calls. Each and every time one receives Holy Communion, that person is saying a very personal "yes" to Jesus in all his divinity and humanity. The "Amen" we say at reception is really our way of saying, "Yes, you are my Lord and my personal Savior, the center of my life." The real problem we have as Catholics is that too many of our young people, and old ones for that matter, are not aware of the significance of receiving Our Lord in Communion. Reception of the Eucharist has become routine and too often meaningless. What an opportunity missed!

On another level, that of the Gospel call to build a more humane and just world, most of us also miss an opportunity to embrace, through the Eucharist, all those in the world who are kept from having a place at the table. Remember how at the end of Mathew's Gospel Christ personally identified himself with those who were marginalized economically or socially, "I assure you, as often as you neglected to do it to one of these least ones, you neglected to do it to me." (Mt 25:45) When we receive Holy Communion, we are implicitly (and hopefully one day explicitly) saying, "Yes, you are my Lord, and your friends are my friends. Those who you love, especially those who suffer at the hands of other human beings, are at the center of my circle of concern. I dedicate myself to alleviating their suffering."

A real and lasting solidarity with the marginalized should be the outcome of receiving the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. We can also take comfort in the fact that the grace needed to follow through on that promise will come via the Eucharist itself. We need not be worried. If we receive the Holy Eucharist with the proper disposition, we will be filled with the Holy Spirit, we will see around us what needs to be seen, and we will find the strength to engage the many gifts we possess on behalf of the community in need. Our faith promises this great benefit.

In Pope John Paul II's recent encyclical letter on the Eucharist, he comments on the power of the Eucharist to transform the world through us by saying, "Many problems darken the horizon of our time. We need but think of the urgent need to work for peace, to base relationships between peoples on solid premises of justice and solidarity, and to defend human life from conception to its natural end. And what should we say of the thousand inconsistencies of a “globalized” world where the weakest, the most powerless and the poorest appear to have so little hope! It is in this world that Christian hope must shine forth! For this reason too, the Lord wished to remain with us in the Eucharist, making His presence in meal and sacrifice the promise of a humanity renewed by His love." What an immense calling we have in Christ, and each time we head out from that pew to receive Our Lord under the species of bread and wine, let us remember our commitment to Him and to all those in need of His care and ours.

San Diego, Pray for us,

Our Lady of Refuge, Pray for us.

4 Key Culture-of-Life Gatherings

Number 1: Retreat with Fr. Mitch Pacwa on Sunday, July 27

Please join us on Sunday, July 27, 2003, (location in San Diego to be announced in the next e-link bulletin) from 2:00 p.m. till 4:00 p.m. for a retreat entitled, "Serving Human Life and Family, God's Call to Every Catholic." Fr. Mitch is a nationally known author, an Old Testament Bible scholar, and an EWTN host. He is sure to rekindle our desire to serve the most vulnerable in society.

To make your reservation, call Jo Brower at 858-490-8323 or e-mail Jo at jbrower@diocese-sdiego.org We have space for about 400, so call early to make your reservation.

Number 2: Social Ministry Coordinators Living Wage Campaign Meeting

All Parish Social Ministry Coordinators are invited to attend an important Living Wage Ordinance Campaign meeting on Tuesday, June 10, at 7:00 p.m., at the Pastoral Center, 3888 Paducah Drive in San Diego. For a map to the Pastoral Center press... Pastoral Center Map.

Katie Cunniff, Jesuit Volunteer and staff member of the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, will provide a short presentation on the ongoing Living Wage Ordinance Campaign and campaign materials will be distributed. Call Kent if you have any questions, 858-490-8323.

Number 3: Worker Rights Meeting at St. Anthony's on Monday, June 23

Workers with questions on labor violations are invited to attend a Workers' Rights meeting on Monday, June 23, 2003, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, located at 410 West 18th Street in National City. Map to St. Anthony's. Anyone with questions can call Linda at 858-490-8327.

Please spread the word on this meeting to those in work places where employers have been known to mistreat employees.

All across our region, low-wage workers have reported abuse at the hands of unscrupulous employers. Typical violations involve hours missing from time cards, pay levels below the minimum wage, no pay for overtime, dangerous working conditions, etc. San Diego is blessed with a resource, the San Diego Worker Rights Center, an organization that is dedicated to serving non-union employees whose rights have been violated. Labor law violation is a serious matter, but most workers are unaware of just what constitutes a violation. This meeting will help wokers determine whether their rights have been violated and what steps they can take to gain what they rightfully deserve. This gathering is sponsored by the San Diego Worker Rights Center, the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, the San Diego Organizing Project, St. Anthony's Parish and the Office for Social Ministry of the Diocese of San Diego.

Number 4: Reminder... Housing Crisis Meeting, Mon., June 9, at St. Jude

Don't forget to attend the citywide housing meeting "A Call for Housing" on Monday, June 9, 2003, at 7:00 p.m. at St. Jude Shrine of the West, 1129 S. 38th St. (Press for Map) in San Diego. More than 1500 people of faith are expected to attend, along with several City Council members. Please RSVP to Danyrea Hassan at the SDOP office at 619-285-0797.

Number 5: Save-the-Date, Annual Church Ministers Conference, Sept 27th

On Saturday, September 27, 2003, at the San Diego Convention Center in Downtown San Diego, more than 2,000 local Catholics will join together to celebrate and learn more about Catholic ministry. Registration materials for this annual event will be made available via e-link in July. Don't hesitate to call if you have questions, 858-490-8323.

Short Reports

Culture of Life Coordinators' Meeting

On Thursday, May 22, 2003, at the Diocesan Pastoral Center, about 50 parish Culture of Life Coordinators gathered for their quarterly meeting. See photo below.

A portion of the meeting was spent in dialogue on what the Social Ministry Office could do to better support the coordinators' work in the field. Several suggestions were forthcomig:

          1. Use geographically-based small-group gatherings for a portion of future meetings
          2. Add a shortened parish "special events" section to e-link (under consideration)
          3. Create a list-serve for the Culture of Life coordinators
          4. Begin roving Respect Life Masses
          5. Provide child care during major gatherings
          6. Use quotations from our San Diego bishops in e-link
          7. Ask everyone (from top to bottom) to encourage priest to speak on life issues
          8. Add short prayer time in chapel just prior to quarterly meetings

The OSM staff appreciates the thoughtfulness of the Culture of Life coordinators and will seriously consider each of these worthwhile ideas. The next Culture of Life coordinators' meeting will take place on Thursday, August 21, 2003, at 6:30 p.m. at the Diocesan Pasoral Center. For those interested, we will pray a rosary in the Pastoral Center chapel prior to the meeting at 6:00 p.m.

Web and e-mail-based Resources and Opportunities

Below you will a link to the new Life Options brochure

Beginning late last year, with Jo Brower (see photo at left) as program coordinator, the Office for Social Ministry began the Life Options program. Designed to create vibrant partnerships between Catholic parishes and pregnancy care centers throughout the Diocese, we expect the interchange to bring "vitality" to all institutions involved. To see a basic brochure on the program, click on the Life Options brochure just below.

Also, check out the Article/Statement section below for more information on Life Options.

E-link Advocacy Report

Kent reports on call to Senator Hollingsworth in favor of SCA 8, a mandate to conduct an evaluation of inmates entering California State Prisons in regard to their educational and vocational level of development.

Kent called Senator Hollingsworth's office on June 2nd and talked to Greg Hurner, and aid to the Senator. Greg indicated that Senator Hollingsworth had not had a chance to review SCA 8, indicating that legislators are more concerned about the budget at the present time. SCA will be heard in the Senate Constitutional Amendment Committee on June 11, 2003. Kent spoke in favor of SCA 8 and requested that the Senator take the time to review this important piece of legislation. He also asked that the office respond by letter following the Senator's review of SCA 8. Kent will contact Senator Hollingsworth's office in response to information he receives in the letter. If Senator Hollingsworth is supportive, he will call to thank him for that support. If he is opposed to SCA 8, Kent will request the Senator to reconsider.

E-link Advocacy Request

We are asking all e-link members to call their U.S. Senators to support a critically important piece of legislation, S. 1019, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. S. 1019 is already on the Senate calendar and scheduled for a vote in the very near future.

S. 1019 provides that any person who injures or kills a child in utero during the commission of an already defined federal crime (including military law) would be guilty of two separate offenses -- harm to the mother and harm to the child. Abortions are excluded. Twenty-six states already have laws that recognize unborn children as crime victims. California is one of those states.

Please call Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and ask them to "vote in favor of S. 1019 and to oppose all substitute amendments."

Senator Feinstien's DC office phone number is 202-224-3841.

Senator Boxer's DC office phone number is 202-224-3553.

For more infomation on S. 1019, you may want to visit the National Committee for a Human Life Amendment web site. Click the logo or address below.

http://nchla.org/action/5aa22.PDF

Watch for a new OSM e-link bulletin around June 17, 2003

Article or Statement for Bulletin #6

In lieu of an article in bulletin #6, we are going to highlight a program of the Office for Social Ministry called Life Options. Very simply, Life Options establishes a formal link between each parish in the Diocese and the pregnancy care center closest to that individual parish. The parish designates a Life Options coordinator who is responsible for keeping the relationship between the two real and vibrant. One hoped for result of the program will be to facilitate tours for all youth ages 13 to 18 (others are welcomed as well) through the pregnancy care centers. We want our youth community to experience the warmth and professionalism of the centers and to meet center staff and volunteers. When a crisis pregnancy arises within a young person's circle of friends or family, we hope that the first thought he or she would have would be to remember that center and then recommend it to those in need. See below.

Click on the brochure cover to the left or go to the link below brochure.

http://www.osmelink.org/messages/060403%20Life%20Options%20Brochure.htm Please keep Life Options in your prayers over the coming months, as we still have many parish assignments to make.