St. Mary's Parishioners are invited to attend Mass and Social gathering in Long Prarie.
We have the same hopes and fears of other residends in the area.
As a Church we care for those in our Community.
During one of the Food Drives, St. Mary's Parish collects bags of groceries for the Food Shelf in Alexandria. 
A Challenge sent out by Pope Paul VI. 
The Peace Pole is 'planted'.
Fr. Steve blesses the Peace Pole which was donated by the School Sisters of Notre Dame. 
Our Transportation to 'work' each morning
Members of St. Marys travel to San Lucas Mission to spend 10 days 'experiencing' the lives of the people that live there. |
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Who We ArePhilosophy: Aware of the gospel imperative to "Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself", which requires concern for all human beings, the people of the Church of St. Mary believe that the practice of social justice and charity are integral to our life as Catholic Christians. Practicing charity and promoting social justice are responsibilities of our faith community. Mission: The mission of the Committee for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC), is to serve as a catlyst to empower our parish as the People of God to fulfill Jesus' teachings of love, justice, freedom and peace by continually responding in an organized way to societal and individual human needs, at both the local and global level. Purpose: The JPIC Committee will strive to assist the parish community to understand and act on Catholic Social Teaching. This will be achieved by identifying, supporting, and training leaders who will organize people and activities around four specific, complementary ministries.
The common theme that brings together these four main areas of social concerns is regular formation and reflection on Catholic social teachings (theological reflection). Catholic ThemesThemes of Catholic Social Teaching Life and Dignity of the Human Person The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. This belief is the foundation of all the principles of our social teaching. In our society, human life is under direct attack from abortion and euthanasia. The value of human life is being threatened by cloning, embryonic stem cell research, and the use of the death penalty. The intentional targeting of civilians in war or terrorist attacks is always wrong. Catholic teaching also calls on us to work to avoid war. Nations must protect the right to life by finding increasingly effective ways to prevent conflicts and resolve them by peaceful means. We believe that every person is precious, that people are more important than things, and that the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person.
Call to Family, Community, and Participation The person is not only sacred but also social. How we organize our society—in economics and politics, in law and policy—directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community. Marriage and the family are the central social institutions that must be supported and strengthened, not undermined. We believe people have a right and a duty to participate in society, seeking together the common good and well-being of all, especially the poor and vulnerable.
Rights and Responsibilities The Catholic tradition teaches that human dignity can be protected and a healthy community can be achieved only if human rights are protected and responsibilities are met. Therefore, every person has a fundamental right to life and a right to those things required for human decency. Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities--to one another, to our families, and to the larger society.
Option for the Poor and Vulnerable A basic moral test is how our most vulnerable members are faring. In a society marred by deepening divisions between rich and poor, our tradition recalls the story of the Last Judgment (Mt 25:31-46) and instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first.
The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers The economy must serve people, not the other way around. Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing participation in God’s creation. If the dignity of work is to be protected, then the basic rights of workers must be respected--the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to the organization and joining of unions, to private property, and to economic initiative.
Solidarity We are one human family whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they may be. Loving our neighbor has global dimensions in a shrinking world. At the core of the virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace. Pope Paul VI taught that “if you want peace, work for justice.”1 The Gospel calls us to be peacemakers. Our love for all our sisters and brothers demands that we promote peace in a world surrounded by violence and conflict.
Care for God’s Creation We show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation. Care for the earth is not just an Earth Day slogan, it is a requirement of our faith. We are called to protect people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of God’s creation. This environmental challenge has fundamental moral and ethical dimensions that cannot be ignored.
This summary should only be a starting point for those interested in Catholic social teaching. A full understanding can only be achieved by reading the papal, conciliar, and episcopal documents that make up this rich tradition. For a copy of the complete text of Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions (No. 5-281) and other social teaching documents, call 800-235-8722.
Copyright 2005, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Washington, D.C. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright holder.
Publication No. 5-315 USCCB Publishing Washington, D.C. ISBN 1-57455-315-1
1 Paul VI, For the Celebration of the Day Of Peace (Rome: January 1, 1972).
Text is drawn from Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions (Washington, DC: USCCB, 1998) and Faithful Citizenship: A Catholic Call to Political Responsibility (Washington, DC: USCCB, 2003).
USCCB Permissions Fair TradeThe World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO), formerly the International Fair Trade Association, was created in 1989 and is a global association of 324 organizations in over 60 countries[1]. Members are fair trade producer cooperatives and associations, export marketing companies, importers, retailers, national and regional fair trade networks and Fair Trade Support Organizations. WFTO's mission is to improve the livelihoods and well being of disadvantaged producers by linking and promoting Fair Trade Organizations, and speaking out for greater justice in world trade. WFTO's core fields of activities are:
In 2004 WFTO launched a fair trade certification. The FTO Mark identifies registered Fair Trade Organizations worldwide (as opposed to products in the case of FLO International and Fairtrade mark) and guarantees that standards are being implemented regarding working conditions, wages, child labor and the environment. These standards are verified by self-assessment, mutual reviews and external verification. The FTO Mark is available to all WFTO members who meet the requirements of the WFTO Standards and Monitoring System and so far over 150 organizations have registered.
What can we do? St. Mary's will try to utilize products from the Fair Trade, if possible and will also be looking into selling some of them at fundraisers such as Silent Auctions. If you are interested in purchasing products, contact some of the local partners listed below: Catholic Relief Services: http://www.crsfairtrade.org/ Coffee: Equal Exchange: http://interfaith.equalexchange.com Chocolate: SERRV : http://www.crsfairtrade.org/chocolate Craft Partners: SERRV: http://www.crsfairtrade.org/crafts Peace PoleHave you seen it? Our Peace Pole is a four sided pole which has the word “Peace” carved/engraved into each of the four sides in eight different languages. This will be a gift from the School Sisters of Notre Dame. Initially, it will have English, Arabic, Spanish and Hebrew. The next four languages chosen to reflect the peace message: Korean, Norwegian, Swahili (Kenya & Tanzania) and Hebrew.
Fr. Steve blessing the Peace Pole in September 2010.
Guatemala Trip
“Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” -Matthew 25:40- Check out our August 2011 Mission Trip Blog - http://guatemalamissionstmarys.blogspot.com/
What is your mission? How about a trip to Guatemala that touches lives? LEARN and SERVE Come learn about cultures, global realities, and the daily lives of the poor. Give the gift of your presence and compassion and in return, receive the gift of insight. Be a part of making God’s love visible Take the time to experience and truly appreciate the EIGHT BEATITUDES as you interact and work with the poor in San Lucas. A MINISTRY of PRESENCE and A MINISTRY of DOING There is a grossly uneven distribution of global wealth, and this provides an excellent opportunity for those who have been blessed with relative prosperity to reach out to those who are less fortunate. The journey of working with the poor will make lasting changes in their lives, and cause you to reflect and grow spiritually in life-giving ways. As you grow in your spiritual life through your interactions with the poor, you will witness God’s love. These interactions, relationships, and experiences gives your companions (the poor), the strength to hope, as they live from one day to the next. By doing missionary work, you will have a better understanding of the meaning of Christ’s message: “Love your neighbor as yourself” San Lucas Mission information: www.sanlucasmission.org/groups_volunteer.php Meeting MinutesChurch of St. Mary Committee for Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation December 9, 2010 5:30-7:00 PM
Present: Fr. Steve Binsfeld, Roger Johnson, Rick Wagner, Gloria Deick, Rita Von Holtum, Kathleen Lingor.
Abscent: Bruce Becker, Joe Beste, Lori McClintock (Lori has expressed wishes to participate in JPIC committee events surrounding ‘respect life’ and specifically the abortion issue so will be present when we address presentations and activities surrounding that issue).
November minutes: Reviewed, no corrections or changes.
December agenda: Approved.
Love, Inc.: Tammy Boushek is St, Mary’s contact person (760-5405). Rick will contact her and invite her to attend one of our upcoming meetings. Fr. Steve mentioned that a volunteer is needed to be a parish liason to bring back up to date information regarding Love Inc.
Budget: We need to submit our proposed budget for fiscal 2011-2012 by early March. Using our personal expenditure data, each committee member will submit dollar amounts they have contributed to JPIC activities in the past and present them to Kathleen by February 1st. She will put together a proposed budget for committee adjustment and tweaking at the February meeting. The final draft will be submitted to Jim Boyle after the February meeting. Our broad current proposal is $1500/annually. 0+ Mission Trip Outline: Rita provided a schedule for informational meetings (starting January 8-9th) for the last three Sundays in January as well as information about what people can expect on such a trip. She has requested help in handling the financial end of the trip.
Committee education: No specific plans were discussed at this meeting however several comments supported the necessity to have a specific time set aside from meetings to inform ourselves about issues that we are planning to present to the parish. We can put this on the agenda for January.
Quarterly plan: The summary and table of 2011 first quarter events that came out of the December 4th meeting was reviewed. Pursuing the purchase of a TV monitor/computer set up for the purpose of education was discussed. Fr. and Roger stated many church committee’s are having the same discussion. Fr. said the funding is very tight and that is our inhibiting factor. He is in agreement that we can pursue gathering information about the cost of such a system. Roger suggested that in gathering that info we should also look at the purchase of a projector that can be shown on a wall painted with special paint. The table of weekly publication of JPIC topics in the bulletin was reviewed. Joan reminds us that there may not always be room so we need to be flexible; it will depend on the season of the church year as to whether there is space available.
Christian/Muslim presentation: Kathleen will contact Dr. Terrence Nichols and Dr. Adil Ozdemir after Fr. Steve and Rita provide feedback on those who critique these presentations. A proposed date would be Tuesday, April 5th. If we proceed with this, Gloria and Rita will contact ATCC Shari Maloney about assisting in getting the word out on the presentation. Also, if/when we proceed with scheduling this event and in an effort to get more parishioners involved, we will ‘advertise’ in the bulletin for a group of individuals to organize and provide a snack/refreshment either at an intermission or at the end of the presentation.
Peace Pole: We chose 4 additional languages to reflect the peace message: Korean, Norwegian, Swahili (Kenya & Tanzania) and Hebrew. Rita will take care of getting this ordered.
Bulletin: With the likelihood of not being able to consistently have space in the bulletin, there was a discussion about asking those that are in charge of the bulletin to meet and discuss the effectiveness of the layout of the current bulletin format….looking at how the space is allocated now and is there room to modify some of the lengthier pieces to allow for others. Kathleen shared a bulletin from Bemidji where key committees had boxed areas with logos to get their word out…it presents a very effective way to communicate and educate.
Other: Fr. Steve emphasized the need for a “volunteer coordinator” in the parish. Lack of communications between the various committees as well as the difficulties with coordinating activites between these committees and the school is less than good. We are to give some thought to how we as a committee can do our part to enhance communication from JPIC to the other key committees.
National Migration Week…January 2-8: We will use last years bulletin board and update it with the 2011 poster from USCCB and their bulletin insert. Copies of our Prayer for the Immigrant will be available for parishioners to take. Gloria and Rita will assure that it gets put up during the Christmas/New Year week.
MEETING DATE CHANGE: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12TH, 5:30 PM….Fr. Steve can come on Wednesday’s.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathleen Lingor
November 11, 2010 …..5:30-6:45 PM
Present: Gloria Deick, Sr. Rita VonHoltum, Rick Wagner, Bruce Becker, Joe Beste, Kathleen Lingor; guests Shelby and Steve____________; Abscent: Fr. Steve Binsfeld, Lori McClintock
Review of October 2010 minutes: Approved as written.
Today’s agenda approval: Agenda was approved however it is noted that it is likely that we will not address all the items on the agenda depending on the length of the presentation on Fair Trade by our guests Shelby and Steve.
Fair Trade Presentation: Shelby provided a thorough presentation on Fair Trade, how it can positively impact our brothers and sisters living in 3rd world countries and living in poverty. She shared many informational documents about the program as well as how we as a committee and parish could begin using items such as coffee, in particular, as well as chocolate and various craft items. Copies of these documents were provided to each committee member. There is a set filed with these minutes. Shelby’s suggestion was to start small, for example, order and use the coffee for all parish functions. If at a later date we wanted to expand what we make available to parishioners, that can easily be done. A suggestion was put forth about the possibility of having a ‘booth’ at our block party, sponsored by JPIC, where we could display a selection of products available from Fair Trade and either sell the products or take orders for purchasing.
Parishioners interested in JPIC from Time and Talent survey: Rick reported that there were two parishioners who are interested in joining our committee. He will contact these people and set up a one on one visit with each of them.
Mission Trip to Guatemala meeting: Rita has done some more work on this. She provided us with an informational sheet on group volunteering at the San Lucas Mission (www.sanlucasmission.org/groups_volunteer.php). She reports that it’s a matter of just setting a date and let the mission tour group leader know (someone Rita has gone on many other mission trips with) and then do the informational meetings here at the parish. All the logistical necessities will be provided on lists from this mission planner. We will discuss this more specifically at our next meeting.
Immigration Awareness Series Update: The October 27th brown bag immigration presentation was attended by about 25 people….discussion and participation was very good. The materials provided by Rita were excellent. Our last presentation will be November 17th. John Keller, immigration attorney from St. Paul will be a guest speaker.
Other: There was discussion about what dollars we have available from the parish relative to funding future events. Jim Boyle happened to be in the office and was asked that question. He reported that there are funds available to sponsor one or two events in the remainder of the current fiscal year (ends June 30, 2011). There was more discussion about sponsoring the two St. Thomas profs to come and present on “Can Catholics and Muslims get along?” Mr. Boyle wholeheartedly supported having them come. The cost would be $250. Also, if we wanted to invite a community audience for the presentation, Professor Nichols said that they could modify it to Christian/Muslim. We will discuss this at our December meeting. Mr. Boyle did say that we should let him know as soon as possible. Also, we need to let him know what funds we may be requesting for the coming two years (July 1, 2011 through June 30, 3013) by no later that January.
We did not address items 8 (JPIC Strategic Plan) and item 10 (Social Ministry Retreat Planning).
Next meeting will be Thursday, December 9th at 5:30 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathleen Lingor
Next meeting: August 12, 2010.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathleen Lingor
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The JPIC Committee at St. Mary's strives to keep these principles as the cornerstone for all efforts. The Church’s social teaching is a rich treasure of wisdom about building a just society and living lives of holiness amidst the challenges of modern society. Modern Catholic social teaching has been articulated through a tradition of papal, conciliar, and episcopal documents. The depth and richness of this tradition can be understood best through a direct reading of these documents. In these brief reflections, we highlight several of the key themes that are at the heart of our Catholic social tradition.