MISSION STATEMENT of ST. BARTHOLOMEW
PEACE AND JUSTICE MINISTRY
The Peace and Justice Ministry recognizes the Church as the Body of Christ.
  • The goal of Peace and Justice Ministry is to provide leadership to St. Bartholomew parishioners to help them witness the Good News of Jesus Christ.
  • Through education, prayer, reflection and direct communication, it helps parishioners to be effective in communities at local, national, and international levels, thereby enabling them to achieve meaningful and effective social action.
February 2019 Upcoming Events and Opportunities
MEETING SCHEDULE AND PUBLICATION SCHEDULE
  • Peace and Justice Meetings are the third Wednesday of each month, and as always all are welcome to attend. We meet in the lower level at St. Bartholomew.
  • Peace and Justice Newsletter will publish monthly, reflecting ministry news and reports from the meetings and presentations.
March 9 Blood Drive
March Fair Trade Sales March 16 and 17
  • coffee, tea, chocolate
  • after all four Masses
  • benefits after-school tutoring at St. Anne Parish, teacher salaries and snacks.
March 20 Peace & Justice general and team meetings 7 PM church lower level
  • Meetings are scheduled for Third Wednesday of the month
  • Teams: Programming, Communications, Finance and Grants
  • All are welcome to attend and become involved!
Voter Registration after all Masses March 30-31
Sundays: Weekly Hot Meal Site 4 - 6 pm, Meal Site Teams
Sundays: Women's Jail Ministry visits 1 - 3 pm, classes 6 - 8 pm
Rights and Responsibilities by Donna Keogh
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 . “You are holy, for you are God’s temple and God dwells in you.” 1 Corinthians 3:16
The person is not only sacred but also social. “The more we strive to secure a common good corresponding to the real needs of our neighbors, the more effectively we love them” Pope Benedict XVI “Caritas in Veritate.” 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.

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. “As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s grace.” 1 Peter 4:10.

This month we focus on the life-saving gift of blood. As Catholic Christians we have a responsibility to provide for others as we are able. The upcoming Blood Drive allows us the opportunity to literally save a life.
Ministry Spotlight on the Blood Drive by Greg Scherschel
From the American Red Cross publication, Be A Hero:
" Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood. When a patient receives blood, it was given in advance by a generous donor. Despite the constant need, for the past four years, new and returning Red Cross blood donors declined by about 80,000 each year.
Hospitals and patients are in constant need of blood donors. Every day, blood donations help patients of all ages: accident and burn victims, heart surgery and organ transplant patients, and those battling cancer. The list goes on. Giving blood means giving hope and courage to patients anxiously awaiting the chance to live healthy, full lives."  

The personal testimony of longtime blood donor and blood drive organizer Greg Schershel follows, and provides an inspirational message and motivation for considering this very personal and precious gift of life.

"I have been donating blood for at least the past 45 years, providing a total of over 15 gallons, a pint at a time. Each pint has the potential of saving four lives, so I feel I have provided significantly to the health and well-being of the people of central and southern Indiana and northern Kentucky over that time.

I started working the Blood Drive with P&J when Pat Conard, of blessed memory, asked me to take it on since I was such a long-time donor myself. That was probably 10, maybe 15 years ago. Over that time we have alternated periodically between the American Red Cross and the Central Indiana Blood Center. 

We try to have a blood drive twice a year. We used to have it on Sunday morning but it was always a logistical problem. Last fall we changed to a Saturday morning, and our next drive will also be on a Saturday, March 9, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the school cafeteria. After struggling on Sunday drives to get enough people through to make it worth while, our first Saturday drive blew the top off, to the point we ran out of supplies and had to turn people away.

The Knights of Columbus has started helping by providing volunteers for the drives, but we can always use additional assistance. Contact Greg Scherschel, 812-379-2845 if you can assist.

Blood is something every person has to have, and there is always a shortage of all blood types. Any person at least 16 years old, and weighing at least 110 pounds, is eligible to donate. Donations can be made every 56 days."

You can register for the March 9 Blood Drive at:
Blood Drive By The Numbers
The Red Cross provides about 40% of our nation’s blood and blood components all from generous donors. But supply cannot always meet demand because only about 10% of eligible people donate blood yearly.
Consider these facts about blood needs:
          
  • Approximately 36,000 units of red blood cells are needed every day in the U.S.
  • Nearly 7,000 units of platelets and 10,000 units of plasma are needed daily in the U.S.
  • Nearly 21 million blood components are transfused each year in the U.S.
  • The average red blood transfusion is approximately 3 pints.
  • The blood type most often requested by hospitals is type O.
  • A single car accident victim can require as many as 100 pints of blood.
  • Sickle cell disease affects 90,000 to 100,000 people in the U.S. About 1,000 babies are born with the disease each year and sickle cell patients can require blood transfusions throughout their lives.
  • About 1.7 million people are expected to be diagnosed with cancer in one year. Many of them will need blood, sometimes daily, during their chemotherapy treatment.
  • Red blood cells must be used within 42 days or less.
  • Platelets must be used within just 5 days.

Ministry Reports
Four St. Anne Parish Youth attend World Youth Day with Pope Francis
The Peace and Justice Ministry contributed $2,000 which allowed Pere Gelin to take four St. Anne Parish Youth to Panama to attend World Youth Day January 22-27.

Roland wrote to say "Pere Gelin and four youth from St. Anne Parish were currently in Panama attending World Youth Day, January 22-27. Pope Francis celebrated a liturgy yesterday with 700,000 youth from all over the world in attendance. As mentioned before, Pere Gelin has a high interest in and gift for youth ministry, and having representation from St. Anne Parish was a high priority for him. None of the youth had ever traveled outside of Haiti, so it must have been thrilling for them to travel to Panama and experience the event with so many other youth from around the world. Thank you so much for your generosity."
Friends of Haiti News

Five sponsored students graduated from University/Technical School in 2018. Degrees were awarded in Engineering, Nursing, Building Construction, Agronomy, and Cosmetology.
 
Pere Gelin is recovering from surgery from a broken arm following a vehicular accident in late December when his truck was struck by an oncoming dump truck. The driver of the truck fled the scene.
 
Lenten cartons will be distributed on Ash Wednesday and the 1st Sunday of Lent. Proceeds benefit the 2 Nutrition Centers in Limonade and Jede. The nutrition center was the 1st program to be supported by St. Bartholomew.
 
SOIL is working with 48 households that have in-home sanitation to gradually transition their existing FOH subsidized toilets to the clients paying for the service which will allow SOIL funds to support new/additional households in the Limonade community.
Ecumenical Assembly/Love Chapel News

Mission: Christ Love in Action
Vision: To Support and Strengthen those in need through Christ’s love
Do You Ever Wonder How Your Time, Talent and Tithe Supports one of our Oldest Ministries?
 
Month of January 2019
Number of Households Served – Food Pantry                    1,057
Estimated Number of Individuals Served – Food Pantry     3,700
Total Number of Individuals Served – Brighter Days              78
Average Number Served Daily at Brighter Days                      30.5
Number of Individuals Receiving financial Assistance             61
Number of New Volunteers                                                    14
 
Volunteering for 1 Hour = $20.00 of Administrative Costs
Contact: Kathy Thompson @ volunteer@columbuslovechapel.com
V olunteer Orientation:
2 nd & 4 th Monday of the Month 12:30 p.m. -1:45 p.m.
1 St Thursday of the Month 5:30 p.m. – 6:45 p.m.
812-372-9421
We Are The Peace & Justice Ministry
  • Chairperson Donna Keogh
  • Programming Team: Steve Audretch
  • Grants & Finance Team: David Harpenau
  • Communications Team: Jan Banister
  • Blood Drive: Greg Scherschel, coordinator
  • Next drive Spring 2019
  • Voter Registration: Steve Audretch coordinator
  • Next drive Spring 2019
  • Ecumenical Assembly: Rebecca Reeck
  • Pro-Life: Kelley Snoddy
  • Giving Tree: Theresa Westerfeld, coordinator
  • Meal Site: Susan Chandler,
  • Sundays 4-6 PM
  • Friends of Haiti: Judy Harpenau, liaison
  • Bread for the World Offering of Letters: Rachel Rice coordinator
  • Next campaign April/May 2019.
  • Bread for the World, Fr. Marty Peter, Convener
  • Second Tuesdays 7 PM at First Presbyterian Church
  • Indiana Abolition Coalition: Donna Keogh, liaison
  • St. Vincent de Paul: David and Hilary Baker, liaisons
  • Women's Jail Ministry: Sevy Badgley, liasion
  • Family Self Sufficiency: Jan Banister coordinator, December 14, 2019
St. Bartholomew Hot Meal Site
There is a hot meal provided in our community through Ecumenical Assembly each evening. On Sunday evenings the meal site is Saint Bartholomew School cafeteria.
The meal site coordinator for our parish, Susan Chandler, is hopeful that more teams and individuals will consider assisting with meals. Info here:
Sun 5pm-6pm
  • SAINT BARTHOLOMEW CATHOLIC CHURCH
Mon 5pm-6pm
  • FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Mon 5pm-6pm
  • HOPE MORAVIAN CHURCH
Tues 5pm-6pm
  • LOVE CHAPEL FOOD PANTRY
Wed 5pm-6pm
  • LOVE CHAPEL FOOD PANTRY
Thurs 4:30pm-5pm
  • SALVATION ARMY
Fri 5pm-6pm
  • FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
4th Fri 6pm-7pm
  • COLUMBUS BAPTIST CHURCH
Sat 4pm-5pm (excluding the 3rd Sat)
  • FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH
2nd Sat 11:30am-12:30pm
  • OGILVILLE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
3rd Sat 4pm-5pm
  • SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH