MISSION STATEMENT of ST. BARTHOLOMEW
PEACE AND JUSTICE MINISTRY
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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.
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Congratulations to
Father Clem Davis,
2019 recipient of the Laws Award
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The Columbus Human Rights Commission each
year presents an award to honor a person in the community who has advocated for the rights of
others who face discriminatory barriers, or has
helped foster relationships and understanding
between people and groups.
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June 2019 Upcoming Events and Opportunities
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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 Good Shepherd Room at St. Bartholomew.
- Peace and Justice Newsletter will publish monthly, reflecting ministry news and reports from the meetings and presentations.
July Fair Trade Sales July 20 and 21
- coffee, tea, chocolate
- after all four Masses
- benefits after-school tutoring at St. Anne Parish, teacher salaries and snacks.
Hotter Than Haiti Benefit Bike Ride July 20
- 6:30 PM
- You can register online at Signmeup.com/HotterThanHaiti
- Sponsor support email hotterthanhaiti@stbirish.net
July 17 Peace & Justice general and team meetings 7 PM church Good Shepherd Room
- Meetings are scheduled for Third Wednesday of the month
- Teams: Programming, Communications, Finance and Grants
- All are welcome to attend and become involved!
Sundays Weekly Hot Meal Site 4 - 6 pm, Meal Site Teams
Sundays Women's Jail Ministry visits 1 - 3 pm, classes 6 - 8 pm
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Themes of Catholic Social Teachings by The United States Conference
of Catholic Bishops:
Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
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As a Catholic parish of newcomers and immigrants, Saint Bartholomew has been extended an opportunity and an obligation to investigate the root causes of poverty, malnutrition, health issues and lack of opportunity for our brothers and sisters in our sister parish in Limonad Haiti and its neighbors.
While many issues can be eased by works of charity, it is in lifting the ability of the Haitian people to raise their own food, participate in efforts for clean water and sanitation, and create their own commerce, that generations to come will be served. This month we highlight efforts to expand literacy, leading to increased human dignity.
"The Church's love for the poor . . . is a part of her constant tradition." This love is inspired by the Gospel of the Beatitudes, of the poverty of Jesus, and of his concern for the poor. . . . "Those who are oppressed by poverty are the object of a preferential love on the part of the Church which, since her origin and in spite of the failings of many of her members, has not ceased to work for their relief, defense, and liberation." (
Catechism of the Catholic Church
. . . , nos. 2444, 2448, quoting Centisimus annus, no. 57, and Libertatis conscientia, no. 68)
We are clearly directed to participate; please see how below.
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Ministry Spotlight on Alfa: Adult literacy for Limonade and surrounding rural areas, by Alfa Steering Committee
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In 2002, collaborating with the Creole Institute of Indiana University, Friends of Haiti launched an adult literacy class with a group of 40 market women in Limonade. With local support and annual funding from the Wylie Foundation, that class became a dynamic and ongoing grassroots effort in a population which is mainly illiterate.
The program is rooted in
Misyon Alfa
, the national literacy campaign organized by Ti Legliz* after the departure of Baby Doc. That campaign, with so many others, was crushed by ensuing military juntas. All literacy materials were destroyed and many instructors were tortured, killed, or “disappeared.” Our classes still use
Goute Sel*
, the original Creole workbook created for Misyon Alfa from the work of Paulo Friere, the Brazilian educator.
Goute Sel
is no longer available. It was because Alfa’s co-ordinator, Chancy Jacques, secretly retained an old copy that we have been able to reproduce it.
Alfa (from the Creole
Alfabetizasyon,
literacy) now has seven sites, 300-350 participants, and 13 teachers for 3 levels of literacy. Most entry level students have never held a pencil, have no concept of the Creole Alphabet, and are innumerate. Yet, beyond
li ekri
(reading and writing), the purpose of Alfa is also one of consciousness raising. It is unjust social conditions which cause illiteracy. Alfa classes can generate new ways of naming and acting in the world. It is no accident that Chancy is a human rights lawyer. He and his team are absolutely committed to Alfa, whose students work together on mathematics and simple business skills, civics, human rights, Haiti’s history, ecology, and community health.
After a year or two of our program, Chancy convinced us to initiate a food component to Alfa. We are working with communities which are at best malnourished. Families may not eat every day and their lives are beyond difficult. Our students walk long distances to reach class. The Wylie Foundation agreed to fund building small cooking facilities and provide utensils and help fund supplies of food. The students agreed to share marketing, food preparation, serving, and cleaning up. Coming to Alfa from the market or from the fields, everyone shared a meal before each class.
Following the deaths of its founders, the Wylie Foundation has been closed. However, we have a dedicated steering committee here in Columbus which remains determined to sustain Alfa. By cutting back the program to its bare bones, with the co-operation of the team on the ground, and by ingenuity and sheer hard work, Alfa has survived more than a year without Wylie. For now the food kitchens must remain closed, a dire problem in Haiti’s troubled times.
We have come to believe that literacy lies at the root of our human identity, that for every person it is a symbol of dignity and a means of control for how we will live. Without literacy, Haiti will not rise above her poverty, there will be no social justice, democracy and peace. As an Alfa student from Piste explained, “Before Alfa, we were blind because we were illiterate. Now we see that we do have a place in the world. And we have each other”.
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Last year’s Alfa walk celebrating literacy.
The banner reads, “literacy is the path to development - parishes of Limonad & Bwadlans”
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*Ti Legliz
, literally the little church – Haiti’s own Liberation Theology movement
*
Goute Sel,
a taste of salt, which has 2 interpretations: the biblical salt of the earth, and also the
Haitian tradition that a taste of salt will restore a half dead human (zonbi) to full consciousness.
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“
Before Alfa, we were blind
because we were illiterate.
Now we see that we do have
a place in the world.
And we have each other”.
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HOW CAN YOU HELP?
- Sponsor an Alfa student at any level (Annual cost per student, including food, is $197)
- Contribute to the Alfa food program at any level ($75 per week for each site)
- Give Alfa gift certificates at any level.
- Support the annual Polidor 5K
- (November 2 2019)
- Support the Hotter Than Haiti community Bike Ride (July 20, 2019)
- Follow us on social media.
- Contact Alfa at HaitiALFA@gmail.com
- Drop a check off at the parish office, or in the collection basket.
- Checks: St. Bartholomew, making sure that ALFA is designated in the memo line.
- We Thank you!
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BY THE NUMBERS:
From UNICEF
57%
of Haiti’s population is illiterate;
Haiti is one of few countries in which illiteracy has increased in the last decade;
Haitians spend an average of
2.8
years in school;
74%
of Haitian women have never been to school.
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Bread for the World's 2019 Offering
of Letters to Congress:
Better Nutrition, Better Tomorrow: SUCCESS!
St. Bartholomew joined with local and regional churches, offering our letters on May 25 and 26 before and after all Masses. Thank you!
Bread for the World’s annual Offering of Letters campaign engaged churches, campuses, and other faith communities in writing letters to Congress. Each year, for the focus of the campaign, we choose specific legislation or a legislative emphasis that can make a real difference to people struggling with hunger and poverty.
Letters from St. Bartholomew:
- Pence - 202
- Young - 180
- Braun - 162
- Total - 544
were gathered with those of other churches and taken to the local offices of these representatives by members of Bread for the World.
This effort far exceeded any previous year by over 40%. Thank you for your response!
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Arts for AIDS presents a
community book read:
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World.
By Tracy Kidder
Tracy Kidder, a Pulitzer Prize winning writer, relates the story of Dr. Paul Farmer, a doctor and anthropologist whose life’s work is providing access to quality health care for the world’s poorest communities. His journey began in Haiti. Farmer insists on confronting uncomfortable issues resulting from the inequities and injustices of our world, for it is the poor who are plagued by the resulting epidemics. By defying conventional attitudes in public health administration, he and his colleagues have transformed global practices and saved millions of lives.
Mountains Beyond Mountains
offers an opportunity for us all to consider and discuss profound issues related to human rights, politics, wealth distribution, and perhaps our own personal philosophy.
There will be several reading groups participating. Study guides will be available for those who prefer to read independently. On
Saturday, November 23, 10-11.30 am, we will all meet in the Red Room at BCPL
to discuss the book and share our responses.
This community book read leads into World AIDS Day on December 1.
Arts for AIDS raises awareness of HIV/AIDS, generates support for those affected by the global AIDS pandemic, and connects us all through artistic expression. On
December 5 we will screen the film,
Bending the Arc,
with more on the extraordinary story of Paul Farmer and his colleagues Dr Jim Yong Kim and Ophelia Dahl.
Read the book, see the film. Join us.
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Ecumenical Assembly News
Love Chapel Newsletter is a new monthly newsletter highlighting volunteers and upcoming events.
There will be the annual 5k R Seeds of Love Race benefiting Love Chapel, on Saturday, September 21
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We Are The Peace & Justice Ministry
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- Chairperson Donna Keogh
- Programming Team: Steve Audretch
- Grants & Finance Team: David Harpenau
- Communications Team: Jan Banister
- Blood Drive: Greg Scherschel, coordinator
- Next drive October 12 2019
- Voter Registration: Steve Audretch coordinator
- Next drive Fall 2019, mid September
- Ecumenical Assembly: Rebecca Reeck
- Pro-Life: Kelley Snoddy
- Giving Tree: Theresa Westerfeld, coordinator
- Meal Site: Susan Chandler,
- Sundays 4-6 PM
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- Friends of Haiti: Judy Harpenau, liaison
- Bread for the World Offering of Letters: Rachel Rice coordinator
- Next campaign April/May 2020.
- 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
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St. Bartholomew Hot Meal Site
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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:
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Sun 5pm-6pm
- SAINT BARTHOLOMEW CATHOLIC CHURCH
Mon 5pm-6pm
- FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Mon 5pm-6pm
Tues 5pm-6pm
Wed 5pm-6pm
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Thurs 4:30pm-5pm
Fri 5pm-6pm
- FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
4th Fri 6pm-7pm
Sat 4pm-5pm (excluding the 3rd Sat)
2nd Sat 11:30am-12:30pm
- OGILVILLE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
3rd Sat 4pm-5pm
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