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Saint James Cathedral
SOCIAL Outreach
& Advocacy
MID-July 2020
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Visit our outreach website
here
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A week from this Saturday is July 25, the Feast of St. James. Traditionally, more than 100,000 pilgrims walk the ancient camino to the Spanish town where the relics of St. James have been venerated for centuries.
As we journey closer to July 25, why not pray in these words, based on the prayer of Pope John Paul II when he visited Santiago de Compostela in the Holy Year 1989? If you would like to make this a novena of prayer in preparation for the feast on July 25, begin praying this prayer on July 16.
St. James!
We come to you in eager pilgrimage.
We come as part of a great throng of pilgrims
who through the centuries have come to this place,
where you are pilgrim and host, apostle and patron.
We come to you today
because we are on a common journey.
Place yourself, patron of pilgrims,
at the head of our pilgrimage.
Teach us, apostle and friend of the Lord,
the WAY which leads to him.
Open us, preacher of the Gospel,
to the TRUTH you learned from your Master's lips.
Give us, witness of the faith,
the strength always to love the LIFE Christ gives.
We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
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Prayer Vigil for Racial Justice
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Faith & Racial Equity:
Exploring Power & Privilege
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Mondays, beginining August 3, 6:30pm-9pm,
"We can disagree and still love each other, unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist."
- James Baldwin
The St. James Cathedral Life, Peace, and Justice Commission invites you to participate in Faith & Racial Equity: Exploring Power & Privilege. This module awakens groups to the economic systems, public policies, cultural norms, and hidden biases that empower some and oppress others. The series will introduce participants to a framework for understanding and recognizing racial disparities in power and privilege, and will then dive into specific issues, including affirmative action, the school-to-prison pipeline, the criminal justice system, and powerful biases in media representation.
Eight 2.5-hour sessions will include prayer, dialogue, active listening, and relationship-building. There will also be an immersion experience and a retreat to build community and Scriptural grounding. Reading materials cost approximately $40. Scholarships available.
For information, registration, and financial assistance, email Patrick Barredo, director of social outreach & advocacy, or call 206-619-2879.
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Discussion on
Seattle in Black and White
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"Seattle needs this book. Part memoir, part history, it tells the remarkable story of the activists who pierced the veil of complacency in the early 1960s and forced the city to begin dismantling its systems of segregation."
- James N. Gregory, author of
The Southern Diaspora: How the Great Migrations of Black and White Southerners Transformed America
The July reading recommendation,
Seattle in Black and White
by Joan Singler and others, will be the focus of a virtual book discussion on Tuesday, August 11, 7pm-8:30pm via Zoom. Sr. Judy Ryan will host this in-depth examination of Seattle's own racialized history. This is a story that must be continually told.
Copies can be ordered through
Amazon or independent booksellers.
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Recommended Articles & Webinar
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HELP NEEDED! Cooks and late night servers at Operation: Nightwatch
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St. James Cathedral sponsors three teams to cook and or serve meals at
Operation: Nightwatch
, which
reduces the impact of poverty and homelessness, in keeping with Jesus' teaching to love our neighbors.
One team is responsible for the 1
st Tuesdays of the month, with cooks needed from
6.30p
m to 9pm
and servers needed 8.30pm to 10pm.
The 2
nd Sunday team is looking for s
ervers from 8.30pm to 10pm.
Social distancing and masks are required, and volunteers will work in teams of 4-5 people.
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Families Growing Together
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World Day Against Human Trafficking
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Sign the letter to Attorney General Barr to Protect Our Children from online trafficking and sexual exploitation.
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Take Action to Stop Federal Executions
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The federal government attempted to restart the practice of executions for the first time in 17 years. Three executions were scheduled to take place over a five-day span beginning July 13 with a fourth to follow at the end of August.
Please visit the Catholic Mobilizing Network for opportunities to educate, advocate, and pray for a halt to the restart in federal executions.
*
Archbishop Paul Coakley, Chair of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, issued a statement calling on the Trump Administration to put a stop to the forthcoming federal executions. Click here to read his statement.
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Tell the U.S. Senate:
Please Protect DACA Recipients
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The U.S Supreme Court (SCOTUS) has ruled on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. While SCOTUS blocked the administration's attempt to end DACA, the administration can still attempt to end DACA at a later date. As a result, DACA immigrant youth are safe for now, but could be at risk for deportation in the future. We must not allow this to happen.
As Catholics, we affirm the inherent dignity of every person. The U.S. Catholic Bishops urge you to express solidarity with Dreamers and ask you to contact your senators requesting that they support the bipartisan DREAM Act of 2019 and encourage the Senate to introduce a companion bill to H.R.6, the American Dream and Promise Act.
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Extend the Eviction Moratorium
Until March
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According to recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau, for the week of June 25 - 30, 12% of Washington renter households who responded were unable to pay rent in June. This translates into 247,959 households in Washington.
There is also a large discrepancy in Washington State between different racial groups' ability to pay upcoming rent. While 8% of white renter households couldn't pay rent, 42% of black renter households and 24% of Latinx renter households were unable to pay. This only compounds the disparities that Black and people of color households already experience in evictions and homelessness. We cannot sit by and just watch this happen.
Call on Governor Inslee and state lawmakers to extend the eviction moratorium through March 2021, because it will give the Legislature time to vote on a longer-term solution to housing stability during this era of COVID-19.
Click
here to send an email to lawmakers!
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Homelessness Funding Cannot Wait
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Next week, the U.S. Congress returns to Washington to decide whether or not to spend $11.5 billion in homelessness assistance, $100 billion in emergency rental assistance, and critical investments in housing vouchers.
There's no guarantee that Washington will act.
Please act now - even if you've already emailed Congress before
. The next few days are critical to the needs of people living on the streets. If we speak out together, we have the power to save lives and protect the most vulnerable.
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A Prayer of Soliarity
from Caritas Australia
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