Roots and Branches: A JVC Northwest Community Newsletter

April 6, 2023

Our Seattle Benefit is ONE MONTH Away!

For the Four: A Celebration of our Core Values is our largest gathering and fundraiser of the year. All are welcome to join us in support of our JV and JV EnCorps programs at Seattle University on May 6. Please register by April 20.

Cost to attend: $95 ($55 for FJVs who served in the last ten years)

SUPPORT FROM AFAR

Help Inspire the Next Generation of JVs

Our next application deadline to join the '23-24 JV AmeriCorps cohort is April 18. Can you can help us inspire the next generation of JVs? Use any of the graphics in this folder to share on your social media pages, with your alma mater, local church, or other community center. Add what JVC Northwest means to you and why you'd recommend others consider joining this movement for social and ecological justice.

Virtual Retreat

Value Renewal: Then and Now

Join us for our virtual Spring retreat! As former JVs and current JVEs, our lives are shaped quite differently than they were years ago. The ways we live into our values are different too. This will be an occasion to review all four JVC Northwest values and align them with the current movements of our hearts.

Date: Sunday, April 30

Time: 10am-1pm PT / 1-4pm ET.

Location: Zoom

Duration: 3 hours

We will be joined by Jack Kennedy, who is a Spiritual Director, former Jesuit, and former JVC Northwest staff member. Register here.

Community Building

Ruined Readers Registration

The next round of Ruined Readers Book Club is starting! Our April-June selection is Learning to Pray: A Guide for Everyone by James Martin, SJ. Fr. Martin is known for his ability to make Ignatian spirituality accessible to all. He is a strong advocate for LGBTQ rights within the Catholic Church and is editor for Outreach, an LGBTQ Catholic ministry.

This June, our nationwide Ruined Readers community will come together for a virtual book discussion with Fr. Martin. All are welcome to this special online event! More details TBA.

Click here to join a book club.

Relationship Building

Become a JV Mentor

Want to connect with and show support to JVs in a meaningful way? We are looking for members of our community who would like to be a one-on-one mentor with a JV during the '23-24 service year.

To learn more about these opportunities and to sign up, click here.

Call for Submissions

Crossroads for JVC Northwest Magazine

Where has your journey led you since your JV or JV EnCorps year? Have you had a reunion recently with your community mates? Have you reached a new milestone in your life?

Send your 2-4 sentence life updates and FJV encounters (along with a photo if you have one) to pgerigscott@jvcnorthwest.org

with the subject line "Crossroads" to be included in the Crossroads section of our 2023 JVC Northwest Magazine coming this fall.

Portland JVE, Kitty Custer, Reflects on Service Next Door

January 2022, I began volunteer baby care 3-4 days a week for Harper Hazel Wheeler Cole. Harper was born two months early in September 2021. My service allows her parents to be employed while not struggling to pay for childcare. And, it is fun and fulfilling for me to be around young people, their baby, Harper, and her Grandmother, Judy. Harper has been the focus of my time and attention most of this year. I’m relearning baby songs and am on the lookout for Little Free Library books that intrigue her.

Harper’s presence in my life helped me realize my need to contribute and be of service after my husband Phil died. When I returned to Portland, I wondered how I could serve while also seeking community. Little did I know that I would find both right next door! The gift of family upstairs gives me meaning and purpose. The Reed College campus and the Rhododendron Garden make “strollering” fun. We watch leaf blowers make the colorful leaves dance, notice the movement of squirrels and crows. We feed the four goats that live a few blocks away. Joy, service, community, and purpose!

Visit jvencorps.org to learn more about continuing the Ignatian journey!

If you are curious about starting a JV EnCorps group in your area, please contact Karen at kbeal@jvcnorthwest.org. We are now open to adult members of all ages!

Vatican formally repudiates 'Doctrine of Discovery' used to justify colonization

On March 30 the Vatican formally repudiated the "Doctrine of Discovery," officially declaring that a historic policy used to justify colonial exploitation is "not part of the teaching of the Catholic Church." Read more about this important step of the Catholic Church toward reconciliation and healing with Indigenous communities.

Got an opportunity to share? Send it to Communications and Engagement Manager Phil Gerigscott at pgerigscott@jvcnorthwest.org.

Job Opportunity

Operations & Development Manager

Catholic Climate Covenant

Part-time, remote

Apply here

Job Opportunity

Various positions, Refugee Assistance and Immigration Services (RAIS)

Catholic Social Services

Anchorage, AK

Apply here

Financial Planning Opportunity

Pro Bono Day at Johnson Bixby

Saturday, May 20 from 9am-4pm

275 West Third Street, Suite 600

Vancouver, WA 98660

Do you have questions about your personal finances? Former JVC Northwest staff Zach Reuter and his colleagues at Johnson Bixby are hosting a pro bono day as part of their 40th anniversary. Come prepared with your top 2-3 questions. Slots will be 20 minutes on a first come, first served basis.

Job Opportunities

Program Manager for Community Partnership, Program Manager for Service and Justice

University of Portland Moreau Center for Service and Justice

Portland, OR

Apply Here

Survey for Boise FJVs

Serve Idaho, is working to develop an Idaho AmeriCorps Alumni Chapter. If you're a JV/AmeriCorps Alum who served in Boise, please help in informing and designing what their Idaho AmeriCorps Alumni chapter will look like by taking this survey.

Online Retreat Opportunity

Inner Peace in Divine Love:

April 16-May 21

SEEL Portland

Summer sessions also available.

Community and Spiritual Growth

Contemplative Leaders in Action (CLA) is forming ten new cohorts for CLA 2023-2025. The application portals are live: Baltimore, Boston, Detroit, New York, North Carolina (Charlotte & Hybrid) Philadelphia, Seattle, Washington, DC, and Virtual! Denver coming soon!

CLA is an Ignatian spirituality and leadership program for young adults (24 to 39,) where you can deepen your faith through the practice of Ignatian spirituality and develop your gifts as a discerning leader, all while being a part of a welcoming and inclusive community of your peers.

Find more opportunities on our website: jvcnorthwest.org/community-resources/

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We acknowledge and honor the Clackamas People as the traditional inhabitants of the land upon which our office resides and this newsletter is published. We pay respect to Elders both past and present. We are committed to deepening our knowledge and perspectives of this land's history as the first step toward a future of justice and understanding. To learn more about the history of where you live, visit Native-Land.ca.