JUSTICE JOTTINGS
December 2022
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MSJC EVENTS & OPPORTUNITIES |
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2023: MSJC's 25th Anniversary
As 2022 comes to a close, we here at the Marianist Social Justice Collaborative (MSJC) are preparing for a huge milestone. In 2023, we will celebrate our 25th anniversary! Our 25th Anniversary Planning Committee is working hard on various projects to highlight MSJC’s history, celebrate our many accomplishments, and plan for the next 25 years. More exciting details to come!
In the meantime, the Planning Committee is hoping to collect photos and memories of MSJC from our volunteers, participants, and supporters. Please fill in the survey below with any content you want to share. THANK YOU!
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MSJC'S 2022 Annual Appeal
We are just a few thousand dollars from reaching our fundraising goal this year. Will you support MSJC’s work to respond to the signs of the times and advance justice?
Your support will help us accomplish the following:
- Establish and expand in-person programming across our social justice issues
- Invest in anti-racism training and racial justice work throughout MSJC
- Meet and exceed the ambitious goals of our social justice issue teams in celebration of our 25th year
We believe that you share our hope to make significant change in our world. To support us, you can donate online or send a check to our address at the bottom of this newsletter. Thank you for your support!
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November LGBTQ+ Retreat Recap
The LGBTQ+ Initiative sponsored a retreat from November 18-20 at the Mercy Conference and Retreat Center in St. Louis. Our retreat speaker was Bro. Mickey McGrath, artist, storyteller and social justice advocate. Almost thirty people attended along with several who joined us virtually. Mickey focused his talks on four people who have inspired him—Sr. Thea Bowman, Nicholas Black Elk, Augustine Tolton and Dorothy Day. All the participants enjoyed Mickey’s stories and his artwork, leaving St. Louis renewed and animated.
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MSJC REFLECTIONS & RESOURCES |
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INTEGRAL ECOLOGY
Advent Reflections for the Integral Ecology Team -- By Team Member Tony Garascia
Maria Ressa, the 2021 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and author of How to Stand up to a Dictator, stated in her acceptance speech upon receiving her Nobel prize:
We are standing on the rubble of the world that was, and we must have the foresight and courage to imagine what might happen if we don’t act now, and instead, create the world as it should be – more compassionate, more equal, more sustainable.
Those words remind me of our Marianist founders, who also stood on the rubble of a world that was and yet began to build a world and Church that was “more compassionate, equal sustainable. Though they had many reasons to be discouraged they exhibited hope and perseverance.
The seasons of Advent and Christmas is an invitation to continue our joint efforts at creating a more just, compassionate and equitable world, motivated by the Marianist Spirit. We say “Come, Lord Jesus” precisely because we are yearning for something different. (Read more here...)
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Other Important Updates
Sowing Hope for the Planet is the joint Project of the International Vowed Religious Women and Mens Networks that posts educational videos in multiple languages on living Laudato si. Most recent is linked below:
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Reflection Questions:
- For what (or whom) do you find yourself waiting, this Advent? People? Results? Changes? Yourself?
- How has your experience of “waiting” shifted, over the years?
- What does it mean to you in this season of life?
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Madonna of the Holocaust -- Reflection by November Retreat Presenter Bro. Mickey McGrath
I was doing my final tweaks and edits to the last session of a very special weekend retreat when I learned the news of the shootings at Club Q in Colorado Springs. The retreat was designed for the LGBTQ+Initiative of the Marianist Social Justice Collaborative (marianistsjc.net). The theme of the retreat was “Being Who You Are” and my final Sunday morning session focused on THE BODY OF CHRIST in all its beautiful color and variety.
Without knowing the full details of this breaking news story, I altered my opening plans and shared the image above which depicts Mary in the prison uniform of a Nazi concentration camp. Her apron is covered with patches designating the various people targeted by the Nazis for extermination. The upside down pink triangle was assigned to gay people and decades later became the basis for a simple but powerful memorial sculpture to Holocaust victims in Cologne Germany. (above, right) The soaring towers of Cologne’s amazing
Gothic cathedral can be seen in the distance.
The word “REMEMBER” is written in the flames as a reminder that if we forget history, or ignore it, we are doomed to repeat it. It is all too painfully evident that the evil spirit of Nazi Germany is alive and well in our current times of anti-semitism, anti-immigrant, white supremacy, and homophobia.
May Mary and her Son, holy icons of Peace and Justice, guide us to a gentle and loving awareness that we are one human family, no matter our faith or none, made in the image and likeness of God.
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Marianist Dialogue on LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Argentina -- Reflection by José Luis Pérez
On September 15th, the Colegio Marianista de Buenos Aires opened a new reflection moment called “Picadas Bíblicas” (Biblical snacks), in which, in our Argentine tradition, lay and religious Marianists get together to share our typical snacks (cheese of all kinds, salami, ham/ prosciutto, bread, olives, etc) with appropriate beverages (wine, beer, soda), while we discuss a theological topic. The first one was on “Homosexuality and the Bible”, and it was led by Mariano Serer Mora, lay Marianist, theologian, and current leader of the pastoral area of our school. (Read more here...)
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DEATH PENALTY ABOLITION AND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE
Death Penalty in the Spotlight at the State, Federal, and Global Stage -- Reflection by Bro. Tom Redmond, SM
Here in the State of Ohio the Ohio to Stop Executions (OTSE) team
has reached out to its members and those of the Right to Life movement to do a joint signing of a letter to our Governor Mike DeWine and our legislators to move forward on the bill to end the practice of capital punishment; this is a practical and integrated approach to the respect life movement.
At this writing, the State of Mississippi has scheduled the execution of Thomas Edwin Loden, Jr on December 14 for the murder he was convicted of in June of 2000. Thomas is a former U.S. Marine who was highly decorated for his service in Desert Storm. Mississippi is one of several Southern States that continues to practice capital punishment. (Read more here...)
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Happy Advent and an early Merry Christmas from MSJC! |
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MSJC Staff and volunteers wish each of you a wonderful Advent season of anticipation, and a joyful Christmas this year. Join us in prayer together:
A Christmas Blessing
Loving God, Help us remember the birth of Jesus,
that we may share in the song of the angels,
the gladness of the shepherds,
and the worship of the wise men.
Close the door of hate
and open the door of love all over the world.
Let kindness come with every gift
and good desires with every greeting.
Deliver us from evil by the blessing which Christ brings,
and teach us to be merry with clean hearts.
May the Christmas morning make us happy to be thy children,
and Christmas evening bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts,
forgiving and forgiven for Jesus' sake.
Amen.
By Robert Luis Stevenson
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