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Welcome to Blessed Sacrament’s Peace and Justice Committee’s Webpage. May Christ’s Peace be with you. The Peace and Justice Committee is a parish’s link both with the larger communities (local, national, and global) in which the parish is involved, and with the universal Church and its Catholic Social Teachings. Our work is pretty much “where the tire hits the pavement”. We apply Catholic Social Teachings in very concrete programs of service and education. Just take a look at what we have going on, and if you would like more information on any of these activities, please contact Bernadette at BlSacPandJ@aol.com OUR YEAR-ROUND ACTIVITIES: A Rosary for Peace, prayed every Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. in the Church. Please join us for our weekly rosary. If you would like to lead the rosary occasionally, please contact Bernadette at the above e-mail address. A Food Pantry servicing parishioners and agencies on behalf of their clients. The food is collected on the last weekend of each month, which we call Food to Share Weekend. Parishioners are invited to bring non-perishable food items, laundry or cleaning supplies, or personal hygiene items to Mass that weekend, and to leave them at any of at the Church entrances. Items that are needed are usually listed in the bulletin on the next to the last weekend of the month. In 2010, thanks to your generosity, our pantry served over 260 individuals (62 families). And some of these families, especially parish families received continued help. God bless all who are so faithful to this ministry. Bi-monthly parish coffees at which fair trade coffee is served. This fair trade coffee is also available for sale, as well as fair trade tea and chocolates. For more information on fair trade, you may go to www.crs.org/fairtrade. We would also encourage you to check out another crs (Catholic Relief Services) website - Catholics Confront Global Poverty at www.usccb.org/sdwp/globalpoverty/ A year-long commitment to some Peace effort is requested of our parishioners. Previously we have made the Family Pledge of Nonviolence our common commitment, but currently, we are inviting parishioners to choose from several works for Peace or develop their own. Our Sister Parish, San Rafael Arcángel, located in Guatemala City, Guatemala. We send regular financial and prayer support to San Rafael, and share news of how our two parishes carry out our common faith. Unfortunately, violence is not uncommon in Guatemala, one sad legacy of years of war. Please continue to pray for a lessening of violence in Guatemala and for safety for our sisters and brothers of San Rafael. RECREATIONAL MATERIALS NEEDED – CAN YOU HELP? As we made contacts prior to selecting the recipients for our Lenten alms collection, several agencies told us that they really needed recreational materials – everything from basket-balls to crafts materials, from Wii games to, in the case of the jail, paperback books. The Peace and Justice Committee has decided to try to help. Below is the information on needs and the agencies that need them, as well as a contact person. If you have any of these materials – in good shape and no pieces missing - you are welcome to contact the agency directly and make arrangements to take them there. Otherwise, on Saturday Aug. 6 and Sunday, Aug. 7, before and after all the Masses, we will have boxes at all the Church entrances for donations of these materials. For more information, contact Bernadette, 258-7855. Midtown Family Community Center youth needs: Basketballs; wiffle balls and bats; board games; playground balls; and used x-box games. Contact: Ron Pietz 224-3363. Boys and Girls Home: Basketballs; footballs; soccer balls; dodge balls; softballs; volleyballs; yoga mats; air pumps; Wii games which involve several individuals. Contact: Terri L. Dooley dooleyt@bghome.net (712)-293-4747. Crittenton Center Shelter: Baseball gloves, bats and balls; soccer balls; basketballs; playing cards; board games and puzzles. Contact: Ed Huff 252-8262. Friendship House (adults with chronic mental illness): Pool sticks; arts and craft supplies, including ceramics and paints for them; adult board games (they have Scrabble and Apples to Apples); Wii games; self-help books. Contact: Kathy Roberts 255-4209 Woodbury County Jail: paperback books (must be paperback) – fiction or non-fiction. Coming in late August - early September - GARDEN SHARE WEEKENDS |
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