Prayer
Two mass shootings have occurred in California in three days. The mental health of the gunmen is surely a factor, but a culture of violence and disrespect for life is too. The hardest part of the heartache is knowing there is little we can do except continue to advocate for health care and reasonable gun laws. And pray. We can indeed pray. I offer this prayer to you today. I have also attached A Prayer for a Transformed World should you like to add a couple of prayers to your week.
Advocacy and Action
- Four young climate activists, led by Greta Thunberg, are asking for your signature to a letter they are addressing to the major fossil fuel companies. Can you sign on? We can show both the fossil fuel companies and today’s youth activists that we join in the call for no new drilling sites and a transition to clean energy. You can then join the Natural Resources Defense Council and their board trustee, Robert Redford (remember him?), and send a letter to the Biden Administration with a similar request. It’s a cross-generational call!
- A third action today is a Cincinnati-based one … with global impact. Cincinnati’s very own P&G continues its destruction of old-growth forests. Would you send them a message as well? It’s great if you can add a sentence or two to the standard letter. I started mine with this: “As a native Cincinnatian, I want to be proud of P&G. This makes me angry instead! We can do better.”
Education
- LCWR’s Immigration Coalition invites you to The Root Causes of Migration: How have U.S. foreign and economic policies contributed to spiraling poverty and violence, forcing people to flee? On Tuesday, January 31st 1:00 p.m. (ET)
- In the past year, border law and policy have seen whiplash-inducing ups and downs. Out of the gate, the incoming Biden administration made good on certain of its campaign promises in the area of immigration but deferred on others. Later, federal courts dealt severe blows to progress, reversing attempts to restore protections dismantled by the prior administration. Throughout, vulnerable immigrants amassed at our southern border in record numbers. This panel will discuss the current situation at the border from a humanitarian, legal, and Christian perspective. Click here to register.
- On February 7, the USCCB will host a webinar titled St. Josephine Bakhita – A Saint for Victims and Survivors of Human Trafficking. I have attached a flyer with details and a registration link.