Teresa Phillips Director of Office of Justice Peace and Care for Creation

November Update

Prayer

Prayer Happy Advent to you. I have a few Advent weekly reflection pieces to offer if you are interested. Offerings from Global Sisters Report and Maryknoll Office of Global Concerns are attached as complete guides. The Franciscan Action Network will release one weekly. I enjoy the justice aspects of these resources. I have also included an offering from Kate Bowler. She has a daily Advent guide recommended to me by a good friend. If you have a favorite I should see, please let me know.

Advocacy and Action

• LCWR released a public statement about the shooting that impacted the LGBTQ community in Colorado Springs on November 19. Included in the statement is a call to legislators to enact laws that will end gun violence. The statement is on the LCWR website. The Sisters of Mercy have released a statement as well and invite all of us to join them in calling on Congress to pass an Assault Weapons Ban as well as the Disarm Hate Act. There have been 600 mass shootings in 2022 as defined by the Gun Violence Archive.
• It is widely recognized that the expansion of the Child Tax Credit in 2021 lifted millions of children out of poverty. The poverty rate in the US dropped by half – the lowest recorded by the US Census Bureau. With inflation and the price of housing, the justice community is calling on Congress to renew, expand, and hopefully make permanent the Child Tax Credit. Congress is currently negotiating a legislative package that would extend certain tax credits and deductions for businesses. I invite you to add your voice to the call to extend tax credits to families as well.

Education

• The Nuns & Nones Land Justice Project is hosting an event I think will interested many. Thursday, December 8, 1-2:30 ET (12-1:30 CT) Case Study & Dialogue III: Central Virginia Agrarian Commons Hear from Duron Chavis of the Central Virginia Agrarian Commons - a network of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) farmers and commonly-held lands in Richmond, VA - and Callie Walker, a Methodist pastor who donated her family farm through a hybrid process of a title donation and life estate to support this regional effort for Black food sovereignty. Register Here!
• This Friday, December 2nd is the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. You can get informed about modern day slavery at the United Nations' website. These “International Days” may seem less than effective, but they do serve a purpose – to recognize on a global level the many issues we face in our world.
• The Sisters of Mercy invite you to be a prayer partner for a legislative official in your state. Volunteers agree to pray for the state legislator to make moral decisions that support the common good. The legislators are sent a letter informing them about the effort and letting them know who the individual is who will be praying for them all year. Volunteers are encouraged to write a letter to their prayer partner, but it is not required. They are not asked to lobby on behalf of issues, just to pray. If you would be interested in this effort, please contact Mike Poulin for details at [email protected]. There are 15 states being focused on including Ohio, New York, Michigan and California.