Social Justice Ministry

St. Peter’s Social Justice Committee is a faith-centered group which meets twice a month on the first and third Tuesdays to pray, study, plan and act. Catholic Social Teaching educates us about the elements of Social Justice and helps us to identify issues for action for ourselves and the St. Peter’s community.  Our meetings take place on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 6:30 pm in the Annex.  All parishioners are invited!

Meeting Schedule

     We are now meeting once a month on the thrid Tuesdays.  Anyone interested in finding out more about the Social Justice Ministry is welcome.  Our summer schedule is:

                    Tuesday, June 15, 6:30 PM, Benedict Hall
                    Tuesday, July 20, 6:30 PM, Benedict Hall
                    Tuesday, August 17, 6:30 PM, Benedict Hall
 

Upcoming Social Justice Events

 Social Justice is working with H.E.L.P. (Helping Empower Local People) to distribute information about the agencies that can help people facing foreclosure.  We will be going door-to-door in targeted areas as follows:

 
We would love to have anyone who is interested join us - we will work for about two hours each day!

 Other Social Justice Activities:

1. Social Justice will man the Emergency Men's Shelter on July 23.
2. A Social Justice Spiritual Retreat is being planned for July 31 at Wing Haven.
3. Peter Mallamo will be a Special Guest at an upcoming Social Justice meeting to discuss his films.  He has a film on Pakistan that he would like us to consider showing.
4. We are planning a four-part educational series on Muslim Education: an opening lecture providing an introduction to Islam; a topical movie; a book discussion; and a panel discussion on 21st century Islam.  We hope to start this project in September and end before Thanksgiving with a Friendship Dinner.
5. Planning will get underway soon for our Socially Conscious Christmas Project.

   
Thanksgiving:

We, the Social Justice group of St. Peter’s, would like to extend a heartfelt Thank You to all of St. Peter’s Parish Members who participated in our many programs this past year.
 

We thank you for the continued support that you showed for our Faithful Citizenship Presentations.

We thank you for the overwhelming support that you all gave to our Socially Conscious Christmas, for supporting the Loaves and Fishes, Urban Ministry, El Salvador, Angel Tree, and others, this Christmas season.

We thank you for your wonderful contributions to our Faith partnership School Irwin Elementary. With your help we were able to collect more than 500 books. We were able to also make a success the Teacher and Staff Appreciation Breakfast. We thank all the volunteers and those who provided the wonderful food.

Operating Principles
 

1. Our principles and activities are based on the scriptural, doctrinal and theological foundations of Catholic Social Teachings.
2. Our central, unifying principle is the “preferential option for the poor,” therefore, we study and act on issues that address the God-given dignity of all people, especially the rights of those who are socially, politically and/or economically disadvantaged.
3. We maximize opportunities to assist and work with other parishes, organizations, coalitions and neighborhood groups to participate in collective action around common interests.
4. We give priority to strategies that enable people to realize and act on their own potential and realize their full dignity.
5. We promote the integration of social justice into the total faith formation of the St. Peter’s parish community.
6. We promote ministry membership that is inclusive, diverse ad encouraging of future leaders.
7. We conduct meetings with mutual respect for and support of each other.
8. We promote the continuing education of the Committee and the St. Peter’s community on Catholic Social Teachings and social justice issues.
9. Prayer, spiritual reflection and scriptural readings are the animating principles of our ministry and are an integral part of every meeting.

 
Weekly Social Justice Column 

For over a year, the Social Justice Committee has written a column in the bulletin to focus on issues of justice and social concern. The purpose has been not only to inform and engage but to also challenge.     

HELP – Helping Empower Local People

H.E.L.P. (Helping Empower Local People) is a broad-based organization which brings together, trains and organizes the communities of Charlotte-Mecklenburg across all religious, racial, ethnic, class and neighborhood lines for the public good. This organization complies with our Catholic Social Teaching's. St. Peter's has been a member of H.E.L.P. since 1993 an has been active in committing our time and resources in various programs that they sponsor. Our Social Justice Group has been and is currently involved in various subcommittees which are supported by H.E.L.P

Catholic Campaign for Human Development 

The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) is the domestic anti-poverty, social justice program of the US Catholic Bishops.  Its mission is to address the root causes of poverty in the United States through promotion and support of community-controlled, self-help organizations and through transformative education. 

For more than 30 years, CCHD has funded some 4,000 programs across the country through efforts that cross racial and religious boundaries—all to help people find a way out of poverty for a lifetime. 

CCHD supports local groups as they create jobs, improve neighborhoods, train adults for employment at a living wage, keep schools safe and enriching for children and raise leaders for the future. 

Locally, the CCHD has provided support for the following organizations: 

H.E.L.P., Helping Empower Local People – Charlotte, an organization with which many St. Peter’s parishioners are involved, with assisting immigrants with civic engagement, naturalization and voter registration and with expanding its activities to northern Mecklenburg County.

Seigle  Avenue Partners (Freedom School at Highland Renaissance Academy) – Charlotte: Literacy-based summer camp for children from a high percentage of low-wealth homes.

Neighborhood Family Resource Center (After School and Summer Programs) – Charlotte: Academic enrichment and health promotion for low-wealth youth.

Urban Ministry Center (Street People Project) – Charlotte: Civic participation and environmental stewardship among the homeless population .                                                                                    

Saint Peter’s Homes Inc. (Support Services) – Charlotte: Case management , support for peer leadership of the residential association and of recreational activities .

The Diocese of Charlotte conducts its CCHD collection every November. 

St. Peter’s has traditionally been one of the diocese’s strongest supporters of the CCHD campaign, so let’s see the tradition continue as we give generously to this important cause.

Irwin Elementary Faith Partnership

 

 During the past year Social Justice:

• Sponsored a discussion group after the Kennedy Lecture given by Fr. Thomas Reese, SJ

• Sponsored a talk by Sister Simone Campbell of NETWORK, a national Catholic Social Teaching lobby based in Washington D.C.

• Worked with H.E.L.P. on its Neighborhood Action team and its Health Care action team which has resulted in recruiting four St. Peter's parishioners to serve on Mecklenburg County's Long-Term Care Ombudsman program.  This program advocates for the needs of those living in assisted living or nursing facilities.

For more information about the Social Justice Ministry, please contact Bob Cook at                (704) 948-9132         or Barbara Dellinger at                (704) 519-0970        .