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Welcome to fall!
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Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the weather, the leaves, the sports, the food, the jackets, the holidays - everything. I hope you're enjoying it too.
There's so much going on in the Church right now: the Bishops Synod is kicking off in Rome (pray for them!), we're finishing up the Season of Creation and celebrating the Feast of St. Francis, Beacons of Light phase 2 is in full swing, the country is prepping for the Eucharistic Congress next summer, and the Ohio Catholic Church is fighting to defeat Issue 1 in November. It's tough to keep up with it all, but we're doing our best.
We are thrilled to welcome our new Regional Director for Dayton, Jill Foster. She's a UD grad and is just back from three and a half years as a Maryknoll missionary in Haiti. She comes with a strong and faithful heart and a passion for serving others. Please send her a message and welcome her to the CSA family.
Next month we'll be holding our annual CCHD collection. As usual, the Appeal weekend is the second weekend of Nov., and the Collection weekend is the weekend before Thanksgiving. Please make sure that your parish (and family of parishes) is ready. If you need any help with that, please contact Glen.
Just two events to mention:
- our annual celebration of Care for Creation is happening on Wed. 10/25 at 7:00pm over Zoom;
we'll be celebrating the Feast of St. Francis, our new Laudato Si' Communities, and the pope's new exhortation, Laudato Deum, a follow up to Laudato Si'.
- our annual Fair Trade sale (in partnership with Ten Thousand Villages) is happening on Sat. 11/18 at Curran Place (UD). See below for more details.
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We humbly ask that you continue to pray for us. There's a lot going on this year, and while we're excited to keep things moving, your prayers - and engagement! - will make our success all the more likely. God help us!
If there's anything that we can do to support the work happening in your community, please let us know. We're trying to be more present to families of parishes, especially during the Beacons of Light process, and we'd love to (re)connect with you and work to build up God's kingdom of peace, justice, and kinship in your corner of the kingdom.
We will continue to send out Regional Updates with time-sensitive reminders and Action Alerts encouraging everyone to bring their voice and power to bear on important issues.
We wish you a wonderful end of summer and start to fall, and - as always - we look forward to seeing you soon as we continue to stand up for justice, solidarity, and equity.
Peace and all good,
Tammie, Sr. Christine, Jill, Glen, & Andrew
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Day of Prayer to End the Death Penalty
24 Hour Vigil | October 9-10 in Columbus
#NoDeathPenaltyOhio is organizing a full week of action for faith communities, which will culminate in the Day of Prayer. Faith communities across the state are invited to participate by hosting an educational event, organizing a letter-writing party, making death penalty abolition part of your service, or joining the 24 hour Day of Prayer vigil at the statehouse in Columbus. Click here for resources and to register.
Following the 24 vigil, the Catholic Conference of Ohio will lead a novena to pray for the abolition of the death penalty in Ohio.
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Fair Trade Sale |
Saturday, November 18
9:00am - 3:00pm
Curran Place (UD)
Come join us for our annual Fair Trade sale. There will be music, food, local vendors, and our main partner organization, Ten Thousand Villages.
It's a great opportunity to get an early jump on your holiday shopping AND do it in a way that demonstrates your commitment to the dignity of work and workers, global solidarity, and justice.
Contact Jill Foster with questions or to join as a participant organization.
Flyer
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2023 Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) Collection
Save the date!
As always, the annual CCHD Collection will take place the weekend before Thanksgiving - Nov. 18/19. We'll be sending out more information soon; we just wanted to make sure you were ready and on the lookout for our promotional updates.
For now, please make sure your parish has it's materials and is ready to do the collection.
Here's a reminder of the great local organizations currently receiving support from CCHD:
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Afghan Adjustment Act |
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Stand in Solidarity with Our Afghan Neighbors
Help answer Pope Francis’ call for us to “welcome, protect, promote, and integrate” these newcomers by completing this action alert in support of the Afghan Adjustment Act.
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Protect Vulnerable Immigrant Youth Act |
Urge Congress to Safeguard Children in Need and Ensure Communities Have Access to Religious Workers
Help ensure vulnerable youth receive the protections they deserve and American communities can benefit from the contributions of religious workers by completing this action alert in support of the Protect Vulnerable Immigrant Youth Act.
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Help Communities Affected by Climate Change |
Urge Congress to support the Green Climate Fund and Development Assistance.
Urge Congress to address the impact of climate
change by providing robust funding for poverty-reducing international assistance programs in the fiscal year 2024 budget, especially for the Green Climate Fund and Development Assistance.
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Pass Funding Measures to Support the Common Good |
Ask Congress to Pass Funding Measures that Further the Common Good.
Join the U.S. bishops in calling for
bipartisan cooperation in Congress to avoid a government shutdown and enact a just budget that reduces future unsustainable deficits, protects poor and vulnerable people, advances the common good, and promotes human life and dignity—without sacrificing vital humanitarian protections.
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Support Women and Families in Need |
Tell Congress to Fund WIC for All Families in Need.
Tell Congress to continue its long
history of bipartisan support for WIC by providing the program with adequate resources to serve all eligible participants with food that meets their nutrition needs, including the current benefit for fruits and vegetables. Supporting WIC is one way we can help build a society that welcomes new life and is oriented toward helping children and their parents, especially those who are most vulnerable.
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Food for EVERYONE |
Support the RESTORE Act! End the SNAP benefit ban for people with drug-related felony convictions.
This ban does nothing to advance public safety and is counterproductive, preventing returning citizens from fully reintegrating into society. Instead of continuing to punish persons who have paid their debt to society and their families, we should offer the necessary tools – including food – to help them lead a more productive life. Ask Congress to end this inhumane ban.
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Breaking Open the Sin of Racism |
Engage your community in dialogue
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This video series and discussion guide was prepared for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati for use by organizations in a 4-part workshop. Check
out the Breaking Open the Sin of Racism site to see how your parish, school, or organization can host workshops or use the resources in other ways.
Questions? Contact Andrew Musgrave | 513-263-6691
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If you're wondering how your family of parishes might go about
engaging in the Love in Action principle, we encourage you to check out the Love in Action page on the Pathways platform - https://pathway.catholicaoc.org/love-in-action. There you'll find a great introductory video, as well as further explanation of the breadth of the principle. Over time, you'll find more resources and support, and of course you know you can always reach
out to our office for support. If you're looking for the first tool we created - the parish inventory - you can find it here (along with the inventories from the other principles) - https://pathway.catholicaoc.org/pathway-tools. If you work for a parish or are involved in parish leadership, we'd love to talk with you through the Forums. Don't hesitate to reach out!
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From the Respect Life Office |
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We're Down to the Final Stretch on Issue 1
We have about one month left, so it never hurts to remind people where to find all the resources available to help us educate voters and get out the vote all this month to soundly defeat this extreme abortion amendment coming to Ohio.
First, continue to pray and fast. Participate as much as you can in our 54 Day Rosary Novena.
On that website you can find links to beautiful print outs, daily saints, and advertising materials for social media and bulletins. Please do not forget to encourage everyone to combine this novena with fasting, as Jesus remind us in Mark 9:29. If we unite a personal sacrifice with the immense sacrifice of Christ,
the graces bestowed on us from our prayers will be multiplied.
Second, you can find all the resources at catholicaoc.org/voteno. You can find both of the newest
flyers there, the “Where Does It Say That?” and “FAQ’s”, as well as the recent Archbishop’s letter, his April op-ed in the Cincinnati Enquirer, and others. Our new Know the Facts About Issue 1 video is a must watch, and more are on the way. All videos include the embed codes to share on social media, or you can find them posted on the Respect Life Facebook page and share them directly from there. If you need someone to speak at your parish for a town hall event, please contact our office and we can connect you with one of our trained speakers. If you need yard signs, contact Cincinnati or Dayton
Right to Life.
Third, be ready to bring up the conversation in a kind and respectful way with those who you think might not completely align with our pro-life values. This is not about whether abortion should be legal or not. This is about whether we want to put in our State founding document an inherent right to abortion for any reason, up until birth, with no parental notification laws or medical safety standards in place for women. We are talking about ambulatory privileges for abortion providers, 24-hour waiting periods, and requirements that the abortionist is actually a licensed physician. All these have the potential of being eliminated under the guise that they are burdens for an abortion provider. Of course, once the amendment is in place, we will
be unable to pass new laws to limit it. This is more extreme than what the vast majority of voters want, but they don’t realize it. We have to do our duty as faithful followers of Christ and let them know. Lives are at stake.
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From the Office for Persons with Disabilities |
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On the Third Saturday of each month the Archdiocese of Cincinnati Deaf Community gathers for mass and fellowship at St. Christopher in Vandalia, Ohio. Fr. Kyle Schnipple and his parish family has welcomed the Deaf Community. Members take down the gifts during the offertory and participate fully in the mass along with interpreters provided by the Office for Persons with Disabilities. It is truly a gift to gather at the table with our hearing brothers and sisters.
On November 4th, Fr. Shawn Carey from the Archdiocese of Boston will return for the second year for a Deaf Community Retreat that will be held at St. Rita School for the Deaf in Evandale. All are welcome! More details coming soon!
The Office for Persons with Disabilities will be hosting Coffee & Conversation this fall.
Coffee & Conversation is about inclusion in your parish.
Who should attend? Parents, caregivers, professionals, advocates, and clergy. We will discuss how to plan, organize, and advocate for individuals with special needs, Blind Community, Deaf Community, and all with mental wellness challenges.
C & C 9:00-11:30
North: 9/23 Sacred Heart, Anna
Central: 9/16 Our Lady of Sorrows, Monroe
South: 10/7 St. Ann, Cincinnati
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Who We Are |
Andrew Musgrave
Cincinnati | Director
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Jill Foster
Dayton | Regional Director
Tammie Mers
Administrative Assistant
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Glen Glenn
Program Coordinator | CRS, CCHD
Sr. Christine Pratt
Eastern Area Coordinator
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Follow us on social media! |
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Catholic Social Action Office | 100 East Eighth Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
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