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Welcome 2024!
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Rejoice! A child is born! And he shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Is 9:6)
We hope that you are having a wonderful Christmas time and your new year has started off well.
I hope you don't mind, but this month I'm going to use the rest of this space to share most of the reflection from the Cleveland Social Action Office's Christmas newsletter. The reflection offers a powerful connection between the coming of Christ and the trials and hope of our time. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
We all know the characteristics of the context in which it (Christmastide) manifests itself today. We cannot forget the reality in which we live: a world that suffers from economic, political, social and environmental problems. This is a reality that forces hundreds of thousands of people to leave their countries and loved ones as migrants, often due to climate and environmental change. Hundreds of thousands of families are affected by war, while others suffer different levels of violence that even affect a right as basic as leaving one’s home without fear of being robbed, murdered, kidnapped or worse.
In the midst of this somber global reality with so much moral and material poverty, the liturgy and the Christmas festivities present us with a messenger who brings good news: How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad tidings, announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation and saying to Zion, “Your God is King!” (Isaiah 52:7)
God once again becomes present because God is faithful and doesn’t forget the people. This time of grace offers us an enormous gift: a child resting in his mother’s arms, carrying light in his heart. This gift announces the peace so longed for in our hearts and by the entire world. It brings us the hope of a God who is the “Word” and who seeks to communicate, bringing joy to those who await God.
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As we contemplate the nativity scenes during these days of Christmastide, let us recognize Christmas as the birth of hope, a promise kept, the today, tomorrow and yesterday of our lives, in the world and the universe. It is the moment of incarnation, as well as silence, contemplation, illumination, response and adoration. It is simplicity and humility.
With lights shining on our trees and the aroma of freshly baked cookies and pastry in the air, we open our hearts and embrace this God Child, this love made flesh, who wishes to experience a love story with each of us; that of hope, life and salvation.
“Let all the angels of God worship him!” (Hebrews 1:6)
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We humbly ask that you continue to pray for us. There is going to be an exciting and challenging year, and while we're excited to get things going, your prayers - and engagement! - will make our success possible. 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 Epiphany and start to the new year, 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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Respond to Pope Francis’ challenge to empower and join with persons in poverty by participating in Poverty Awareness Month.
Daily reflections (tambien en Español) include ways to learn about poverty, get inspired by how communities are responding, and take action with others. You can also sign up to receive daily reflections by email.
Share these materials with Catholics in your diocese and follow the action on Facebook and Twitter.
New CCHD Stories of Hope on Poverty USA
As we enter Poverty Awareness Month, we are excited to share several new Stories of Hope available on Poverty USA. These stories feature informational and inspiring stories of communities working to address some of the most pressing challenges facing our communities:
Learn more about how the power of CCHD is working to break the cycle of poverty in our country.
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Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2024
Please see below for two upcoming events for the annual week of prayer for Christian Unity. Thanks to our friends at Glenmary Home Missioners for organizing!
Click here for additional resources.
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The Church in Dialogue: Cincinnati
The Doctrine of Justification Revisited
How is a Person Saved?
A panel discussion on theology between representatives of the Lutheran, Roman Catholic, and Reformed Baptist traditions.
FREE EVENT
Friday, January 12th
7:00 p.m.
Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter in Chains
325 W. Eighth Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Click here for flyer
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Annual Local Foods Conference
The Southeast-St Mary Deanery Catholic Rural Life announces its annual Local Foods Conference will be on Sunday, February 4, 2024 from 1:30 - 4:30 PM at
St. George Church in Georgetown, Ohio. The day will include a keynote presentation on the State of Agriculture in the region as well as a presentation on local Food trucks. Three workshops will follow opportunities to meet with several local producers who will have displays that day. In addition to Catholic Rural Life a program of the Catholic Social Action Office of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, the event is co-sponsored by the Adams Brown Counties Diabetes Education Coalition, Adams Brown Community Action Partnership and Brown County OSU Extension Office. All are
welcome.
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Just Faith Co-facilitator Needed
Hopefully you're familiar with the gospel justice formation program, Just
Faith. Over 20 years ago, Just Faith was started as a sort of mirror of RCIA but with a focus on Catholic Social Teaching.
St. Columban Parish in Loveland will be running the program in 2024, and they are looking for an experienced co-facilitator to work with them. The first meeting will be on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024.
If you are interested, please contact Jay Porcaro - jayporcaro@aol.com. Thanks in advance for prayerfully considering this opportunity to form and educate our sisters and brothers.
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We have all been devastated by the war going on in the Holy Land. The loss of life, trauma,
and violence have been horrific; and we pray ardently for an end to the fighting and the safety for all people.
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued two statements since the conflict started in October, and we wanted to share a bit of their words.
From their Oct. 8th
statement:
The world is once again shocked and horrified by the outbreak of ferocious violence in the Holy Land… (We) join with Pope Francis in his call for peace and his condemnation of this widespread outbreak of violence… May all who love the Holy Land seek to bring about among all the parties engaged in the fighting a cessation of violence, respect for civilian populations and the release of hostages.
From their Oct. 27th
statement:
As Pope Francis
reminds the world, ‘War is always a defeat; it is a destruction of human fraternity.’ We continue to pray for the victims caught in this cycle of violence as well as the regional and international actors who are being drawn into the conflict. We must not grow weary of offering our prayers and support for peace and justice for all concerned. A lasting solution respecting the rights, needs, and aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians remains essential to these ends.
Finally, we would like to share a few words from a local perspective. EquaSion, a strong, local partner in the Cincinnati interfaith world and the parent organization of the Festival of Faiths, has issued a statement:
Even though this is all happening thousands of miles away, it is as local as it can be and is impacting us directly… We are neighbors. We work together. We break bread together. Our children go to school together. We must recognize the humanity in one another and will continue to fight antisemitism and Islamophobia right here in our own community. Despite our differences, we keep the lines of communication open, and we listen.
The war is so far away. We feel helpless, not sure what we can do that’s constructive… As individuals, we can reach out to our neighbors who are feeling the pain of this conflict to let them know we’re thinking of them with words of love and support.
Please keep all of those affected by this awful situation in your prayers, and please do all you can do to bring peace into the world and into the lives of our neighbors.
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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 People in Ukraine and Gaza |
Fund vital humanitarian assistance for people caught in these brutal conflicts.
The lives and safety of millions of our sisters and brothers in Gaza and Ukraine are at stake. Our faith calls us to act quickly and decisively in the face of these humanitarian emergencies to avoid further suffering.
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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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A Vision for Love in
Action:
Becoming Communities of Salt & Light
Is your parish ready to take your visioning for Love in Action to the next level? The Department of Life, Dignity, & Charity is offering a 3-part series Love in Action opportunity to help your parish family Love in Action team understand why this vision is important, how this vision has developed in the history of the Church, what are the larger and small local organizations with which your parish can cooperate, and how to build on what you already have going on in your parishes (along with your resources of time, talent, and treasure) to create a growing vision of Love in Action in your parish family. This series is only offered on the deanery level so we invite you to ask your pastor if he is interested in bringing this series to your deanery
and how he might work with the other pastors and families in his deanery to bring it to fruition. If you would like more information about the series, please contact Mary Anne Bressler at mbressler@ccswoh.org.
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From the Respect Life Office |
January Events
Bob Wurzelbacher, Director of Respect Life Ministries
In January 2021, due to COVD-19 restrictions placed on the streets of our nation’s Capital, relatively few were able to attend that year’s March for Life in Washington, DC. While many are now able to travel again, there are other reasons why it is more difficult to organize an overnight trip to the March for Life than it used to be. In light of this, the Office for Respect Life Ministry created a March for Life Toolkit to empower parishes, schools, and respect life groups to join in the vigil at home, and we focused our energies on our surrounding communities. Those materials are still available to you, whether you are attending or not, especially if you work with youth.
So, whether in conjunction with your planned trip to Washington, DC or perhaps especially for those unable to attend, we have created a website with an abundance of resources ranging from Pro-life movie night options to youth ministry lesson plans to pro-life prayer services.
In addition, I want to let you know about some of the local events you can attend in January. First, there is our annual Respect Life Mass with Archbishop Schnurr on Sunday, January 14th at the 11AM Mass at the St Peter in Chains Cathedral Basilica downtown. We will honor our 2023 Respect Life Award winners at that Mass
Second, we will hold our annual Holy Hour and Rosary for Life on Thursday, January 18th at 7PM, also at the Cathedral Basilica downtown with Archbishop Schnurr.
On January 19th, if you are not heading to Washington, DC, please join Dayton Right to Life on this day
for a prayer service for all victims of Roe v Wade at the gravesite of Baby Fran at Woodland Cemetery (118 Woodland Ave., Dayton, OH) at 12 Noon. On Sunday, January 28th at 2PM, you may join Cincinnati Right to Life for a peaceful and prayerful event where we
march beginning at Holy Name Church (2422 Aubrun Auburn Ave) to Cincinnati Planned Parenthood’s abortion headquarters with hundreds of other pro-life supporters.
Of course, you should surround all of these events with prayer, and one easy way to do that is by participating in the novena 9 Days for Life for the protection of human life organized by the USCCB. Each day’s intention is accompanied by a short reflection and suggested actions to help build a culture of life. Click on the link above to learn more or sign up for daily reminders.
Regardless of whether you travel or stay home, let us also pray together for the countless women and men who are suffering from the consequences of their choice that they might find healing and forgiveness, and let us work ardently to create a culture of life.
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From the Office for Persons with Disabilities |
Retreat for Adults with Special Needs
Lisa Averion, Associate Director of Office for Persons with Disabilities
Last spring the Office for Persons with Disabilities (OPD) hosted the first retreat for adults with special needs. The NET (National Evangelization Team, WWW.NETUSA.ORG) shared the gospel through words, music, and skits. Fr. Kyle Schnipple listened to confessions and celebrated Mass with those who attended. It was a beautiful day for our friends and family who attended. Due to the wonderful response and needs of our adult friends with special needs throughout the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, we will be hosting two NET retreats in 2024. Save the date for our northern NET Retreat on March 23rd (location and time TBA) and southern NET Retreat on April 27th (location and time TBA). Fr. Kyle Schnipple will be the celebrant again this year. If you would like to learn more about the upcoming retreats, please email Lisa Averion LAVERION@CATHOLICAOC.ORG to receive updates on time, location, and registration. Registration will open on Feb. 1st.
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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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