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A Visit to Mongu, Zambia November 29th, 2011

Early November, JPIC Office colleague Kate Walsh, who works with the TRI-State Coalition for Responsible Investment (CRI) in New Jersey, visited Oblates working in Zambia. She writes about her reflection on the trip and experience in Zambia:

Two weeks ago, I traveled to Zambia to speak at conference co-sponsored by Catholic Relief Services and CAFOD on Extractives in Southern African. My task was to speak about ICCR’s work and run a session on Shareholder Advocacy. However, I had a few days to explore the region, visit, before the conference began.

That first weekend, I went to Mongu in the Western Region. This is the poorest region of the country. After a 7-hour bus ride from the capital, I arrived and went to visit the Diocese of Mongu Development Centre (DMDC).

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CHA Videos Record Benefits of the Affordable Care Act July 15th, 2011

Watch these powerful short videos produced by the Catholic Health Association featuring people whose lives have been improved by the Affordable Care Act. Statistics and studies can tell one story but nothing is quite as powerful as the true, touching accounts given by real families working to stay healthy and contribute to our country.

The series of video stories is available at www.YouTube.com/HealthReformWorks

They represent part of CHA’s effort to correct misinformation on health reform and show how the law is already assisting individuals and families all over the country. Please take a few moments to view these videos and share the information with others.

 

 

Oblate Organic Community Supported Garden Lauded in Local Press February 14th, 2011

The Oblate-supported organic garden in Godfrey, Illinois has received a nice write-up in The Telegraph, Alton, Illinois’ local paper. Now in its 9th year, the CSA at Godfrey continues to provide its share owners and a local food bank with bountiful supplies of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables. The CSA shareholders and core team are committed to preserving the land, educating people about the health benefits of eating produce grown in a sustainable manner and the ecological benefits of eating locally.

The garden regularly over-produces, ensuring leftover produce to take to local food pantries, which fulfills its other mission – to help feed the poor. La Vista also offers 10 to 12 community outreach shares at a discounted price to low-income members of the community.

Read the article (Download PDF)

Reflection on the Rescue of the Chilean Miners October 26th, 2010

Renee Yann is a Sister of Mercy and VP for Mission and Values at Mercy Keystone Health Plan in Philadelphia. She wrote this reflection in anticipation of the rescue of the Chilean Miners, which we wanted to share with you.

Dear Friends and Co -ministers,

Last night and today, the world’s thoughts and prayers are even more closely focused on a small town in Chile where thirty-three men have been trapped deep in the darkness of the earth.

One by one, over the course of the forty-eight hours, these men will be delivered to light, resurrected to the life they left, unsuspecting, one morning over two months ago. They will be extracted from the earth through a passageway barely shoulder-wide. Like any birth, each of their transitions will be accompanied by that strange mix of agony and hope that yields new life. And with each one of them, we will experience vicariously what it means to be reborn.

On a brilliant October days such as these, when even the leaves seem made of sunshine, we might more deeply appreciate the longing of the Chilean miners to return to the light. Each of us, at sometime in our lives, has spent time beneath the surface of life. Perhaps we have known the darkness of depression, bereavement, addiction, mental illness or economic desperation in ourselves or those we love. Time spent in the cavern of these burdens is exponentially longer than normal time. We expend enormous amounts of energy looking for a way out, until we finally abandon ourselves to the realization that the only way “out” is “through”.

Over these hours, these miners will complete their passage “through”. As each one comes back to his family, let us thank God with them. And may we use the time as a meditation and thanksgiving for our own passages, whether completed or on-going. May we use it as a time of prayer for our world that we may be delivered from war, poverty, tyranny, terrorism and selfishness. Whether or not these men knew it, our Creator has held their hands through the weeks of suffering. God will rise with them in the narrow cage of their deliverance. And God is always with us as we are continually born to newness in our own lives. Today, as we watch the newsreels, holding our breath in anticipation, remember the One Who is always holding your hand.

Blessings,

Sister Renee

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Renee Yann, RSM

Reflections on a Central American Pilgrimage March 30th, 2010

Warren Brown, OMI visited Central America in January of 2010 on a Maryknoll-sponsored pilgrimage. His moving description of the trip can be found here in its entirety. A shorter version was published in the spring issue of JPIC News.

Reflections on a Pilgrimage/Retreat to Central America (download PDF)

Spring 2010 Issue of JPIC Report Available March 18th, 2010

The Spring 2010 issue of JPIC Report, the newsletter of the US Justice, Peace/Integrity of Creation Office of the Missionary Oblates is now available on line.

This issue features updates on Sri Lanka, Haiti, logging in Bangladesh, immigration, financial regulatory reform, an Eco-Tips page and more.

Read the Spring 2010 Issue (Download PDF)

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