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October: Celebrate “Respect Life” Month October 4th, 2013
The annual Respect Life Sunday Mass is October 6. This is an opportunity for Catholics throughout the United States to come together to worship, reflect and witness to the dignity of the human person. The 2013 Respect Life Sunday theme is Open Your Hearts to Life. Catholics are being invited to check with local parish and diocese for Respect Life Sunday and the month’s events and schedules. Program information materials are available in English and Spanish at http://www.usccb.org/about/pro-life-activities/respect-life-program/
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty: October 17 2013 October 4th, 2013
Be mindful of this day! Be mindful of the poor! – Fr. Ken Forster, OMI
ST. EUGENE’S HOMILY TO THE SERVANTS
You, the poor and needy, the world considers you the scum of society unbearable in its sight. That is what the world thinks of you.
Come learn from us what you are through the eyes of faith.
“You are the poor of Jesus Christ, my brethren, my dear brethren, my dear respectable brethren, listen to me. You are the children of God.
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UN Days in October October 1st, 2013
Learn about the U.N. Observance Days in October, here. Watch U.N. Web-TV, here.
- October 2, 2013: International Day of Non-Violence is held on Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday and is an occasion to “disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness.” Available: In English; in Spanish; In French.
- October 11, 2013: Day of the Girl Child: Innovating for Girls’ Education: The fulfillment of girls’ “right to education” is first and foremost an obligation and moral imperative. Girls’ education, especially at the secondary level, has been proven to be a powerful transformative force for societies and girls themselves. Click here; in Spanish; in French. Read about the Techno Girl program in South Africa, here. Join in the Day of the Girl Summit here.
- October 16, 2013: World Food Day: Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition: Healthy People Depend on Healthy Food Systems helps increase understanding of problems and solutions in the drive to end hunger. Available: In English; In Spanish; In French; In Italian.
- October 17, 2013: International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is intended to promote awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution in all countries. Fighting poverty remains at the core of the U.N. development agenda. Available: In English; In Spanish; In French.
- October 20, 2013: World Mission Sunday.
- October 20-24, 2013: CONGO Week will be celebrated all around the world in an effort to bring attention to the ongoing violence in DR-Congo. Visit here.
- October 24, 2013: United Nations Day: Available: In English; In Spanish; In French.
National Day for Dignity and Respect September 29th, 2013
On October 5, more than 80 major mobilization efforts – rallies, vigils, pilgrimages, and direct action – will mark the National Day for Dignity and Respect.
A broad coalition of immigrants rights groups, people of faith, labor and civil rights groups are working to send a message to Members of Congress that now is the time for comprehensive immigration reform.
Select cities holding a mobilization on October 5 National Day for Dignity and Respect:
- San Antonio, Texas: Elemdorf Park; 2pm
- New Orleans, Louisiana: New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice Office, 217 N. Prieur Street; 11am
- St. Louis, Missouri: St. Cecilia’s Catholic Church, 5414 Alaska Ave.; 10am
- Minneapolis, Minnesota: Basilica of St. Mary, 88 N 17th St.; 12:30pm
- Buffalo, NY: 2421 Main Street; 1pm
- Houston, Texas: 901 Bagby St.; 3pm
- Miami, Florida: Jose Marti Park 362 SW 4th St.; 1pm
- New Haven, Connecticut: Peoples Art Collective 212 College Street; 12:30 pm
- Boston, MA: Copley Square 12:00 pm; Time and Location may change.
- Los Angeles, California: event happening on October 4th,; 4:00 pm; Meet at the Sheraton in Downtown Los Angeles
Visit www.octoberimmigration.org for more detailed information and many additional locations.
On October 8, tens of thousands are expected to bring these efforts to Washington DC with a rally on the National Mall.
If you plan to attend any of these events, please share your experience and photos with the JPIC office via OMI JPIC Facebook and Twitter.
Help Save SNAP/Food Stamps September 18th, 2013
4-6 Million People will go hungry if the budget for SNAP/Food Stamps is slashed
Call your Representative, toll-free: 866-456-8824* TODAY, Tuesday, September 17
The U.S. House is expected to take up a bill this week that would cut SNAP by $40 billion over ten years. Every Member of Congress needs to hear that such an extreme proposal is unacceptable. Food stamps have had bipartisan support for decades. (See Stop Playing Politics with Hunger by former Senators Bob Dole and Tom Daschle in the Los Angeles Times as an expression of that bipartisan support.) But now, extremist Members of Congress want to slash SNAP and hurt millions of children and their families, seniors, and poor adults without children.
*TODAY: Call 866-456-8824, listen to the recorded message and enter your zip code. You’ll be connected right to your Representative’s office. Let them know you’re a constituent; tell them your name and the town you are calling from. Tell them:
As your constituent, I urge you to vote against the extreme nutrition-only farm bill which would cut $40 billion from SNAP and deny assistance to 4-6 million poor people. This bill would be devastating to struggling Americans; by making more people hungry, it goes against many years of bipartisan support.
What’s bad about this bill? A few points: the bill would deny SNAP to millions of poor, jobless adults without children whose
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