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Cardinal Urges Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Participants to Live a Unique Statement May 8th, 2017
By Fr. Harry Winter, OMI
As Antonio Ponce, OMI, and I took part in the 2017 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, held in Minneapolis May 1-4, we listened to a first ever message from a cardinal to the participants of this event (started in 1969 and held annually). Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, asked us to examine and live together the short and vital 5-page statement “Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World, Recommendations for Conduct.”
One reason the document is so extraordinary is that it was approved by three very different groups: the World Council of Churches, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and the World Evangelical Alliance. Another reason is that it begins by affirming, “Mission belongs to the very being of the church,” and then bonds social justice, ecumenism and interreligious dialogue.
Although approved in late January, 2011, we are all puzzled and disturbed that this statement remains virtually unknown. The 400 participants in the Week of Prayer have resolved to make it publicized.
Most Rev. Denis J. Madden, retired Auxiliary Bishop, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore and Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, Presiding Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Participants of the National Workshop on Christian Unity 2017
Three Part Harmony Farm and WhyHunger Interviewed by ABC News May 3rd, 2017
Photo credit: Tyler Grigsby Photography
Ahead of the April 29 Climate March in Washington, D.C., on Friday, April 28 Veronica Johnson of the local ABC7 news affiliate visited Three Part Harmony Farm with WhyHunger to learn more about their missions to “end hunger and poverty by connecting people to nutritious, affordable food and by supporting grassroots solutions that inspire self-reliance and community empowerment.”
WATCH A VIDEO OF THE INTERVIEW.
Visit Three Part Harmony Farm’s website.
Learn more about poverty and hunger at WhyHunger.org.
OMI JPIC Hosts Bi-annual Meeting of Advisory Committee May 1st, 2017
Last week JPIC hosted the US JPIC Advisory Committee at a twice-yearly meeting to review and share progress on JPIC’s work. The Committee offered feedback on recent JPIC initiatives and discussed future opportunities.
The meeting’s highlights included viewing and discussing the film, Doctrine of Discovery, presented by Gary Elie and Carleton of the Presbyterian Eco Ministry movement in St. Louis, MO. They shared their insights on dismantling the ‘doctrine of discovery’, which Christian explorers used to lay claim to indigenous lands and called on the faith community to pursue environmental justice and protect the rights of indigenous peoples.
Sr. Maxine Pohlman, SSND, shares latest happenings at La Vista Ecological learning Center in Godfrey, IL.
A second guest presenter was Fr. George Kirwin, OMI, archival researcher and former president of Oblate College, who gave a fascinating talk on the history of the Oblate property in Washington, DC from 1916 to present.
(From L to R) Bayor Chantal, JPIC Volunteer, Fr. Daniel LeBlanc, OMI and Fr. Quilin Bouzi, OMI
The group also toured 3-Part Harmony Farm, the District’s first commercial farm operation located on the grounds of the Oblate residence and listened to a owner/manager Gail Taylor’s update on the farm’s growth.
On Saturday, April 29, some committee members and staff attended the People’s Climate March in Washington, DC, a national event coinciding with President Trump’s 100th day in office.
(From L to R) Fr. Antonio Ponce, OMI, Fr. Seamus Finn, OMI, Sr. Maxine Pohlman, SSND, Christine Ilewski-Huelsmann (Gary’s wife) and Gary Huelsmann (Committee Chairman)
- Mr. Gary Huelsmann, Chair, is Chief Executive Officer at Caritas Family Solutions, Belleville, IL
- James Brobst, OMI, Consultant and Liturgical Organist and Midwest Area Councilor for the US Province
- Séamus Finn, OMI, is Chief of Faith Consistent Investing – OIP Investment Trust & Consultant
- Fr. Quilin Bouzi, OMI, is Parochial Vicar of Our Lady of Hope Parish in Buffalo, NY
- Dr. Victor Carmona, is Assistant Professor of Moral Theology at the Oblate School of Theology, San Antonio, TX
- Antonio Ponce, OMI, is Director of JPIC
- Sr. Maxine Pohlman, SSND, is Director of the Oblate Ecology Initiative
- Ms. Patti Radle, is Co-Director of Inner City Development, San Antonio, TX
- George Ngolwe, is Associate Director of JPIC
Seven Christian Leaders Arrested Protesting Trump’s Budget Proposal April 26th, 2017
Seven leaders from various faith traditions including Catholic, United Methodist, Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, and the National Baptist Convention were arrested on Monday after protesting on Capitol Hill in opposition to President Donald Trump’s “immoral” budget proposal. The detainees were part of a larger march of people attending the annual Ecumenical Advocacy Days for Global Peace with Justice, an ecumenical event to mobilize for advocacy on a wide variety of U.S. domestic and international policy issues.
Faith-based Organizations Urge Congress: Border Wall Proposal Inconsistent with Interfaith Values April 25th, 2017
About eighty national and state groups from various faith traditions issued a letter asking Congress to stand against any funding for a border wall or other forms of border militarization. “We stand against a wall because our faith communities have ministries and relationships deeply rooted in border communities and through these relationships, we’ve found that walls do not deter migration, they are an ineffective and immoral use of public funds, they hurt communities, businesses, and landowners in the border region, they increase risk of flooding and cause other environmental harms, and they infringe on the rights of indigenous communities.” The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate JPIC joined other faith-based organizations in endorsing and signing the letter.
