The Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge Bishop of Raleigh
Today's Readings Liturgical Calendar

Sacred Heart Cathedral 200 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, North Carolina

 Sacred HeartBeats

e-news for the Social Justice Ministries at Cathedral

May 2012

 

You are invited!

Volunteer Appreciation Mass & Dessert Reception

Friday, May 11

Mass is at 7:30 PM with reception to follow in the rectory.

 

I hope everyone can come and rejoice together for all the good works done at Sacred Heart. You are truly “Sacred HeartBeats”! Wear your pin!

Peace and Joy in all you do,

Barbara Quinby MPS

 

JustReflecting

 

Contemplative reading means taking a single word or idea and really letting it sink into your interior life. I offer these reflections for just such contemplation. A little tribute to mothers this May:

Woman knows what man has long forgotten, that the ultimate economic and spiritual unit of any civilization is still the family.-- Clare Boothe Luce

 

 

JustLearning

 

Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton- Becoming Who You Already Are

I am looking to begin this study on Tuesday evening, May 29^th for eight weeks. We will meet from 7PM to 8:30 PM at St. Monica Center. A real summer treat. Contact Barbara at socialconcern@sacredheartcathedral.org to RSVP.

 

Caritas in Veritate independent reflection series is on the Sacred Heart website under parish ministries/social justice. The reflections are on Pope Benedict XVI 2009 encyclical Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth) and they were put together by the USCCB. The encyclical is rich in social justice teachings and helps us reflect in faith more deeply. Give yourselves this Eastertime gift. www.sacredheartcathedral.org

 

Only your participation can make JustFaith happen! We want to have groups this fall for JustFaith and JustFaith Engaging Spirituality. This is a terrific way to deepen your walk with our Lord who loves the poor. I have five names so far for each of the courses and I need to have class sizes of about 10 people each. You can check out the JustFaith website at www.justfaith.org RSVP to Barbara at socialconcern@sacredheartcathedral.org

 

JustLiving

 

OPERATION RICE BOWL—Our faith community raised $1444.00 for Catholic Relief Services. Your participation in Operation rice Bowl will continue to make a difference throughout this year. Thank you always for your generosity.

From Roberta Macauley at Catholic Charities—Did you know that on any given night in Wake County, more than 1,000 persons are homeless, living without the safety and security that most of us enjoy and oftentimes take for granted? This figure does not even account for those who live transiently from relative to relative, under bridges and bypasses, or in their cars. The growing number of homeless families in our community is something that we as people of faith can no longer ignore. This means we must more effectively live out our faith to help these families escape the bondage of homelessness and rise to independent, stable living where they can raise their children and contribute as full participants in our society. One component of this partnership to end homelessness is coordinated through the Raleigh Regional Office of Catholic Charities.

 

The Support Circle Program involves recruiting, training, and supporting local churches in the area. Each church forms a core "Support Circle Team" that partners with one homeless family as they transition out of their current situation and into more independent, self-sufficient living. We have an opportunity to form a new Support Circle and help a small family that has already found a place to live but needs life skills assistance. We still need a few more loving hearts to surround this family. Please contact Barbara at socialconcern@sacredheartcathedral.org to join this ministry. The need is acute.

 

From Elizabeth Dunbar-- Join the Sage Brigade “Ambassadors”--There are lots of opportunities for you to participate in this Ministry which takes just a few minutes after Mass. As an “ambassador” of Sacred Heart, you would assist the homeless with information about area agencies, provide a way for parishioners to send questions to the Leadership Councils, and hand out information for those wishing to get involved with Social Justice Ministries at Sacred Heart. Contact Elizabeth Dunbar to lend a hand once a month after the Mass you attend. Dunbarcc@aol.com or 919.836.8136

 

From Sandy Peace—SOCIETY OF ST. ANDREW NEEDS LOTS of STRAWBERRY GLEANERS!!! A farmer near Benson (about 30 minutes from Raleigh) has generously given the Society of St. Andrew an entire field of delicious (and beautiful) strawberries! We need gleaners to pick them. We will be gleaning Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for the next two weeks, at least, and probably for three. We'll glean from 9:00-11:00 or noon. (You can decide when you need to stop.) Let me know if you can join us on any of these days and I'll send directions and details. (If you want to glean, but these dates/times don't work for you, let me know that too. Perhaps we can arrange another time...especially if you're a group.) The dates are: Sat. Apr. 28, Tue. May 1, Thu. May 3, Sat. May 5, Tue. May 8, Thu. May 10, and Sat. May 12. Let me know if you would like to take some berries to a food ministry that you support. Please consider this seriously. This is a wonderful opportunity to provide beautiful, delicious and fresh strawberries to our neediest neighbors.....and gleaning strawberries is FUN! Invite a friend(s) and join us. It's a delightful way to spend a morning. Also, this farmer has a 'pick-your-own' field where you can pick berries to buy or you can buy berries already picked. See you soon....and THANK YOU for your willingness to glean with us. Rebecca Page Triangle Gleaning Coordinator 919-533-9609

PS: Contact her for liability waiver that each gleaner must complete and bring when they come to glean. gleantriangle@endhunger.org

 

From Kate Russell—It’s not too late to sign up to participate in the Witness for Justice Volunteer Program with Legal Aid of NC. The WFJ program visits migrant labor camps throughout the harvesting seasons of June-October. Migrant farmworkers often live in isolation, cut off from transportation, basic services, and human contact, yet they are within driving distance of the Triangle. We are looking for conscientious individuals to visit them, build relationships, and bear witness to the injustices faced by those men and women who labor so intensely to put food on our tables. When: Evenings between June and October. Volunteers usually meet at the Legal Aid office in Raleigh (224 S Dawson St) around 5:30 or 6pm to accompany outreach team members to labor camps. We usually return between 9-10pm. Spanish is useful, but NOT REQUIRED to participate! There will be training for all volunteers before they go on outreach that will be in late May or early June. More details to come on the training. We are very flexible with your schedule--if you can come once, great; if you can come twice a month, even better. We want everyone to be able to bear witness to the sometimes very hidden lives of these hardworkers For more information or to express interest in becoming a volunteer: Please contact Kate Russell or Omar Lainez at (919) 856-2180 or at the following email addresses kater@legalaidnc.org or omarl@legalaidnc.org. Here is the website for our program: http://www.farmworkerlanc.org/get-involved/witness-for-justice

 

From St. Francis of Assisi Parish--Come hear Dr. Abdelfattah Abusrour talk about theater and arts in promoting justice in Palestine, May17th, 7:00 PM in Founders Room at St. Francis of Assisi. Dr. Abusrour, Palestinian playwright, refugee from Bethlehem's Aida refugee camp, is the founder and director of the Al Rowwad Cultural and Theatre Training Center. It provides educational programs, social services, creative non-violent expression through the performing and visual arts as well as vocational skills that empower the community and seek to build a culture of peace and hope for the future. Co-sponsored by the Justice Theater Project and Coalition for Peace with Justice.

http://stfrancispastoralministries.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/arts-and-justice-speaker-from-palestine-coming-to-st-francis-of-assisi/  And while I am on the subject of Palestine, this came in last month:

Hold on Palestinian Aid Lifted - Thanks to months of advocacy by USCCB and CRS and other partners, including the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering hill visits and an interfaith statement to Congress, the Congressional hold on humanitarian and poverty-focused development aid to Palestinians has been lifted! On April 12, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, decided to release the remaining portion of life-saving aid to the Palestinians. USCCB strongly commends the release of this vital humanitarian and poverty-focused development aid. On behalf of USCCB and CRS, thank you to all those who helped advocate for this important cause.

 

Just for Fun-- Little Johnny and his family were having Sunday dinner at his grandmother's house. Everyone was seated around the table as the food was being served. When Little Johnny received his plate, he started to eat right away.

"Johnny! Please wait until we say our prayer," said his mother. "I don't need to," the boy replied.

"Of course, you do," his mother insisted. "We always say a prayer before eating at our house."

"That's at our house." Johnny explained. "But this is Grandma's house, and she knows how to cook.

 

JustFutureHopes

 

Food Stamps (SNAP) are Threatened With Cuts! Urge the House Agriculture Committee to Oppose Cuts or Changes That Hurt Hungry, Poor and Vulnerable People in Need!

 

Tell members of the House Agriculture Committee that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP-- formerly the food stamp program) helps children, seniors, and others in need. Urge them to create of a "circle of protection" around the SNAP program and to oppose cuts or other reductions to the SNAP program that will harm hungry, poor and vulnerable people.

 

CURRENT SITUATION: SNAP helps feed millions of households every day; 76 percent of which include a child, senior or person with a disability. This also includes workers who cannot provide sufficient nutrition for their families. The House Agriculture Committee is expected to amend and debate a bill Wednesday that will cut $33 billion from the food stamp program to comply with instructions in the House-passed budget resolution.

 

At this time of continued unemployment and high levels of poverty, the House Agriculture Committee should oppose cuts to this effective and efficient anti-hunger program that helps people live in dignity. If cuts are necessary, the committee should first look towards reducing and targeting commodity and subsidy programs that disproportionately go to large growers and agribusiness.

 

The bishops acknowledge that reducing future unsustainable deficits is important but remind Congress that their decisions are not just economic but "political and moral choices with human consequences." As pastors and teachers they offer several moral criteria to help guide difficult budgetary decisions.

 

USCCB POSITION/CHURCH TEACHING: Last October in his Address on the Occasion of World Food Day 2011, Pope Benedict stated that "liberation from the yoke of hunger is the first concrete expression of the right to life." The U.S. bishops join the Holy Father in asserting that food is a fundamental human right. In, For I Was Hungry and You Gave Me Food," the bishops wrote, "the primary goals of agriculture policies should be providing food for all people and reducing poverty among farmers and farm workers in this country and abroad." The U.S. bishops urge Congress to join them and other Christian leaders by forming a "circle of protection" around programs that serve hungry, poor and vulnerable people.

Contact Your House Members Now

 

JustComments

Hope to see you at the Volunteer Appreciation Mass!

 

If you know of anyone who would like to receive this e-mail, have them contact me. That also works if you do not wish to be on this mailing list.

socialconcern@sacredheartcathedral.org

 

Deep peace from the heart of Mary
 

  

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