World Refugee Day Local Events - San Antonio and St. Louis

For Sisters and Friends in San Antonio, TX and St. Louis, MO we encourage you to attend the following events to celebrate World Refugee Day 2019.

San Antonio


World Refugee Day Art Event

Tuesday, June 18th at 6:00pm
Brick at Blue Star Arts Complex

Join Catholic Charities for an evening of art, entertainment, and libations as we raise awareness and promote advocacy for the refugee community. Guests can expect a special evening including international cuisine and entertainment, a henna artist, and a silent auction with items made by our newcomers.

Contact Elizabeth Ortiz at (210) 242-3151 or eortiz@ccaosa.org for more information or tickets.

St. Louis

Bagels and Coffee: World Refugee Day 

Thursday, June 20, 2019, 8:00 - 9:15 am
International Institute, 3401 Arsenal St, St. Louis, MO 63118
RSVP to info@iistl.org or Eventbrite at least 24 hours in advance

Join us for an informative panel discussion plus Q&A to recognize World Refugee Day as designated by the United Nations. 

Event is free and open to the public - please park in the off-street lot in the rear; enter from Louisiana Ave.

Doors open 15 minutes prior to start of program. This program is part of IISTL's ongoing Bagels & Coffee Speaker Series.

World Refugee Day Celebration 

Thursday, June 20th at 6:00pm 

Grace United Methodist Church 

6199 Waterman Blvd, 63112

You are invited to a Welcome Neighbor STL Supper Club event to support refugee families recently settled in St. Louis. Enjoy food, conversation, and catching up with friends – old and new. From cultural exchange to just plain fun, look forward to a great evening.

These meals present an opportunity for immigrant families to share knowledge and skills unique to them. It is also an opportunity for us to get a glimpse into their culture. These fundraising efforts can set them on a path of greater independence and confidence in their lives here in in the USA.

When you attend a Welcome Neighbor STL Supper Club, your meal will be prepared by immigrant neighbors who will share their culture and cooking skills by providing a table full of traditional food from their country of origin.

Suggested donation: $25 per person.

CCVIs Commemorate Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

On Sunday, January 20th, St. Louis celebrated the Archdiocesan Mass for the Preservation of Peace and Justice. This celebration is always held the day before Martin Luther King Day at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. We were honored that our CCVI Novice, Sr. Christi Sanchez, was asked to proclaim the second reading in Spanish. She did a beautiful job.

 

Sr. Christi Sanchez reading at the Basilica

Fr. Art Cavitt, Pastor of St. Nicholas Parish and Executive Director of the St. Charles Lwanga Center delivered the powerful homily centering on the Gospel reading. He explained that while Jesus said at Cana that His hour had not come, Mary knew it had come. She stepped aside and told the servers, “Do whatever He tells you.” Fr. Cavitt emphasized that our time as the people of God has come. No matter how we may feel about all the challenges in the world and the church, our time is now. The time for racism and all the other isms is over. He recognized the young people from the area parishes and high schools who were honored with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Model of Justice Award, telling them that their time is not somewhere in the future. Their time is now!

At the awards ceremony immediately after Mass, thirty young people were recognized for their work for justice in their lives and in the St. Louis community. Among them was Zoe Webster from Incarnate Word Academy.  The St. Charles Lwanga Center which Fr. Cavitt directs is the site where Sister Christi goes each week for her ministry experience.

 

Zoe is pictured with Archbishop Robert Carlson
and Father Art Cavitt. 

We thank God that so many from St. Louis participated in this event and that our CCVI mission and ministries were so well represented.

Reflection by Sr. Helena Monahan CCVI 

#FamiliesBelongTogether Rally in Saint Louis

Event organizers and supporters gather in front of the
Old Court House in downtown St. Louis.

On Thursday, June 14th tens of thousands of people in over 75 cities across the United States participated in marches and rallies to declare that Families Belong Together and to oppose the current inhuman and immoral policies of the United States government which include separating parents from their children without telling them where they are or when they will see them again.  Some ICE officials have even been reported to tell parents that they will never see their children again.  The children that are taken are being warehoused in makeshift cages in re-purposed stores such as a Wal-Mart in Brownsville, TX.  The United Nations has even stepped in to remind the United States government that it is illegal under international law to separate migrant and refugee families; it violates their human rights. 

Sr. Anne Marie Burke CCVI (left) and Jennifer Reyes Lay

In St. Louis, MO the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word were represented by the presence of Sr. Anne Marie Burke CCVI and Jennifer Reyes Lay (Assistant Director of the CCVI JPIC Office) who attended the local march and rally.  Around 150 people gathered in front of the Old Courthouse downtown where a century earlier slaves were sold: black bodies that were deemed less than human and therefore the property of other white bodies.  Those gathered boldly declared "Never Again" would we allow human beings to be treated as property, as less than fully human, like the current immigration policy is treating the men, women, and children fleeing violence and poverty in their own countries. 

Speakers at the rally also included voices of Jewish and Muslim women, Latinos and community organizers, local politicians, and families including children who spoke out against the inhumane treatment of other children just like them. 

Demonstrators block a downtown intersection while
chanting for justice for immigrant families

After the rally at the Old Court House there was a march through the streets to the Federal Courthouse.  About mid-way there, organizers and participants took to the streets and shut down a major intersection for at least 5 minutes to make their message heard and demand justice for migrant and refugee families.  At the conclusion of the march, there was a period of silence to remember all those who have died either trying to cross the border, or at the hands of ICE and immigration while being detained. 

A young boy participates in the moment of silence
holding his sign that says "Don't tear families apart"

Everyone present was reminded of the importance of their vote in electing politicians who will defend justice and speak up for the most vulnerable in our communities to protect their human rights. A bill was just recently presented in the Senate called the "Keep Families Together Act" sponsored by Senator Dianne Feinstein (S.3036).  We encourage you to reach out to your senators and ask them to co-sponsor this bill and put it on the fast track to move through Congress for approval. 

An Evening with John Dear in St. Louis

The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, along with other member Congregations of the St. Louis Intercommunity Ecological Council are pleased to sponsor an evening with renowned author and peace activist John Dear. 

Join us for an evening of reading, reflection and book signing with internationally acclaimed voice for peace and nonviolence, long time activist, popular lecturer, and movement organizer John Dear, sharing about his new book: They Will Inherit the Earth. 

In his landmark work, They Will Inherit the Earth, John Dear shows us why we need to build the global grassroots movement of nonviolence if we are to protect creation.

Dear notes how Jesus connected nonviolence with oneness with creation; how he practiced nonviolence and lived at one with creation, and how we need to do the same.

Books will be available for purchase and signing! 

Attendance is FREE but seating is limited, so please register at the ticket link: http://www.franciscansisters-olph.org/events

1st Annual Sr. Antona Ebo Social Justice Conference

The Archdiocese of St. Louis hosted their first annual Sr. Antona Ebo Social Justice Conference on Saturday, September 29, 2017.  The Conference was named after Sr. Antona Ebo, a Franciscan Sister of Mary and St. Louis native who is a long time witness and advocate for civil rights and social justice.  The conference included an opening keynote talk by Rev. Starsky Wilson, pastor of St. John's UCC and former co-chair of the Ferguson Commission which helped author the report "Forward through Ferguson" of policy recommendations for addressing the systemic racism and injustice throughout St. Louis city and county.  Rev. Starsky reflected on the "unfinished business" of the Christian community in reclaiming our call to be Jesus' witnesses/disciples in the world today.

JPIC Office Assistant Director
introducing the workshop
on human trafficking.

The conference was broken into two sections of breakout workshops focusing on the areas of the death penalty, poverty, human trafficking, care for creation, the school to prison pipeline, issues of health, and immigration.  Jennifer Reyes Lay, Assistant Director for the CCVI Congregational JPIC Office, was invited to moderate the panel on human trafficking and share about Catholic Social Teaching on human trafficking. She shared excerpts from bishop's statements and the past three popes who have all spoken out against human trafficking as a sin that violates human dignity.  She also shared about her work with US Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking and the recent conference in Bogota, Colombia.  The other presenters on the human trafficking panel included a survivor and current advocate, a prosecuting attorney, and a DHS/ICE official who focuses on cases of human trafficking.

Overall there was a diverse group of approximately 300 people in attendance at the conference.  The lunch time panel focused on the "young church doing social justice" and was energetic and inspiring for all to hear about the initiatives led by teenagers and young adults throughout the diocese, putting their faith into action.  This was a common theme heard throughout the conference of encouraging participants to take their faith and worship out of the sanctuary and into the streets, giving witness to the work for justice we are called to as disciples of Christ.
     

Solidarity March and Mass with Immigrants and Refugees

On Saturday, April 8, 2017 hundreds of people gathered at the campus of St. Louis University to stand and march in solidarity with our immigrant and refugee neighbors.  This Solidarity March and Mass at the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica was sponsored by the Archdiocese of St. Louis and co-sponsored by a number of other religious congregations including the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word.  Present at the march representing the Congregation was Sr. Anne Marie Burke, Sr. Pilar Neira, and Jennifer Reyes Lay. 

The group gathered began the event with a series of prayers and songs in both English and Spanish, and reflections led by immigrants and refugees and those who serve them.  Then after about 30 minutes we began a march of solidarity down Lindell Ave. for about one mile, carrying signs of support welcoming immigrants and refugees as a faith commitment.  There were also songs and chants as we marched both in English and Spanish. 

The march ended at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis where a Mass of Solidarity was celebrated.  The Mass was a beautiful multi-cultural celebration incorporating seven languages throughout in prayer and song.  The homilist exclaimed with great joy that this was the first Mass celebrated in Spanish in the Basilica and the whole congregation gathered applauded and cheered!  It was truly a beautiful witness of the diverse Catholic community in St. Louis coming together to celebrate our faith and show our commitment to standing together in these difficult times.

Solidarity Walk with Immigrants and Refugees in St. Louis, MO

Come show your support and solidarity with our immigrant and refugee neighbors!  It's time to put our faith into action and pray with our feet.

The Archdiocese of St. Louis, MO, along with over 20 co-sponsors including the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, encourage everyone in the St. Louis area to join us in a Solidarity Walk and Mass with our immigrant and refugee brothers and sisters on April 8, 2017.

The march will begin at the St. Louis University Clock Tower (free parking available in the Laclede Garage) at 12:00pm.  The group will then leave at 12:15pm walking down Lindell Blvd. to the Cathedral Basilica where a Mass will be offered at 1:30pm.  There will be free shuttles available along the event route.  Groups are encouraged to bring their own school, agency, congregational, or church banners to show support.

If you would like to march with the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, please contact Jennifer Reyes Lay at jpic.office@amormeus.org to coordinate.

For more information about the walk and Mass please contact Marie Kenyon: 314-792-7062 or mariekenyon@archstl.org. 

You can rsvp via the Facebook event here. 

And download a copy of the event flyer in ENGLISH or SPANISH