February 26, 2019: Peace of Christ Conference

The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio through their Office of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation, invite all friends, Sisters, Associates, and Sponsored Ministries of the Congregation around the world to participate in the Peace of Christ Conference that will focus on the theme: “Active Nonviolence: A Paradigm Shift towards a More Peaceful World.”  

This is the 17^th annual Mother St. Pierre Lecture sponsored by the University of the Incarnate Word Religious Studies Department and the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio.   The Conference will take place February 26, 2019 at 7:00pm (central time) with a presentation by Marie Dennis, Co-President of Pax Christi International and international peace leader with the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative. 

Online transmission of the Conference will be available in both English and Spanish.  You can register your participation here.  Viewers may e-mail in questions during the presentation.  All will be sent the e-mail address for sending in questions.  A recording of the presentation will be made available as well for those who are not able to join the live stream.   

The live presentation will take place in the University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, TX, Student Engagement Center.  Local students’ work will be displayed in the same room prior to the presentation, and after the presentation there will be an awards ceremony for writing and art projects about peace in which the names of students from our schools in different countries will be announced. 

All institutions, as you are able, are invited to designate a room with internet connection in their buildings that will be available for anyone who is interested to come and watch the live transmission of the Conference in English or Spanish. 

About Marie Dennis

Marie Dennis has been co-president of Pax Christi International since 2007.  Marie is a laywoman and a mother of six. She holds a masters degree in moral theology from Washington Theological Union and honorary doctorates from Trinity Washington University and Alvernia University. Author or co-author of seven books, Marie serves on the steering committee of the Catholic Peacebuilding Network and as a contributing editor to Sojourners magazine, and recently ended her service on the national board of JustFaith Ministries. A Pax Christi USA Ambassador of Peace, Marie has served on the board of Pax Christi International since 1999.

Informational Links:

https://www.paxchristi.net/

https://www.paxchristi.net/sites/default/files/documents/appeal-to-catholic-church-to-recommit-to-nonviolence.pdf

http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/peace/documents/papa-francesco_20161208_messaggio-l-giornata-mondiale-pace-2017.html

| FULL PROGRAM |

6:00 p.m.        Reception and Exhibition of all “Culture of Peace” Student Projects

7:00 p.m.        Conference with Presentation by Marie Dennis

8:00 p.m.        Awards Presentation of Student Winners from our Educational Institutions

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The Conference will be recorded for those who are not able to watch the live stream. 

A link to the recording will be sent to all for later viewing as well.

A Call to Mercy and Justice

By Jennifer Reyes Lay

Opening ceremonies of welcome and exchange

Last weekend Nov. 11-13^th I had the opportunity to attend Call To Action’s annual conference, hosted this year in Albuquerque, NM.  The theme for the Conference was “One Earth, One People, A Call to Mercy and Justice.”  Incorporating this theme into the spirit and activities of the Conference, there were many different presentations from people of various cultures, ethnicities, and parts of the world, sharing about our common work for mercy and justice.  Liturgical and prayer celebrations included song, dance, movement, and reflection from indigenous communities of Albuquerque and indigenous Latino communities.  The Conference opened with a special ceremony of representatives from one of the local indigenous communities welcoming us into their space and land, and sharing gifts of friendship and hospitality.  It then continue with women sharing stories about their ancestors, and honoring our various stories of how they arrived from Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America.  The preacher for the closing liturgy was a Navajo man who helped us (Catholics) reflect on our complicity in the Doctrine of Discovery and genocide of native peoples, and call us to repentance and conversion to respect and honor all peoples and creation.   

Young adults with Fr. Richard Rohr

During the weekend there were three main keynote presentations.  Friday night’s keynote was by Fr. Richard Rohr, reflecting on the dynamic relationship of God through the Trinity, and the transformative power that has to offer the Church and the world.  He focused on how relationship, specifically a relationship of giving and receiving love, is central to understanding and experiencing our God.  We too are called to model this dynamic relationship of giving and receiving love in our lives and interactions with the whole of creation.  Saturday’s keynote was a panel of young adult Catholics, sharing about their experiences of being church, Catholic identity, and building intergenerational communities.  It was a lively and inspiring conversation that fueled a lot of hope for moving forward together as an intergenerational church committed to the work of justice and peace in our world.  Sunday’s keynote was presented by Dr. Greer Gordon, a Roman Catholic theologian, author, and lecturer known for her work in the field of apologetics, evangelization, and catechetics.  She offered a powerful witness and challenge of what is means to be the body of Christ in the U.S. today given the reality of a Trump presidency.  She spoke of her own personal experiences of being targeted by racism and encouraged all those present to not give in to fear, but to stand as prophetic witnesses, imaging Christ in the world, and being prepared to give the ultimate sacrifice just like he did if necessary.  She challenged us to reflect on and take seriously what it means to be followers of Christ in the world today, and to act accordingly, pushing the Church to do the same where it currently fails to do so. 

Members of the CTA 20/30 community

In addition to the keynote speakers, there were many workshops held throughout the Conference on a wide range of topics including our responsibility to protect and care for the environment, decolonization and shadow work, peace and nonviolence, Latina and mujerista theology, mercy and restorative justice, and interfaith perspectives among others.  The Conference also had particular spaces for me, as a young adult Catholic, to gather with other young adults in our 20s and 30s to build community and share ideas.  I really appreciated these spaces to network with other young adults inspired by their faith to work for peace and justice in the world.  They give me a lot of hope for the years ahead of us! 

Joint CTA and Strong Families Press Conference

Call to Action as an organization has also made a commitment to actively work to become an anti-racist, anti-oppressive organization and to dismantle structural racism in our church and in the world.  Part of this work involves connecting with local organizations and communities where the Conference is held to see how they can partner with them to lift up their own local work against racism and oppression.  At this year’s conference, CTA partnered with Strong Families New Mexico to hold a joint march and press conference for mercy and justice.  Strong Families is active in the Albuquerque area supporting victims of violence and discrimination and working for justice.  Together CTA and Strong Families held a march with signs stating that we stand in solidarity together, we call for mercy and justice in our communities, and that love will always trump hate and violence.  I was grateful for the opportunity to participate in this action of solidarity. 

Overall it was a wonderful weekend, full of inspiring and challenging messages of how to be the body of Christ in the world today, particularly in light of the divides and hateful rhetoric we have experienced in this past election cycle.  The message I was left with is that we have a lot of work to do, but we can take comfort in the knowledge that we do not do this work alone.  God is with us as we stand together to create a world of mercy and justice for all.  

Laudato Si Online Conference June 13-17th

The celebration of the Laudato Si’ anniversary next week will be memorable.

We are glad to announce that Senior Vatican officials, world-renowned experts of multiple disciplines and leaders from different faiths will come together in the Laudato Si’ Online Conference to share their Laudato Si’ insights with you.

It will be an exciting online conference that you can join from your computer, in which prominent leaders will dialogue in depth about Laudato Si’ and each of its chapters.

• Vatican officials such as Cardinal Turkson (Pontifical Council Justice & Peace), Bishop Sanchez Sorondo (Pontifical Academy of Sciences) and Cardinal Onaiyekan (Archbishop of Abuja)
• World-renowned experts such as Jeffrey Sachs (bestselling author & UN Senior Advisor), Marcia McNutt (Editor-in-Chief of the Science journals) and Veerabhadran Ramanathan (atmospheric scientist)
• Faith leaders such as Rabbi Rick Jacobs, Rev. Kyoichi Sugino (Buddhist Dharma Teacher) and Din Syamsuddin (Islamic scholar); and
• Notable theologians such as Fr. Michael Perry (Minister General of Franciscan order), Mary Evelyn Tucker (Yale University) and Fr. Sean McDonagh (Columban eco-theologian).

Space is limited so register today!

REGISTER FOR THE ONLINE CONFERENCE

This online conference was developed in the interest of following the Pope’s “urgent appeal for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet”.

Our common home is in grave danger from climate change and the wider environmental crisis. Every month this year has been the hottest one on record.The faith community was VITAL in lifting up the moral call for action on climate at Paris. We cannot let this energy die away. This is a moment for us to remind ourselves why we are acting, to re-engage our communities, and to show our governments that we are still here, willing to dialogue and hungry for action.

Called to Live Mercy in Our Common Home

By Jennifer Reyes Lay

The weekend of January 23^rd-26^th I traveled to Washington D.C. to attend the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering on behalf of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word.  The theme for the conference was “Called To Live Mercy in Our Common Home,” drawing on both the Year of Mercy and Pope Francis’ encyclical Ladato Si’.  It just so happened that Blizzard Jonas was also visiting Washington D.C. that same weekend, but that didn’t stop the 200 or so of us from attending, and thanks to technology we were still able to connect and hear from most of the major keynote speakers! 

The Conference brought together various social ministries throughout the United States, some national organizations like Catholic Relief Services, Catholic Charities, and the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, and other smaller, local groups like state Catholic Caucuses, justice coordinators, campus ministers, and students from Catholic Universities. 

A major part of the first two days were Keynote presentations.  The opening keynote was given by Bishop Nelson Perez, a member of the USCCB subcommittee for Hispanic Affairs and subcommittee for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD).  Bishop Perez talked about the power of encounter, how Christ doesn’t make appointments but just shows up in our lives in unexpected ways in the form of our brothers and sisters, in the form of the poor.  We are called to be the living Mercy of God, and there is transformational power in these encounters we are invited to have during this Year of Mercy. 

The following day Sr. Kathleen McManus, OP, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Portland gave the Slat and Light Plenary on the Global Suffering of Women as an Ethical Imperative for the Church.  She used the Scripture story of the bent over woman in Luke who is healed and can stand straight as an example of encounter on the periphery with those who are suffering, and the transformative journey to freedom and liberation.  She offered some powerful and challenging testimony on how the patriarchal theologies of the Church function to reinforce the global suffering of women.  She also shared about the power present in acts of resistance which is the power of the resurrection, of life saying no to death.  After her talk there was a powerful panel of women witnesses who shared about their own experiences as women, particularly through the lens of their other identities as women of color, immigrants, or differently abled. 

There were various workshops to choose from and I attended one on Living the Jubilee year of mercy and Global Solidarity presented by Fr. David Garcia (from San Antonio!) and Laudato Si in Action presented by Eli McCarthy and Joan Rosenhauer.  Fr. Garcia gave a wonderful presentation on the context for declaring a Jubilee Year of Mercy and global solidarity as a response to what Pope Francis has called the globalization of indifference.  Eli and Joan talked about the work being done in Catholic communities throughout the U.S. to implement Laudato Si.  Participants in the workshop also shared about their own experiences sharing Laudato Si in their parishes, schools, and congregations, including what has worked well and what challenges have come.  I was able to share about the community conversations we have been having throughout the CCVI Congregation and Institutions in the U.S., Mexico, and Peru.  There are many opportunities and resources to implement the call of Laudato Si in our lives, and it was wonderful to hear about what others around the country are doing. 

A big focus of this conference was on advocacy, and putting our faith into action through political participation, advocating for policies that support our Catholic values.  Most of Monday was spent on political education preparing for Congressional visits the following day.  Unfortunately the Congressional visits were cancelled due to the blizzard, but we still received good information to take home for local congressional visits.  Some of the main topics identified were relating to immigration, climate change, criminal justice reform, and the budget.  This was an important part of the conference that was a good reminder about the power of our collective action and appealing to values over partisan politics.  I learned that the number of Catholics in the Democratic party and the Republican party are very similar in both the House and the Senate.  This shows that Catholic values could be a unifying bridge, appealing to their common values, in what is currently a very divided Congress.  We were also reminded that you don’t have to be an expert to contact your representative or senator and tell them what you care about and why you want them to vote a certain way.  Our elected officials need to hear from us, and value what we have to say, even if at the end of the day they don’t vote how we want them to.  

Overall despite the blizzard raging outside, we kept warm and fired up inside with engaging discussions and challenging presentations, motivated to carry what we learned with us back into our communities and also back into our local and national politics.  I am grateful for the opportunity to have participated in this Conference, and was able to make a lot of wonderful contacts with potential future partners whose organizations are also working to incarnate the love of God in the world by responding to the suffering of the poor and most vulnerable throughout our world.