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St. Martin of Tours Parish - San Jose, CA

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St. Martin's Peace and Justice Ministries

church

The Power of Forgiveness

You may have noticed the large banner (above) hanging outside of St. Martin's Church. Here is some more information about this new program at our parish.

What:  A discussion group focusing on the movie ‘The Power of  Forgiveness” by Martin Doblmeier and the book of the same name by Kenneth Briggs.  We will be covering the following issues:

  • What  Forgiveness is and what it isn’t
  • Religious background of Forgiveness, Christian/Jewish/Muslim/Buddhist/Hindu/…
  • Forgiveness as a part of our physical, emotional, spiritual health
  • Forgiveness as Power, as Grace
  • Forgiveness as a part of our Justice system, our political system
  • Forgiveness as a part of our community
  • Forgiving yourself, forgiving others, being forgiven

When: The group will meet for 5 weeks during Lent, beginning  Thursday, March 5, 2009. Each meeting will last 90 minutes.  Each participant must do the required readings (about 30 pages) to get the most out of the group.   The book “The Power of Forgiveness” must be purchased ($16.50).

Please direct any questions to Leslie Plecque at St. Martin's Pastoral Services Office (289-9617) or Patrick O’Meara (998-7984), the Chair of the Peace and Justice Commission.

For more background information, go to http://www.thepowerofforgiveness.com/

 

The Issue of Torture

The above banner is on display outside our church during the month of June. On the weekend of May 31/June 1, Peace and Justice Commission members spoke at the end of Mass about the issue of torture. They also had a table outside the church with more information along with a petition for people to sign. Here is the text of Patrick O'Meara's statement at the end of Mass: (Patrick is the Chair of the Peace and Justice Commission)

“Torture is a Moral Issue”

Banners like the one outside are being displayed in June at over 300 churches in the U.S.

The top leaders of our country approve the use of torture including waterboarding.

  1. But, Torture is sin.   
    • Our bible, our church teachings emphasize a life that is to be filled with compassion, peace, love , forgiveness.
    • The U.S. Bishops Conference have been clear: Torture is an intrinsic evil. Respect for the dignity of every person, ally or enemy, must serve as the foundation of security, justice and peace.
    • Jesus asks us to take care of the poor, the most vulnerable: no exceptions, no exclusions.  
    • To inflict pain and suffering on someone who is already at our mercy defies all that we know about our Christian values.
  2. Torture doesn’t work, Torture is against International Law and
  3. Torture hurts us all.
    • The suffering for the victims doesn’t stop when they’re released.  The results, psychological and physical, don’t go away.
    • How about the torturer?   What damage is done to those who inflict such pain?
    • How about our country?   Have we lost our soul, our claim to be a land of freedom?

So, What to do?  We can just turn away; Turn away from Jesus; We can only do small things. 

This parish is a member of National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT).  Over 300 in this parish signed petitions a year ago that said ‘NO’ to torture, no exceptions.    

  • You can sign that petition today after Mass.   
  • You can write to your president, your senators, your congressman, your friends about the issue.  
  • You can have your picture taken under the banner outside (CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTOS).  
  • Pick up some materials on the table outside.  
  • Next Sunday, June 8, see the video in the Bailey House (after 8:30, 10:00 Masses).  
  • Spread the good word about love for your neighbor.

For more information about National Religious Campaign Against Torture, go to http://www.nrcat.org/

Mission Statement of the Peace and Justice Commission

St. Martin of Tours Peace and Justice Commission strives to alleviate the root cause and effect of injustice, while witnessing and embracing Gospel values.

Our goals and objectives are:

  • Educate parishioners and ourselves about justice issues
  • Engage parishioners to live out Christ's call to work for peace and justice
  • Support and promote programs that address social justice issues.

Peace and Justice Commission

The Peace and Justice Commission is involved in a number of social justice activities both within the parish and outside the parish boundaries.  Our mission is to provide information about current peace and justice issues at the local, national and international levels and to lead and suggest actions that individual parishioners can take regarding these issues.  The following are some of the areas in which we have been involved: 

..................ECONOMIC JUSTICE
  Fair Trade Sales On the second Sunday of each month, Commission members offer a number of Fair Trade items for sale to parishioners after Mass. These items include Fair Trade coffees, teas, cocoa and chocolate. Items can be purchased during the week, throughout the month, at the Bailey House.
  Fair Trade Faire For the past three years, the Commission has sponsored a Fair Trade Faire and invites Pachamama and Integrity Express to offer their wares outside the church after the Masses. In addition to our usual Fair Trade coffee, tea, cocoa and chocolate, their products include Fair Trade clothing, crafts, toys and houseware.
  Hotel Workers/Fair Wages

We have spoken at Masses and gathered signatures from parishioners in support of fair wages and humane working conditions for local hotel workers.
WORK FOR PEACE
 
  Peace Prayer At various times throughout the year (usually during Advent and Lent) the Commission sponsors a special Evening Prayer for Peace in the Church. We are proud that we have been designated by the diocese as a 'Peace' parish and we try to live up to that name in everything we do.
 

Peace Demonstrations

Work to Stop Torture

The Commission has given our support and our presence to local groups that are against the war in Iraq and against the torture used by our government during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

We have spoken at Masses about the torture issue and gathered names of parishioners in a petition-signing event against torture. During Lent, we showed a film by Amnesty International about the rendition program prior to the Evening Prayer for Peace.

  Darfur We also have spoken at Masses about the need for our government to become more involved in the crisis in Darfur and have held petition-signing events after Mass on this issue.
POVERTY............
  
  Transitional Housing Meals Once a year, the parish cooks meals for a week for the men participating in the Transitional Housing program while they are housed at Transfiguration Parish.
  Outreach See information about the Food Box Program and Cloak Drive below.
EDUCATION......
  
  JustFaith, The Commission has coordinated the JustFaith program in our parish for a number of years, in cooperation with a number of parishes in the Northwest Deanery. JustFaith is a national program, which offers parishes an intense program of study on justice-related issues in a small faith-sharing setting.
  Burbank Tutoring Program The Commission has helped to coordinate parishioners participating in a special tutoring program at nearby Burbank Elementary School, which serves many under-privileged students.
  Educational and Action Activites The Commission has arranged for speakers (Fr. Roy Bourgeois last year and Julie Coyne this year) who have presented excellent talks on economic and social justice issues.  We have presented videos, led discussion groups on death penalty issues and invited Norma Hammons of Birthright to speak after masses on abortion and the right to life.
     
Food Box

Other Justice-related Activities in the Parish:

  • FOOD BOX PROGRAM : Parishioners are encouraged to bring unperishable food items to church, which they deposit in barrels in the entryways. Once a month, parishioners gather in the gym to sort the food and pack it into food boxes to be given to those in need. Special collections and donations are used to purchase perishable food items.
  • CLOAK DRIVE: In honor of our patron saint, Martin of Tours, who shared his cloak with the poor, the parish has a yearly "Share Your Cloak" drive. Parishioners are encouraged to bring in warm coats and blankets, in good repair, to be distributed to the homeless and those in need. This year, the Girl Scouts helped to coordinate the drive.

We know we're not addressing every issue as there is much more to be done to correct the social injustices of our world.  We are looking for the energy that YOU have so that we can become an even better force for the human justice about which our Gospels speak and the Catholic Church teaches.  Please consider becoming a member of the Peace and Justice Commission.

Peace and Justice Commission Meetings: We meet monthly, currently on the second Thursday of each month at 7:30 in the Community Room.  Our meetings are full of prayer, discussion and laughter as we try to find ways to make a difference in our parish and in our world.

Fr. Jon Pedigo's Podcasts

Fr. Jon Pedigo is the pastor of St. Julie's Parish in San Jose. He has been active in civic affairs and social justice causes for over 25 years, serves on the Human Concerns Commission of the Diocese of San José and the Inter-Faith Council of Santa Clara County, and is currently working on immigrant rights and affordable housing. He has an informative blog on their parish website, and has recently started making video podcasts. To view them, go to Fr. Jon's Page (you will probably need updated software and a good connection to view them, but they are worth it). Fr. Jon is energetic, intelligent, gifted, and occasionally controversial, but never boring.

Catholic Relief Services Blog!

Click on bar at left to go to the Catholic Relief Services Blog, which has many interesting stories about people and situations in the developing world.

Daniel Evans enters the Peace Corps

Many of you may remember Chip and Laynette Evans, who led the music at the 10 a.m. Mass for many years.

Their son, Daniel, who is a graduate of St. Martin's School, Bellarmine and S.C.U., has just joined the Peace Corps. He will be working in Mali, West Africa and has created a blog to keep folks informed about his on-going adventures there.

To access his blog, go to http://gone2mali.blogspot.com It's both interesting and informative, and Daniel's commitment to service is inspiring.

The students at St. Martin's School will also be following Daniel's work in Mali through their Junior High Social Studies instructor, Doug Killin.

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