The Peace & Social Justice (PSJ) Ministry at St. Teresa of Avila has a dual mission of education and advocacy. Our goal is to deepen the parish community’s understanding of social justice issues in order to motivate and activate the community to take action, advocate for justice, and make a difference in our world.
The PSJ committee focuses on education as one of its two primary goals. We recently conducted a workshop with Fr. Dan Hartnett S.J. of Loyola University titled “Discernment for Community Organizing.” Our next workshop, “Catholic Social Teaching and Our Response to Racism” will be conducted in early 2020.
The second focus of the PSJ committee's work is advocacy. This summer, we attended the March to End Criminalization, Detention, and Deportations in downtown Chicago. We also recently sent two representatives on a Pilgrimage to El Paso, TX as part of the "Jornada por la Justicia" teach-in and action being hosted by Hope Border Institute in collaboration with the Latinx Catholic Leadership Coalition (LCLC).
The peace and social justice committee works in partnership with the Coalition for Spiritual & Public Leadership , a Chicagoland not-for-profit, multi-racial, multi-ethnic grassroots led coalition that includes parishes, institutions and communities to address racial, social, economic, and environmental injustice by building power that is rooted in the vision of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. CSPL trains and develops faith leaders and their respective congregations and institutions to enter into public life in a manner that is strategic, communal, and grounded in the Catholic spiritual and theological traditions.
We are currently looking for participants with a passion for justice to participate in this ministry. Speak to Fr. Frank or contact Grace Rucker at gdeardurff3@gmail.com .