Human Concerns Committee

St Thomas Aquinas Parish, Palo Alto California

January 2008 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 June 2006 April 2006 March 2006 January 2006 St. Thomas Aquinas Human Concerns Committee Meeting Minutes January 22, 2008 Attendance: Paul Chestnut, Mary Fong, Ruth Chippendale, George Chippendale, Carol Schaffer, Patricia Markee, Terry McCaffrey, Chris Lundin, Laura Chiu, Sasha Madison A new member, Sasha Madison, was welcomed. 1. We had a moment of silence for Tom Jaworowski, who died on December 15. 2. Faith-Sharing/Question of the Week Mary talked about the movie, "God Grew Tired of Us" (the story of four boys from Sudan who embark on a journey to America after years of wandering Sub-Saharan Africa in search of safety). We discussed the question: "Can God Grow Tired of Us?" 3. The November minutes were approved. OLD BUSINESS 4.  Selection of a successor to Tom: Ruth said that she would be the representative of the HCC to the Pastoral Stewardship Council for two months to see whether she can handle it for the next year. Tom also served as parish liaison to the diocesan HCC and as parish representative to the deanery social justice group, and we need people to fill these functions. 5. PSC annual retreat - Saturday, May 17. 6. Report to PSC - Laura Laura attended the January Pastoral Stewardship Council meeting. The main topics were: 1) the archiving project: we agreed that this is a worthwhile activity. The emphasis should be on future fulfillment of a requirement to maintain records in digital form (see item #13). 2) Financial issues 3) Hispanic community doing well 4) Fundraiser Sunday 7. Death Penalty - Terry The National Coalition Against the Death Penalty conference was held January 17 to 20. People from all over the country were present. The Governor of New Jersey, Jon Corzine, who signed a bill to abolish the death penalty on December 17, was there. There was a "families reconciliation workshop;" some say that closure to families is achieved by execution, but that is not true - there is never closure. The County of Santa Clara has a budget problem: two-thirds of the mental health budget is to get cut; the cold case unit is being eliminated. These facts are being used to leverage the District Attorney to eliminate the death penalty, which has a significant cost. A petition was passed around that asks legislators and supervisors to avoid asking for the death penalty. 8. Web Site - Paul Some new items were added. Paul asked for help to review the HCC web page with a view to rearranging and upgrading it. Carol volunteered to help. 9. Christmas gift delivery results - Ruth/George Christmas gifts were delivered to over 1000 families. 10. HCC Budget for 2007 - Terry The HCC budget for 2007 was included with the agenda. NEW BUSINESS 11. Undie Sunday Mary will connect with Nancy Ng. Undie Sunday will be on February 17. Volunteers are needed to collect contributions after each Mass. 12. New Developments on "Faithful Citizenship": "Faithful Citizenship" is a call to political responsibility from the Catholic Bishops. It has to do with what the church teaches regarding issues affecting public policy, and making moral choices. There is a new web site (http://www.usccb.org/faithfulcitizenship/) devoted to this concept. The site includes a wide range of resources for parishes committees, educational programs, youth and young adult ministries, and other groups. To quote from the site: "Parishes may want to consider some ideas to begin developing a plan for sharing the message of Faithful Citizenship, such as bulletin or pulpit announcements and distribution of voter education materials." Promotional mailings are being sent to all parishes. A workshop on Faithful Citizenship is being offered for priests, deacons, and seminarians. HCC is on record for favoring these concepts, since this kind of political participation reflects the social teaching of our Church. 13. Request for archives: The Parish is discussing the need for archiving information associated with its activities, including minutes of meetings, and other forms of data. We agreed that this is a worthwhile activity. The emphasis should be on the goal of maintaining records in the future in digital form. For example, each ministry could provide one CD each year with all of their minutes, agendas, lists, etc. Then these data could be transferred to a database of parish information very easily. Paper records are valuable, but to compile and preserve paper documents from the past seems to be a big job with questionable payoff. We have agendas, minutes, and HCC reports to the Pastoral Stewardship Council for the last two years in digital form. We have names and email addresses of members for the past two years. 14. Pros and Cons of Ballot Propositions - Patricia Meeting on ballot propositions February 3 after the 8:45 Mass at St. Thomas Church. Speaker: Jane Bahr. 15. What's On Your Mind? Patricia: JustFaith Planning - Course modules covering six to eight weeks. Topics: globalization, immigration, and simplification of one's life. Laura: HCC should collect unused gift certificates to raise money. George: The plight of immigrants in our midst. 16. Volunteer for Faith-sharing/Question of the Week Carol volunteered. Next meeting - February 26 St. Thomas Aquinas Human Concerns Committee Meeting Minutes November 27, 2007 Attendance: Paul Chestnut, Tom Jaworowski, Mary Fong, Ruth Chippendale, Carol Schaffer, Patricia Markee, Terry McCaffrey, Kieran McCarty A new member, Kieran McCarty, was welcomed. 1. Faith-Sharing/Question of the Week. Patricia read from the scripture readings from the next Sunday. 2. The October minutes were approved. OLD BUSINESS 3. Status on publications/website/organizations to be monitored by the transition group members 4.  Results of CCHD collection More than $6000 was collected. This is less than last year. 5. Death Penalty conference - Terry The National Coalition Against the Death Penalty conference will be held January 17 to 20. An 800 mile walk will be sponsored by the group; the theme is to persuade District Attorneys to avoid asking for the death penalty. On December 13 there will be a vote in New Jersey to abolish the death penalty. Terry thanked the group for support during the Faith In Action Activity on October 20. 6. Web Site - Paul Two articles that express the opinions of the U.S. Bishops were added to the site: one on the U.S. Farm Bill, and one regarding U.S. trade policy. Key changes to that policy are reflected in the U.S - Peru TPA (Trade Promotional Authority). 7. Christmas food and gift delivery - Ruth/George Gifts will be packed for delivery on Friday. Volunteers are needed. Many young people volunteered for the Thanksgiving food packing and delivery on November 16 and November 17. NEW BUSINESS 8. Faithful Citizenship: A new document (http://www.usccb.org/faithfulcitizenship/FCStatement.pdf) from U.S. Bishops (November 14, 2007): "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship - A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States." The USCCB web site has many excellent ideas: - Bulletin Insert - Planning Ideas for Parish staffs and Parish Councils - Vatican statement: "Doctrinal Note on some questions regarding the participation of Catholics in political life."  - Other Bishops' documents. Some of these will be excellent additions to the HCC web site. 9. What's On Your Mind? Terry: Council of Churches - service for healing on the occurrence of a violent death. Patricia: The youth minister at St. Athanasius was picked up by ICE. The parish organized an immediate prayer service of over 300 people and collected $6000 for his bail. Kieran: Trip to El Centro to see Fr. Louis Vitale, peaceworker, former provincial at Santa Barbara Diocese. 10. Volunteer for Faith-sharing/Question of the Week Mary volunteered. Next meeting - February 26 St. Thomas Aquinas Human Concerns Committee Meeting Minutes October 23, 2007 Attendance: Laura Chiu, Paul Chestnut, Tom Jaworowski, Mary Fong, Ruth Chippendale, Alex Stepanov, Helen Stepanov, Carol Schaffer, Chris Lundin, Patricia Markee 1. Faith-Sharing/Question of the Week. No one was prepared with a faith-sharing question. Tom volunteered one. 2. Welcome to new members. New members Alex and Helen Stepanov were present. Alex discussed their experience in social justice activities. He emphasized that they were interested in doing concrete things, and they were not interested in leadership roles. 3. The September minutes were approved. OLD BUSINESS 4. Tom would still like to be replaced as our PSC representative. He again called for a volunteer, and said that the responsibility amounted to attending one meeting per month and acting as the liaison for the HCC. No one volunteered. NEW BUSINESS 5. Report from Time and Talent weekend - Laura Laura passed out an information sheet that she used at the Time and Talent weekend. It contained the HCC Mission Statement, described on-going activities, and provided key information. The HCC garnered eleven new members, although four of these were "email only," which means that they do not intend to attend the meetings, but are available for volunteering for activities. Laura said that the Parish had not prepared well for this event. 6. "Faith and War" - Laura Laura noted that on November 3 there will be an interactive conversation regarding the issue of our Catholic faith and war. The event is sponsored by JustFaith of St. Mary's Parish in Los Gatos. Two speakers will be Robert Jensen (lecturer, author, and professor of Journalism at the University of Texas) and Larry Lauro (faculty member and counselor at St. Bellarmine Preparatory in San Jose). This event is in response to the recently released letter on Iraq by the U.S. Bishops. A summary of this letter will be contained in the bulletin for Sunday, October 30. 7. Anti-death-penalty rally - Tom An anti-death penalty rally took place on Saturday, October 20 at Lytton Plaza. Rev. Diana Gibson led the group in several prayers. 8. Thanksgiving food packing and delivery - Ruth/George Ruth described the process of gathering and distributing food to needy families for Thanksgiving weekend. The work will take place Friday November 16 from 6:30 to 9 pm and Saturday, November 17 from 9 am to 3 pm at St. Francis of Asissi Church in East Palo Alto. Many volunteers are needed. Similar activities are planned for Christmas. 9. Status on publications/website/organizations to be monitored by the transition group members Several members have volunteered to take up the slack incurred by Walt Lundin's retirement my monitoring various publications for items worthy of placing on our HCC web page. No articles have been turned in yet. Mary Fong had collected various journals from the rectory and brought them to the meeting. Paul accepted the two issues of Commonweal. Carol accepted the issues of Origins. 10. What's On Your Mind? Pat suggested that since controversial propositions are coming up for the ballots in February, June, and November, we ought to plan for how we might address those issues that have a social justice component. We agreed that as long as our opinions have a strong basis in Church teaching, then we have a duty to present these opinions in the bulletin and the web page. Pat discussed the Day Worker Center. The Center recently moved to the Methodist Church on the corner of Mercy and Hope Streets in Mountain View. There are not enough employers for the number of people in need of work. They need Spanish-speaking volunteers. Tom noted that Fr, Daniel Kiriti is in town. He will speak tomorrow night at ---- and he will be the celebrant at the 8:45 Mass at St. Thomas. Among his topics will be progress in the building of a girls' middle school in his parish in Kenya and the progress of educating the young people, some of whom have picked-up bad behavior from the U.S. Culture. Tom proposed a Burning Bush session on non-violence for one of the months between November and January. Because of previous commitments of various parties, there is no firm schedule, but the presentation will probably occur sometime in the first part of 2008. 11. Volunteer for Faith-sharing/Question of the Week Patricia volunteered. Next meeting - November 27 St. Thomas Aquinas Human Concerns Committee Meeting Minutes September 25, 2007 Attendance: Laura Chiu, Paul Chestnut, Tom Jaworowski, Mary Fong, Walt Lundin, Ruth Chippendale, George Chippendale, Cliff Herndon, Natasha Evans-Beauchamp, Kamal Mansour. 1. Faith-Sharing/Question of the Week The Question is provided this month by George. "For the reflection this month there is a little background needed: In an interview in the National Catholic Reporter with Oblate Fr. Ronald Rolheiser, the question was asked: 'What is your definition of spirituality?' A summary of Fr. Rolheiser's answer is: 'Our deepest identity as human beings is that we are the image and likeness of God; that there are powerful, godly energies inside. These energies - this divine fire - makes up our spirit. How we direct that spirit is our spirituality. Our spirit is restless because it is divine and insatiable. For some the fire is hot; for others it's a cooler fire. Chris de Vinck points out that because people are wired differently, some want the Great Embrace, while others just want to build a deck off the living room.' "The question to reflect on this month is: How do I direct my powerful godly energies?" Several members discussed ways to direct our energies. 2. The July minutes were approved OLD BUSINESS 3. Wrap-up report on "Raising a Reader" book collection - Walt 813 books were delivered to Catholic Charities over a period of 2.5 months. 4. Tom would still like to be replaced as our PSC representative Tom finished a two year stint on the PSC last June. The term is expected to last only two years. The purpose is to provide a liaison for the HCC. The duties are not strenuous: one two-hour meeting per month. Members were urged to search their consciences and step up to the plate. 5. Status of Mountain View Day Worker Center - Patricia The Center moved to the Methodist Church on the corner of Mercy and Hope Streets in Mountain View. Patricia filled us in re the changes that are taking place there. 6. Doings of PSC and Diocesan social justice liaisons - Tom The San Jose liaison team met on September 12. The goals are: cut poverty by fifty percent, immigration reform, affordable housing, and health care. Deanery 2 includes St. Thomas, St. William, St. Athanasius, St. Simon, St. Nicholas, St. Joseph, and the Stanford community. 7. August hits on our website: No information on these statistics at this time. NEW BUSINESS 8. Report from HCC committee members planning the LAW: A committee (Walt, Carol, Chris, Nancy, Mary, Natasha, and Susan) met recently to address the LAW (Life After Walt, who has retired). The committee recommends: - We continue to pursue our mission statement. - A list of periodicals, organizations, and internet sources, which have provided the inspiration for many of Walt's ideas for action in social justice over the years, was made up. The members of the committee agreed to each take on the task of monitoring one or more of these sources and relaying ideas to the full committee on a regular basis. The sources will be used for web articles, bulletin inserts, bulletin notices, etc., so that we keep the social justice issues in front of the parish. - Laura volunteered to monitor the Pax Christi web site; Walt said he would put her on the Stanford Pax Christi mailing list also. - Terry will continue to work the budget. - Paul will be responsible for the quarterly report. - Ruth volunteered to be the "point of contact" for the HCC with Pastor, staff, ministry teams, and parishioners. - Walt discussed a plan to cooperate with the youth organization (STAY) in social justice activities. We would perform activities directed to adults that are complementary with STAY's activities that are directed to youth, when possible. Walt suggested meeting briefly with Rob Manfrey and Sue Clingingsmith quarterly. - The agenda for each meeting will be created by the members. Paul will be the collector of agenda items; members will strive to get agenda items to him early in the week before we meet. - Walt remarked that we have no one with an overview of our activities; he believes that we need a "traffic cop" to coordinate everything. This need may become apparent as we continue our work. 9. What's On Your Mind? 10. Volunteer for Faith-sharing/Question of the Week I don't think we got a volunteer. Next meeting - October 23 St. Thomas Aquinas Human Concerns Committee Meeting Minutes July 24, 2007 Attendance: Laura Chiu, Carol Schaffer, Paul Chestnut, Tom Jaworowski, Mary Fong, Walt Lundin, Ruth Chippendale, George Chippendale, Cliff Herndon, Susan Adams, Nancy Ng. 1. Welcome to the new member (he was not able to come because of illness). 2. Faith-Sharing/Question of the Week - Carol: On a planet conflicted over environmental issues, the Catholic tradition teaches that we show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation.  Care for the earth is a requirement of our faith (U.S. Catholic Bishops). In what way am I not being a conscientious steward of the environment? How might I assist in its protection and restoration?  What steps am I willing to take? Several members made comments. 3. June minutes were not available. OLD BUSINESS: 4. Parish ebulletin: Are you a subscriber? Chris said 53 subscribers are signed up. Posters are in the vestibules. Walt urged all HCC members to subscribe. 5. "Raising a Reader": How're we doin' so far - Mary, Ruth, Walt 140 books have been donated so far. 6. Replacement for Tom on PSC: Tom invited us to attend a meeting to get a sense of the job. Walt urged members to think seriously and prayerfully to replace Tom. 7. Immigration reform: a. Report on the 7/21 Redwood City event More than 400 attended. About 20 parishioners including the Hispanic community and six HCC members. San Mateo County Sheriff said deputies would not participate in federal ICE raids. Archbishop Niederauer of San Francisco made stirring remarks and received a standing ovation. b. Updates on current events: Bulletin and website - Paul/Walt We will try to post a monthly update on our website and publicize it in the bulletin. 8. Status of day worker center The group thought that they had a place to move to, but the plan fell through. They have an extension to the end of July. They are trying to raise money to make a down payment on a property. NEW BUSINESS: 9. Comments on HCC mission statement Modest adjustments were suggested. 10. While we're thinking of the environment: What should we, qua HCC, do about it? - Kerching/Walt/interested bystanders. Kerching's approach: Get city to ban plastic shopping bags; spread that to other cities; encourage businesses to get "green." Walt's approach: concentrate on parishioners; put out statement of Church teaching; inquire about parish "green" policy and practices. Carol agreed to join the Kerching/Walt subcommittee to study this issue. 11. Doings of PSC - Tom There was a retreat on June 16. Two sessions: 1) Leadership presentation by Nick Wagner. 2) Four discussion groups to discuss goals and tasks. A facilitator defined 30 tasks that are important to making us a better parish. It will be studied in September. Major goals: 1. Improving participation. 2. Faith sharing. 3. Continuing to improve communication. 4. Develop leadership in both adults and youth. 12. Doings of Deanery 2 social justice liaisons - Tom Deanery 2 met on July 16. The group believes that there should be more discussion from the pulpit on immigration reform. They are planning a fall deanery session on non-violence. The "Hope Flowers" school in Bethlehem (Israeli/Palestinian kids) is an exemplar. 13.Volunteer for next Question of the Week: George 14. Walt passed out material that is suitable for our website and asked for volunteers to write up articles: - The plight of refugees. (Paul) - The growth of military expenditures. (Mary) - Vatican statement of U.N. Human Rights Council. (Walt) - Vatican support for universal labor standards. (Carol) - International immigration reform. (Paul) - Globalization and business ethics. (?) - Cluster bombs. (Mary) - Eradication of poverty. (Walt) 15. What's on Your Mind? - Tom sent out the HCC second quarterly activity report. - Walt: Father George has said he plans to change his approach to Sunday homilies by giving an occasional sermon in place of the lectionary-based homily. He intends to concentrate more on aspects of Catholic doctrine. He asks all ministry teams for suggestions. - Susan: We expect 30,000 refugees in the U.S. this year. Catholic Charities is working to provide furniture and other household goods for one group coming here. We will hear more about this. - Walt circulated information about the eight-week social justice course by the Institute for Leadership in Ministry. He hoped some of us could attend. If so, he would like to hitchhike. Next meeting - September 25 St. Thomas Aquinas Human Concerns Committee Meeting Minutes June 26, 2007 Attendance: Laura Chiu, Carol Schaffer, Paul Chestnut, Tom Jaworowski, Mary Fong, Walt Lundin, Ruth Chippendale, Cliff Herndon, Patricia Markee. 1. Faith-Sharing/Question of the Week: [Something new, in lieu of opening prayer - a recommendation of PSC and Pastor] We're asked to see Christ in the needful; we're asked to be Christ to the needful. Last week, what did we see? What did we do? Several members spoke up. 2. May Minutes were not available. OLD BUSINESS: 3. URGENT: HCC representative to replace Tom on PSC. Seven out of thirteen ministries have been asked to provide replacements. Only two actually did it. The main duty is to attend a two-hour monthly meeting and to communicate to the HCC. 4. Assisted Suicide Bill - The outcome/What's next? - Walt The Assisted Suicide Bill did not get presented to the Assembly, because there were not enough votes. Next year there may be an initiative on the subject. NEW BUSINESS: 6. PSC Retreat Tom and Walt attended the retreat. Tom reported that the goals are unchanged: a. Improving participation. b. Faith sharing. c. Continuing to improve communication. d. Develop leadership in both adults and youth. Fr. George thinks we are too compartmentalized. There was a presentation about facilities at STA, including the use of Thomas House for Parish functions. 7. Current immigration debate - Twelve amendments to the Immigration Bill were introduced. Sen. Boxer is upset about the temporary workers plan proposed by Sen. Feinstein. All are urged to write to Sen. Feinstein and encourage her to stick to her guns. 8. Website news - Walt A new capability to determine the number of hits to the website will be available. 9. Volunteer for next meeting's faith-sharing/question of the day Carol volunteered. 10. Status of Day Worker Center Patricia Markee came to the meeting to discuss the subject of the Day Worker Center. The Center thought that they had a place to move to, but the plan fell through. She discussed their work, their personnel, their budget and the various sources of funding. Problems: - They need to improve their image. - They need more customers. - They need more funding. - They need a place to meet. We discussed what the HCC might do to help them stay in business. We agreed that a major problem is the lack of publicity. An ad in the Bulletin was suggested. 11. Death Penalty Terry reports that this year the Weekend of Faith in Action on the death penalty will be October 19th to 21st. Terry has brochures already. 12. What's on Your Mind? - Ruth reported that George needs more drivers in July and August for the youth camp. - Ruth reported that there will be a "shopping spree" for kids in Millbrae sponsored by Mervyn's from 7 to 9 am. Each kid can obtain $100 worth of goods. - Ruth reported that Hotel de Zink will be August 1 to 15. - Walt reported that Catholic Charities is embarking on a "raising a reader" program. They want books for kids age 0 to 5. Boxes will be placed in the vestibules during the summer. Mary Fong and Ruth will work on this. - A Korean woman named Angela is seeking a volunteer job. - On Monday July 2, Richard Hobbs will speak at the Methodist Church at Webster and Hamilton at 6:30; the subject: update on immigration. - We need to strategize on how we might use the ebulletin. Next meeting: July 24, 2007 St. Thomas Aquinas Human Concerns Committee Meeting Minutes May 22, 2007 Attendance: Laura Chiu, Carol Schaffer, Paul Chestnut, Tom Jaworowski, Mary Fong, Walt Lundin, Ruth Chippendale, George Chippendale. We began with prayer. April minutes were approved. OLD BUSINESS: 1. Status - Racks and shelving for Clothes Closet - Nancy/Mary No action at this time. A check was sent. 2. Layette Month results (to date) - Laurie/Ruth 3. Offering of Letters results - Paul/Walt The Offering of Letters was successful. 352 people signed letters (three each). This is a new record. Volunteers who gathered signatures were: Laura Chiu, Cliff Herndon, Mary Fong, Ruth and George Chippendale, Kerching Liu, Paul Peng, Walt Lundin, Tom Jaworowski, Larry Herte, Patricia Markee, Michelle Hogan, Carol and Peter Schaffer. At the 9 am Mass at OLR, Fr. Tony made a special appeal (in Spanish) for everyone to participate. Just about every adult at that Mass signed: we got 97 - far more than we got at any Mass in this or any year. We need more than two people at each Mass. Four is about right. Carol thought it would be helpful if we had solicitors who were recognized as usual worshippers at the Mass. Ruth said solicitors should arrive early and get signatures going in; also, they should leave Mass early so as to be in place to catch others of that ilk. Walt suggested maybe posters to remind people of the event. 4. Book drive for Catholic Charities "Love Reading" campaign At Lobby Day (see last month's minutes), Walt talked to a person who is working on a pre-school program to get kids to read. We would like to help by collecting books. We need more information. 5. New HCC representative on PSC: Tom will continue in this position for another two years. NEW BUSINESS 6. Assisted suicide action - Walt The issue is AB 374: California Compassionate Choices Act. Walt has written a bulletin insert for this coming Sunday opposing the measure. 7. Volunteer Appreciation Garden Party June 10 - Walt The party organizers need volunteers to help set up. 8. Pastoral Council retreat - Tom 9. Leadership training - George George talked to some PIA folks about his plans for a leadership training course. PIA advised that there should be no general training, but rather training should be a one-to-one engagement with persons and should be directed to specific projects that need to be done. Ruth had talked to Ann Idzik. They advised George to drop his plan. 10. Use of Thomas House for Parish functions - Tom Tom reviewed at length the plans for the Thomas house, which is the house next to St. Thomas Church on Cowper. A task force evaluated several options over a three-month period. A report has been written describing a plan to convert the house from its current use (it is rented out) to a venue for parish community activities. Next meeting: June 26, 2007 St. Thomas Aquinas Human Concerns Committee Meeting Minutes April 24, 2007 Attendance: Chris Lundin, Carol Schaffer, Paul Chestnut, Terry McCaffery, Tom Jaworowski, Cliff Herndon, Kamal Mansour, Mary Fong, Walt Lundin, Ruth Chippendale, George Chippendale. We began with prayer. March minutes were approved. OLD BUSINESS: 1. Status - Racks and shelving for Clothes Closet - Nancy/Mary No action at this time. 2. Status - Plans for leadership training - George/Chris George presented ideas for leadership training. It would consist of four two-hour sessions over a period of four months. It will be modeled on a PIA course. Four themes: 1) Social justice and spirituality tied together. 2) Practicality. 3) One-to-one organizing. 4) Get various groups in the parish to discuss their visions. George discussed many people whom he would ask to participate in the training. 3. Website. We discussed reorganizing the HCC page on the parish web site. 4. Status - Bread for the World letter-writing - Paul This year, the theme of the letter-writing campaign is the U.S. farm bill. A sample letter was passed around. The campaign is set for May 13, Mother's Day. A bulletin insert will be prepared for May 6. A pulpit announcement will be prepared for May 13. Volunteers will be asked to be outside the churches after each Mass to get people to sign. 5. Catholic Lobby Day report - Walt Walt described his day in Sacramento for Catholic Lobby Day. It started with a bus ride at 6:45. The drive took two hours and fifteen minutes. 35 people were on the bus. The affair was very well organized. His team talked to Ira Ruskin and his chief of staff, Joe Simitian's legislative analyst, Sally Lieber. Deacon Sal Alvarez, a lobbyist with CA Catholic Conference, brought a large group to talk to Speaker Nunez's Chief on Staff on the assisted suicide measure. NEW BUSINESS: 6. Gleanings from Diocesan Social Justice Liaison breakfast - Walt Walt attended the breakfast. Four other parishes from our deanery were represented. 7. Global Warming: Should the HCC and the parish get involved? And do what? We discussed various things the HCC Committee could do: - Put out a fact sheet - Offer suggestions for parishes - Solar heating on roof of church - Energy survey by the Maintenance Committee - Water conservation Should capital campaign funds be used? Ask Parish Stewardship Council about taking a survey. 8. Select a new HCC member for a two-year term on Pastoral Stewardship Council. Tom's term is up. We need a volunteer. What's on Your Mind? Terry: Elizabeth Zitrin, a noted speaker on capital punishment will talk about the death penalty at All Saints Episcopal Church on May 8th at 7:30 PM. A notice will be placed on the web site. Terry: Budget items have been sent in. Cliff: The South Bay Sanctuary is planning a seminar on "Justice for Immigrants" on May 20, at 4 p.m. Fr. Tony Medina will be the master of ceremonies. Next meeting: June 22 St. Thomas Aquinas Human Concerns Committee Meeting Minutes March 27, 2007 Attendance: Chris Lundin, Carol Schaffer, Paul Chestnut, Terry McCaffery, Nancy Ng, Tom Jaworowski, Cliff Herndon, Kamal Mansour , Mary Fong, Walt Lundin. We began with prayer. February minutes were approved with one correction: Change: "Ruth and George reported on PACT-PIA immigration gathering at St. Patrick, San Jose, on February 24." to: "Ruth and George reported on PACT immigration gathering at St. Patrick, San Jose, on February 24." OLD BUSINESS: 1. Undie Sunday Status - use cash for racks and shelving for Clothes Closet - Nancy reported that the folks at the Opportunity Center liked the idea of using the $1000 (collected from Undie Sunday) for adding racks and shelving. Some volunteers are needed to advise what should be done regarding organization of storage space at the Clothes Closet facility. The room is small and there is no system for organizing the space. Mary Fong volunteered. 2. Budget additions, review, and approval - Terry Terry presented a list of budget items for organization membership and magazine subscriptions. Some suggestions were made by the group for increasing the parish contribution to various organizations, as follows: Organization Memberships: ORGANIZATION Old Amount New Amount PP&J $120 $150 UMPA $400 $500 SBSC $200 $250 Bread for the World $100 $200 Catholics Against Capital Punishment $100 $150 Jericho $50 $50 PIA $1000 $4250 (includes $250 for Hero's Lunch) Council of Churches $500 $500 Network $35 $50 Total $2440 $6100 Additional Requests Publicity/Graphics $100 Conferences $200 Parish Ed/Speakers $500 JustFaith Support $1500 Total $2300 Magazine Requests: National Catholic Reporter $43.95 America Magazine $48.00 Journal For Catholic Social Thought $40.00 Commonweal $47.00 Cross Currents - (Already submitted) Sojourners $39.95 U.S. Catholic $22.00 Total $218.90 Chris said that he had drafted an explanatory letter in support of the PIA increase. 3. Plans for Leadership Training George Chippendale had proposed a plan for a new training program modeled on the techniques of JustFaith and PIA. It would be a combined effort of St. Vincent de Paul, HCC, JustFaith, and PIA. In George's absence, Chris and Walt explained the idea. No decisions were reached. 4. Deanery Doings and Updates - Tom There is a meeting every other month of representatives from the parishes. Health care was the main topic at the latest meeting; the discussion centered on two themes: education through a bulletin insert, and a discussion of the various proposals for health care reform that are being considered. Chris suggested that health care would be a good topic for a Burning Bush meeting. 5. Health Care update - Tom (covered in 4.) 6. Annual meeting, Santa Clara County CoC - Terry The meeting was held last Sunday at the Emmanuel Lutheran Church. The main topics were the Death Penalty Vigil and the Darfur Vigil. 7. March Burning Bush - comments There were about 30 people there. The attendees considered the event very worthwhile. Mary thought that there was too much reading material. A larger attendance was fervently wished for. 8. Website - Paul Two updates by Walt on the Death Penalty issue were added to the "Church's Teachings on Issues of the Day" page. A note on the Vatican's Teaching on the Death Penalty was written by Mary Fong. NEW BUSINESS: 9. Deanery Doings: Shall we lead in planning a deanery-wide presentation on non-violence? - Walt/Tom Tom will check with other liaisons and ask if they had heard about this request from their staff attendees. 10. Bread for the World letter-writing - Paul Paul discussed background and planning of the BFTW's annual campaign for "Offering Of Letters." This year, the topic is the Farm Bill, which is under consideration by Congress. BFTW has a lot of ideas about how this bill should be improved to mitigate poverty in rural areas, and to change it so that it does not interfere with the ability of undeveloped countries to compete in world agricultural markets. A date of May 12-13 (Mother's Day) was suggested. We will write a flier for the Bulletin for the prior week to describe the background issues. Walt said that the USCCB Hill notes had an item about this; perhaps they should be reviewed. 11. Report on March Pastoral Stewardship Council meeting - Tom Topics that were discussed included the Parish Mission Statement, a report on the Capital Campaign, and a presentation on the usefulness of Percept data. 12. Plans for email of Sunday bulletin: What do we think? - Chris A concept for the transmission of an email message that would contain information from the weekly bulletin was discussed. This plan is being considered by the Stewardship Council. We had various comments - none negative. Chris will review the Communication Committee bulletin guidelines, including a hierarchy of preferences when space is tight. Also, there is a need for the author's name in case someone has a question about an entry. 13. Hotel de Zink in April - Ruth Ruth is organizing the provision of dinners at Hotel de Zink at the Palo Alto Church of Christ. The parish is providing the dinners during the month of April. What's on Your Mind? The national JustFaith organization is planning a joint educational project with Bread for the World. This will give BFTW an entree to Protestant organizations. Walt discussed Catholic Lobby Day, to be held in Sacramento on April 24. Contact Walt if you would like to go. (Catholic Lobby Day will be a gathering of people of faith! For the ninth consecutive year, the California Catholic Conference (CCC) is hosting Catholics from all over California who are interested in exercising their "faithful citizenship" in their state's Capitol. The CCC welcomes all who are interested in meeting with elected officials to speak on behalf of those who are poor, vulnerable, or voiceless.) Next meeting: April 24 St. Thomas Aquinas Human Concerns Committee Meeting Minutes January 24, 2006 Attendance: Paul Chestnut, Laura Chiu, Ruth Chippendale, Cliff Herndon, Tom Jaworowski, Walt Lundin, Kamal Mansour, Terry McCaffery, Laurie Vavuris, Mike Veuve Handouts: Flyer re Tobacco Tax Initiative Possible parish actions re Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform JustFaith calendar Call to order: Paul called the meeting to order at 7:35 and Laura offered the opening prayer. Agenda: Approved Minutes: Approved Business: Immigration (Mike et al) Mike discussed a possible plan including (i) organizing parishioner letters to Feinstein & Boxer opposing the likes of HR4437, (ii) organize a forum involving CCSJ, diocese National Manager of USCCB's Justice for Immigrants Campaign. Venues could include large one at Santa Clara University and smaller one in Palo Alto. We need to get better connected with parish Hispanic community on this issue and will try to work with Maria de Jesus Garcia. General support for idea and HCC sponsorship. Death Penalty (Tom) Terry got a list of social justice contacts in parishes, had meeting in Chancery office, Bishop asked that Powerpoint presentation & video be distributed to parishes. Last Saturday about 30 people participated in execution vigil at St. Joseph in Mountain View. On the 30th he will make a presentation at Ascension church. He is also soliciting invitations to present at other parishes. He will try to arrange presentation to the Priests Council. Walt suggested seeing if a showing can be made to STA parish staff & priests ñ support for that idea. AB1121 (moratorium) was blocked in the Appropriations Committee. Sponsors are trying to restructure. The governor of New Jersey did, however, put death penalties on hold in that state. Discussion that Bishop should write letter to Mercury News applauding news coverage of injustice in penal system, punishing of innocents. Action delayed since article appears not to have addressed death penalty specifically. On 2/24 Sr. Helen Prejean will speak at Grace Cathedral. On 2/22 there will be another execution vigil at the Cathedral from 4-7pm. About 30 attended the Cathedral vigil re Williams and 9 re Ray. Walt et al are working with St. Athanasius to have vigil service there. Undie Sunday In Nancy's absence, we supposed that all was under control for event planned for 2/12. Ruth will call her to see if she needs help. Need flyer and pulpit announcement. Fr. Kiriti Sponsorship project (Kamal) Kamal made presentation of Fr. Kiriti's parish & school needs. The church there (50 miles from Nairobi) is expanding, orphanage, biggest concern is high school - need a new girl's high school, it is nearly self-sufficient. Discussion of possibly supporting others (e.g., Fr. Jack McDonald), perhaps in subsequent periods. Need to touch base with Fr. George (he had previously mentioned the idea of sister parishes on different continents). Needs additional details on school - who goes there, how money is raised, more precise uses of funds. General concurrence with project idea. Bread for the World (Paul) This year, plan is for another letter-writing campaign: to urge congress to keep funding promises to the needy, hungry of the world. Paul will work on letter & flyer materials. Again agreement with campaign. Discussion of what parish's spiritual plans are for Lent. Laura will check with Jean Ramacciotti. Web site (Paul) Paul is now trained on site maintenance. Subcommittee formed to guide site design: Paul & Mike. Walt suggested that some publicity concerning site be placed in Bulletin. Deanery Doings (Walt) Some progress in pulling social justice things together in deanery. Met as a group prior to the Deanery meeting last month. One constraint: 4 of 7 parishes in deanery do not have a Pastoral Council. Darfur (Laura) Daily vigils re Darfur are held at El Camino/Embarcadero; has been going on for a long time; people encouraged to attend. We have been approached concerning "leading" it for a week, but logistics are difficult given work schedules. Decision that we do not have the resources for that right now. Healthcare (Tom) A tobacco tax initiative is being circulated for signatures to qualify for the June ballot. PIA and many other groups involved in the organization. Plan for collecting signatures: 31 congregations in our area are committed, 11 of whom are Catholic. Will collect signatures on 2nd & 3rd Sundays after Masses. Adjournment: Next meeting: Tuesday, February 27, 2006, 7:30pm at OLRH Meeting adjourned at 9:00 St. Thomas Aquinas Human Concerns Committee Meeting Minutes March 28, 2006 St. Thomas Aquinas Human Concerns Committee Meeting March 28, 2006 Attendance: Paul Chestnut, Ruth Chippendale, Laura Chiu, Jaime Garcia, Cliff Herndon, Tom Jaworowski, Walt Lundin, Kamal Mansour, Chris Lundin, Carol Schaffer, Laurie Vavuris, Mike Veuve, Maria de Jesus Gutierrez-Garcia Handouts: Cardinal Mahoney letter concerning immigration legislation PIA flyers re local heroes lunch Call to order: Paul called the meeting to order at 7:35 and Walt offered the opening prayer Agenda: Approved Minutes: Approved Business: Immigration (Mike et al) Discussion of Cardinal Mahony letter, Senate bill as possible alternative to House bill 1237. Need to call Sen. Feinstein & Specter in thanks for support for Senate version. Frist likely to present his version of legislation and final bill will be voted in Senate, then worked out in committee with House. Discussion of Immigration Reform. Now on again probably with Richard Hobbes (Santa Clara County), Greg Kepferle (CCSJ) and a community member. Maria will make contacts to help identify a community member. Sunday appears to be a good day to facilitate Latino participation. Sunday May 21 selected, assuming that it fits with schedules of Hobbs & Kepferle. Fr. Percell is hosting a diversity dinner and looking for a speaker. Walt suggested reading Krugman (NY Times) article on immigration (includes opposition to guest worker program). Death Penalty (Terry) Sr. Helen Prejean: Terry was a main driver to get her to come to Grace Cathedral, event nearly filled Cathedral. Bud Welsh is an effective speaker on forgiveness (his daughter was killed in the Oklahoma City bombing, and he has gone from seeking revenge to opposition to DP). He will speak at Holy Family School. To help set the stage for the abolition/moratorium on DP, they will be mounting a new campaign in near future. Terry & Fr. Carson spoke at Ascension Church to 100+ people; will speak at Sacred Heart in San Jose next Thursday; continues to reach out to other parishes. Fr. Kiriti Sponsorship project (Kamal) Kamal provided update on the project and issues. Fr. Kiriti will be in area April 19-May 2; he will homilize on Sundays of April 23 and 30, speaking at 5 masses. He is hoping to raise money for new girls high school. SVdP could set up a special conference to provide vehicle for collections. Diocese has restriction over raising money to support an individual priest (rather than an order). A subcommittee will attempt to address the issues. Bread for the World (Paul) Paul reviewed the results of the letter writing campaign: 300+ letters were sent to each congressperson. About the same as last year. Imperfect counts of individuals: OLR 9am ñ 23; OLR 10:30 ñ 53; STA 8:45 ñ 35. Another job well done! Web site (Paul) Web site still needs content. Discussion of adding recent campaigns, future plans, but Paul needs words for inclusion. Fair Trade (Laura) Laura has made posters and plans for Easter Fair Trade Easter chocolate & gift sales. Flyer prepared for this Sunday; pulpit announcements. Solicitation of volunteers. Laura will set up tables at each site in preparation for sales. Budget (Terry & Walt) Agreement to keep the budget the same as last year. Hotel de Zink (Ruth) Starts April 15. Volunteer slots pretty much filled up. People will be staying at Church of Christ in Palo Alto. Healthcare (Tom) 460-470 signatures so far, on track in collecting signatures at public sites. April 8 & 9 should be good days for collecting at Mitchell Park Library because of book sale there. Upcoming events Diocese is advertising the Justice Symposium in June: speakers & workshops. Ascension parish in Saratoga has speakers on last Monday of each month on Pope John Paul II teachings on social justice. April: poor & rich nations; May: globalization; June: trafficking. June 7: parish liaison breakfast meeting at Diocese. Terry will sub for Walt. Next Sunday: Children on the Bus need new teddy bears to give to children who have been taken to visit their mothers in prison. Darfur vigil: daily noon to 1pm at Embarcadero & El Camino April 30: big event on Darfur in San Francisco. April 7 & 9 wrongful convictions conference; Terry will be going. 34 congregations now a part of PIA. EPA pastor received grant of $300K for the EPA boys & girls club. April 28 local heroes lunch, parish will sponsor a table; Tom is our local hero!!! PSC is reinventing itself again for the coming year. Each group should look at its 4 major officers. HCC has two year spot on PSC ñ Tom will continue to represent HCC. Funeral committee needs volunteers. Adjournment: Next meeting: Tuesday, April 25, 2006, 7:30pm at OLRH Meeting adjourned at 9:00 St. Thomas Aquinas Human Concerns Committee Meeting Minutes April 25, 2006 St. Thomas Aquinas Human Concerns Committee Meeting April 25, 2006 Attendance: Paul Chestnut, Ruth Chippendale, Laura Chiu, Walt Lundin, Nancy Ng, Laurie Vavuris, Mike Veuve Handouts: - Info on National Foster Care Month - Flyer for immigration forum Call to order: Paul called the meeting to order at 7:35 and Walt offered the opening prayer. Agenda: Approved. Minutes: Approved with minor amendments. Business: Immigration (Walt, Mike et al) Bush in Irvine TX said we need realistic policy that recognizes humanity; he asked Frist to develop approach; variance with House bill will be a problem. Public discussion over issue of legality of undocumented immigrants; Mexico has strict immigration laws. Mass at Cathedral on April 31, big march on May 1 starting at Story/king to Guadalupe Park; Mahoney not in favor of boycott; Susan Clingingsmith went to Deanery meeting and spoke about what we are trying to do. Ruth noted that there is a video game that involves killing Mexican immigrants and suggested it should be a target of boycott. Discussion again of May 21 immigration forum, which seems to have come together; will be held in OLR church rather than hall in case many attend and to make staging easier. Hope that parishes of "co-sponsoring" Deanery 2 will participate in publicity within their parishes. Death Penalty (Walt) Nothing new to report in Terry's absence. California judge will have hearing in May to decide whether to maintain stay or to allow fatal injection of Morales. Fr. Kiriti Sponsorship project (all) Discussion of whether this is appropriately a task for the HCC. Laurie called SVdP-St. Louis and they will email info to Chuck Tulley re. setting up special conference for overseas funding. There is a national office in each country but Kenyan office was suspended until June because of irregularities. TMC seems to have been able to get money to Fr. Kiriti in the past. Walt reported that Fr. George appears to view it as cultural exchange rather than fund raising. Agreement that we are breaking ice for the project and then an organization will need to form to sustain effort. Web site (Paul) Site is slowly improving. HCC minutes are posted, link to the JustFaith calendar; Paul hopes to post a summary of what we do; Walt has some material for inclusion. Suggestion to publicize site in bulletin, but desire expressed to wait until there is more to find on site. Layettes (Laurie) May is layette month (as well as being National Foster Care month). Hotel de Zink (Ruth) It ends on Sunday. There have been 12-13 sleeping there each night, food comes in as requested. Hidden Villa (Ruth) This year Hidden Villa is not providing money for day campers due to their financial position. Mary Sullivan is doing a poster; kids will speak at each Mass; George hopes for about $7K of donations. The camp costs $400/week; 54 places set aside for EPA kids with 6 kids/week. Hidden Villa may come up with matching funds. Personnel issues Walt announced that he is withdrawing from participation due to competing personal demands. Great sadness expressed by all! Need to replace him as parish liaison. Healthcare (Tom) Parish exceeded its goal of collecting 450 private and 300 public signatures. PIA collected 12,000 signatures, more than 2,000 from Catholic communities. Big PIA conference on 5/12 at St. Matthews in San Mateo in discussion with local politicians. Darfur March to support involvement of African Union forces 4/30 in San Jose and elsewhere. Also on 4/30 thousands of postcards will be sent to Bush on subject. Demonstration each noon at Embarcadero/El Camino. Foster Care Month (Nancy) May is National foster Care month. Discussion of topic. Observation that EPA grandparents who act as informal foster parents cannot get full support provided to legal foster parents. Adjournment: Next meeting: Tuesday, May 23, 2006, 7:30pm at OLRH Meeting adjourned at 8:40 St. Thomas Aquinas Human Concerns Committee Meeting Minutes June 27, 2006 Minutes of the St. Thomas Aquinas Human Concerns Committee Meeting June 27, 2006 Attendance: Paul Chestnut, Ruth Chippendale, Laura Chiu, Laurie Vavuris, Carole Schaffer, Chris Lundin, Cliff Herndon, Susan Adams, Tom Jaworowski Call to order: Paul called the meeting to order at 7:35, and Tom offered the opening prayer. May Meeting Minutes: The minutes of the May meeting were unavailable. They will be considered at the next meeting. Business: Death Penalty: Terry is away for three weeks. Ruth said that the weekend of October 21 and 22 will be the Death Penalty National Awareness Weekend. Various activities are planned. We considered trying to get a speaker for a forum that weekend. We agreed that it would be appropriate that the homily should be on the subject of the death penalty. Thomas Merton Society will have Fr. Boyle at their Mass. A retired priest, Fr. Eugene Kunkel (sp?) spoke at a Mass on this subject about six months ago. It would be good to get him. We should also present something in the bulletin on that weekend. We discussed Fr. George's participation. Susan suggested that we approach Fr George. Tom thought that he could bring up the subject at the next PSC meeting. What would be the purpose of that? Just to let them know that this is what we are thinking. Our objective is to educate the parishioners about the issues involved in the death penalty, and what the position of the "magisterium" is. Ruth volunteered to go with Terry to visit Fr. George. Two items from Walt Lundin: 1. The President of the Philippines recently signed a bill abolishing the death penalty [Someone told me that it is not coincidental that she did this just a week before she was to have an audience with Pope Benedict XVI.] I read recently that the death penalty in the Philippines had been re-established in 1998 (? or 1989?) as a move against extremists. Apparently it can be an off-again on-again thing.2. The Supreme Court 5-4 ruled yesterday on a Kansas death penalty provision. In Kansas, Toto, they have a scorecard arrangement wherein all the mitigating circumstances which might be persuasive toward a life sentence are compared to all the aggravating circumstances which might make the death penalty a slam dunk. Pure arithmetic then takes over. In this case there was a tie. The Court ruled that ties go to the house (Death House, that is) and not to the player. Web Site: Two new pages have been placed on our web page: 1) "Recent News From The Vatican." Walt Lundin found a web site that puts out daily communiqués about goodies from Rome on a HUGE number of subjects, taken from official Vatican documents and articles from L'Osservatore Romano. He choose only the social justice items. 2) "Who We Are" describes the various projects of the Human Concerns Committee. The page is perhaps only half done. Last Sunday's bulletin included a survey on the web site. With this focus, this might be an opportune time to beat our chest about our modest offerings. An article for the Bulletin has been written and passed to Mike and Walt. Health Care issues: Tom announced that the/ Tobacco Tax for Health Care has qualified for the ballot. This initiative provides insurance for any child in the state who does not qualify for other services. Laura suggested that we should create a promulgation on ballot issues for November that reflects Catholic social teaching. The objective would not be to tell people how to vote, but to educate people so that they are better equipped to make their own decisions. Tom volunteered to work with Thomas Merton on this. Future directions: Mike Veuve wrote: One thing I had been thinking about is what direction we should be moving as a group, as contrasted with the many impressive individual movements we undertake during the year. Some possibilities for engaging the parish community that come to my mind are a closer involvement with (i) Catholic Charities, which is very interested and now staffed for reaching out to parishes, (ii) the Mountain View day worker center and (iii) St. Vincent de Paul (in EPA and/or Mountain View). I think that Rob Manfrey would be very open to bringing the youth group into any of those activities. These ideas were discussed at length, with no conclusion. Susan Adams said that a representative from Catholic Charities named Ruben Solorio wants to educate us about what they are doing. Tom said that one of our goals should be to attract more volunteers and get them involved. Report on PSC retreat (Tom): The themes of the retreat: 1) Many things in the parish are working very well. 2) Areas for improvement: - Communication improvement - Increase number of volunteers - Leadership training Report on the Justice symposium: Several members attended the Justice Symposium on June 24. Several speakers were discussed: John Carr, Catholic Relief Services representative, and Zoe Lofgren. Other topics: Fr. Joseph (of Uganda) has been diagnosed with glaucoma. John Uebbing has a sister who works in Uganda. She delivers medicine which is otherwise unavailable there. Laurie: Soup funds ($610 plus $40 from St. Vincent de Paul) were disbursed in May to deal with world hunger. Laurie described some work that is being done on a Parish plan for disaster preparedness. She believes that this is an appropriate activity for the Human Concerns Committee. Next meeting: Tuesday, July 25, 2006, 7:30 pm at OLR. Meeting adjourned at 9:30 St. Thomas Aquinas Human Concerns Committee Meeting Minutes September 26, 2006 Minutes, Human Concerns Committee Meeting, September 26, 2006 Present: Terry McCaffery, Carol Schaffer, Kamal Mansour, Ruth Chippendale, Laurie Vavuris, Tom Jaworowski, Susan Adams, Walt Lundin, Laura Chiu Susan led us in prayer. NOT ON THE AGENDA: MIKE'S SABBATICAL/HIATUS: We reviewed how we operate. Paul is the convenor, agenda-collector/ issuer and webmaster. In various areas of interest/activities there are members who manage the event(s) - pretty self-standing and no problem. There are others (vestibule-lurking, e.g.) requiring more manpower, which we can manage collectively in our meetings. Where we are weak: lack of personnel with an overall view of social justice issues (Walt doesn't want to come out of his present semi-retirement). To be discussed more. Tentative conclusion: . . . hurry back, Mike. OLD BUSINESS 1. Kamal recounted Ruben Solorio's (Catholic Charities) presentation at last meeting; i.e., - C.C. has many on-going programs in which parishioners might participate. - Before we launch into a new area of volunteerism, C.C. can be contacted to be sure we're not reinventing the wheel. - In any event C.C. might be helpful in offering advice and expertise. (More on C.C. below.) 2. Kamal recalled Chris' question about how we can better and more broadly involve the parish in social justice. See #7 below. 3. Affiliation with County Council of Churches (CCC): See #8 below. NEW BUSINESS 1 Time & Talent: We scoped out the plan (tables at 3 sites, 8 Masses); discussed handouts (our quarterly report, plus anything provided by affiliated groups); and staffing (we now have minimum coverage; try to enlist friends, if any.) 2. Deus Caritas Est: Walt has yet to add Carol's draft additions. After discussion we agreed to do a presentation at the Nov. Burning Bush forum. The "digest" of DCE will be a bulletin insert just in advance of that date. There will be earlier teaser pulpit announcements to pique interest. Walt will talk to Fr. G. about details, including discussion questions and literature. 3. October Respect Life Month: a. There was bulletin publicity for annual 10/1 Life Chain. Additionally, Walt notified Knights of Columbus. b. California Bishops support Prop. 85 (Parental Notification). We will have bulletin insert in due course. Knights of Columbus may associate themselves with it. Tom will give Walt (soon, please) any material Linda Batton has. c. Faith in Action Weekend: Terry and Ruth have talked to Fr. George about possible homily or post-Communion reflection opportunities and general intercessions. The "Interview with an Executioner" will be shown at the Oct. Burning Bush forum. (Walt gave Terry 35 handouts for that from the USCCB.) Additionally, Terry will give a reflection at the 7:30 am Mass and, doubtless, the 8:45 am Mass will be aboard. (Terry also plans an insert for a Lytton Plaza prayer vigil on Friday, sponsored by Amnesty International, Multifaith Voices for Peace and Justice, and California People of Faith Working Against the Death Penalty, as well as our own HCC. 4. Pre-election Activities: a. C.C. has taken a position on two ballot measures: Prop. 1C (Bonds for Housing and Emergency Shelter) and Prop. 86 (Tobacco Tax). We'll publicize these two. Meanwhile . . . b. Tom will ask Linda Batton if there are other issues supported by diocese/CA Bishops. If so, they'll be included. Also . . . c. Tom will find out if Thomas Merton Center, and/or Jericho, and/or League of Women Voters will have presentations. If so, we'll beat the drum of publicity. d. Voter registration: We have material from USCCB ("Faithful Citizenship") urging (1) registration (2) voting (3) getting informed on the issues. This will be a timely bulletin insert or on our website. There's also a recent news article deploring low voter turnout, and we'll work that in. e. Immigration still festers: Walt will go to a meeting at St. Clare Paris on 10/11 to represent the firm. The rest of youse, said Susan FIRMLY, should plan to attend the Parish Mission Oct. 9, 10 and 11 at SAG - Kenan Osborne O.F.M. is the Missionary. (Walt said C.C. is planning a deanery immigration forum in our neighborhood. Y'all can attend that one.) [Not mentioned: People Acting in Community Together (PACT) has come aboard to support the diocese in the Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform (CCIRM) effort. Walt has asked Chris if it is feasible for PIA's Santa Clara County members (or the Catholic parishes thereof) to sign up also.] 5. Our Website: New stuff! Paul has recently renovated and refurbished it. Take a look! Walt urged other members to become contributors. 6. Catholic Charities Re-Energized: 7. Affiliate with Santa Clara County Council of Churches: (Terry is now on the Council's Board of Directors; Gene Boyle and Jose Rubio have served in the past.) We agreed we should present this to the Pastoral Stewardship Council. In preparation, Terry will gather: A. List of church membership. B. List of issues/action addressed. C. Annual dues? ANNOUNCEMENTS: 1. Darfur: President Bush supports U.N. involvement and has appointed a Special Envoy. Gov. Schwarzenegger has signed a measure to divest all CA Sudanese investments. African Union has agreed to stay until year's end. UN will support African Union with more transportation and communications. Still to be pushed: Live up to the promises, including financial support; urge Arab states to pressure Sudan to admit UN; involve NATO. 2. Parish Mission Oct. 9, 10, 11.: A COMMAND PERFORMANCE. 3. South Bay Sanctuary Covenant (SBSC) anniversary: Ruth will publicize in bulletin 4. Theology on Tap: (discussion series featuring Fr. Jose Rubio) 10/1, at Gordon-Biersch, a restaurant-pub near the cathedral. Topic: the Book of Revelation. 5. Good news! (:-) : Laura said there is a deanery JustFaith VI! - three from St. Joseph, three from St. Athanasius, and one from St. Anthony of Padua. Not so good news (:-]: none from STA. Lousy news (:-( (:-( (:-( : Laura's going to co-facilitate JF VI this year. Unable to bi-locate (yet) she's chosen them over us. (There were many a furtive tear, many a muffled sob at the news. Vayo con Dios, said we all . . . sotto voce.) Action items: Tom: 1. Stuff from Linda Batton on Prop. 85 2. Stuff from her or CA Bishops on other bulletin items? 3. Check on Thomas Merton Center, Jericho, League of Women Voters for voter info forum. Chris: PIA join People Acting in Community Together (PACT) on Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform (CCIRM). Ruth: Bulletin publicity for South Bay Sanctuary Covenant (SBSC). Terry: Item 8, New Business, data about County Council of Churches. Y'all: Plan to attend Parish Mission. Next meeting: Tuesday, October 24. St. Thomas Aquinas Human Concerns Committee Meeting Minutes October 24, 2006 Minutes of the St. Thomas Aquinas Human Concerns Committee Meeting October 24, 2006 Attendance: Paul Chestnut, Ruth Chippendale, Carole Schaffer, Chris Lundin, Susan Adams, Tom Jaworowski, Walt Lundin, John Liu, Alisa Ambrosio, Terry McCaffrey Call to order: Paul called the meeting to order at 7:35, and Carol offered the opening prayer. September Meeting Minutes: The minutes of the September meeting had been sent out by email. It was moved and seconded that the minutes be accepted. New members: It was announced that we have seven new members. They are: Paul Rack, Paul Peng, Peter Minary, Jennifer Kloke, John Liu, Alisa Ambrosio, and Andrea Ambrosio. OLD BUSINESS: Death Penalty A prayer vigil was held on Saturday, October 14. 35 people were present, including 9 from St. Thomas Aquinas Parish. Diane Gibson led, and Chris Lundin provided music. There was a discussion of the death penalty at the Burning Bush event on Sunday, October 22. ("Burning Bush" is an enrichment series that takes place on the fourth Sunday of each month at the St. Albert the Great Hospitality Center.) The feelings about the discussion were mixed. The problem is that the people at these events are usually among the 40 percent who are already convinced that the death penalty is wrong. How do we reach the other 60 percent? Deus Caritas Est There will be an insert in the November 19 Bulletin on the Pope's encyclical containing Walt's summary. The encyclical will be the topic of the next Burning Bush meeting on November 19. Some of the U.S. bishops will meet in Washington D.C. with members of Congress; the encyclical will be the main theme. Upcoming Election publicity Tom pointed out that the Bulletin recently had inserts on Proposition 86 (the Tobacco Tax), Proposition 85 (Parental Notification), and Proposition 1C (Affordable Housing). Terry had statements regarding the death penalty from the two candidates for District Attorney for Santa Clara County. We discussed the possibility of adding these statements to the HCC web site. Immigration On October 17, there was a dialogue on immigration Issues at the OLR Hall. Reviews were mixed. Again, the people at this event were among the those who are already support the Church's position. County Council of Churches We (STA Parish) have been invited to join the County Council of Churches. (Terry is now on the Council's Board of Directors; Gene Boyle and Jose Rubio have served in the past.) Advantages: We gain access to the activities that they are doing, and we may be able to interest them in our activities. We agreed that Tom should present this to the Pastoral Stewardship Council. Time and Talent Sunday The Time and Talent Faire was held on October 8. HCC benefited with the addition of seven new members. Year-Long Issues Chris initiated a conversation about how the HCC might improve their work by concentrating on certain issues with a long term involvement, as opposed to short bursts of energy. We discussed issues such as health care, immigration, death penalty, and Darfur. Some thought that Darfur would be a good example, but most of us thought that this issue has too large a presence. NEW BUSINESS: Facilities Reservation Walt has arranged that the OLR Hall will be reserved for the HCC meeting on the fourth Tuesday of each month. Plan to meet with Hispanic leadership Walt suggested that we plan to meet with Maria de Jesus, Fr. Medina, and the Hispanic Leadership group about how to coordinate social justice activities with the Hispanic community. Tom and Chris volunteered to be members of the HCC group. Website Several new items have been added, including additional information about "Faithful Citizenship," the statement by the U.S. Bishops regarding the responsibility of Catholics to engage in the political process (see also http://www.usccb.org/ faithfulcitizenship/bishopStatement.html). Paul called for each member to think about what topics might be added to the site. Paul will inquire about the possibility of adding videos and powerpoint slides. Walt urged others to become contributors. Just War A suggested future Burning Bush topic is the notion of a "Just War" and whether Iraq fits into this concept. On November 14, the video, "The Ground Truth," a soldier's tale from Iraq, will be shown at the First Baptist Church, 305 N. California. Laura Chiu was praised for taking this initiative. An Inconvenient Truth The famous film will be shown at some time in the near future at St. Christopher's Parish. Linda Batton has the film. Walt said he would get it and try to select a date when we can show it here. Voter Registration Tom reported on the voter registration activities. Members of HCC were outside the churches after each Mass to register voters on October 8, 15, and 22. 22 registration forms were collected. Just Faith VI A new Just Faith program (a yearlong formation program based on the study of the Church's justice and peace traditions) (JustFaith VI) is up and running. USCCB Budget cuts The US Conference of California Bishops has been forced to make cuts in their budget. Total budget is $130 million per year. Three positions in the social justice area will be terminated. Opportunity Center Support Walt will try to find out some specific needs of the Opportunity Center and perhaps coordinate that with the St. Vincent dePaul annual food drive in November. Next Meeting: November 28. St. Thomas Aquinas Human Concerns Committee Meeting Minutes November 28, 2006 Minutes of the St. Thomas Aquinas Human Concerns Committee Meeting November 28, 2006 Attendance: Paul Chestnut, Ruth Chippendale, Carole Schaffer, Chris Lundin, Tom Jaworowski, Walt Lundin, Andrea Ambrosio, Alisa Ambrosio, Cliff Herndon, Mary Fong, Laurie Vavuris, Kamal Mansour Call to order: Paul called the meeting to order at 7:35, and Paul offered the opening prayer. October Meeting Minutes: The minutes of the October meeting had been sent out by email. It was moved and seconded that the minutes be accepted. Introduction of Tim Hellmann, Social Policy Coordinator, Catholic Charities Tim Hellmann, the Social Policy Coordinator for Catholic Charities in Santa Clara County, was on hand to describe the work that he does and to discuss how he can coordinate the work that HCC does with Catholic Charities. Tim has been performing in this newly created position for three months; he has been striving to determine what the parishes are doing in the areas of social policy and social action. Important topics for him are immigration reform, humane border enforcement, housing advocacy, advocacy for Proposition 1C, the ombudsman program, the skilled nursing facility, and family reunification. He has met with Zoe Lofgren, the Representative for the district, to help steer the legislative program on these issues. While the San Jose Diocese derives its approach through Catholic social teaching, Catholic Charities focuses on social action. Tim had two handouts: a flyer for the Migrant Posada on Saturday, December 16 at 6:30 at the Catholic Charities John XXIII Neighborhood Center at Fifth and San Fernando in San Jose, and a brochure about Advent created by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. Burning Bush Meeting on November 19 - Deus Caritas Est There were about 28 attendees at the meeting. Walt and Father George summarized the Encyclical. Then the five tables of attendees were each assigned a discussion question. The table discussions were lively and spirited. Each table reported their conclusions. A question and answer session ensued. Each participant was given a copy of the encyclical plus other reading material. Conclusion: It was a very worthwhile event. Policy on submission of information to the bulletin At the last Pastoral Stewardship Council meeting, Father George said that he would like Bulletin items to show the author's name. This is not necessary for simple announcements. Chris said that the Communications Committee will issue some instructions on this issue. Also, because of space limitations, the Communications Committee may prune submissions. Update on website Paul said that there was nothing new on the web site this month. Mike Flynn told him that there should be no problem with including a Powerpoint slide presentation or a video. Donation to UMPA Clothes Closet A significant donation was made to the UMPA Clothes Closet (about $1000). The Clothes Closet will move to the Opportunity Center sometime. Plans to meet with Fr. George At our last meeting, we considered meeting with Fr. George to urge more homilies with a social justice content. Tom and others thought that there has been more of these recently: Fr. Rubio, Msgr. Boyle, Fr. Meier, the 8:45 Homilists, and Fr. George at some daily Masses. Also, the Burning Bush subject matter is very helpful. We concluded that if we see a specific need, we can discuss it with our Pastor. Plans to meet with Hispanic leadership We had considered meeting with the Hispanic leadership to consider how to coordinate our social justice efforts more effectively. We were particularly curious about the immigration issue. Chris then told us that PIA is now doing some one-on-ones with the leadership and others. He feels this would be a good way to open up the subject. We decided to see what PIA comes up with, Possible Burning Bush topic: Just War and Iraq A good time for this would be next March, the fourth anniversary of the start of the war. U.S. Bishops have come out with a position. There was a powerful relevant article in the November 21 issue of the Valley Catholic by Ed Ehmke. Documentary "The Ground Truth" Ruth discussed this documentary. It was a powerful presentation by six soldiers who described their experiences in the war and their physical and emotional difficulties back in the U.S. "An Inconvenient Truth" - status We had discussed whether we should sponsor a showing of this film. Walt borrowed the DVD from the Diocese. He couldn't find a convenient slot to show it, and then had to give it to another parish. We'll keep this on the back burner for a while. Yearlong Issues - continuation of discussion Chris volunteered that we (the HCC) need cohesive issues to rally around on a long term basis, such as the Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform, global poverty relief (there is extensive internet material on this from the usccb), and health care (Tom will keep on top of this). Tom said that a march to Sacramento relative to health care is in the works). Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform Walt believes that nothing on immigration reform will be accomplished during the current lame duck Congress. Call to new members Not all of the parishioners who volunteered to join the HCC have come to our meetings. We decided that a phone call to each one is in order. Walt will talk to Laura about this. The meeting adjourned at 9:10. Next meeting: January 23. To and for all of us: a happy and holy Christmas and an effective New Year! St. Thomas Aquinas Human Concerns Committee Meeting Minutes January 23, 2007 Attendance: Paul Chestnut, George Chippendale, Ruth Chippendale, Carole Schaffer, Chris Lundin, Tom Jaworowski, Walt Lundin, Cliff Herndon, Mary Fong, Susan Adams Call to order: Paul called the meeting to order at 7:35, and Walt offered the opening prayer. November Meeting Minutes: The minutes of the October meeting had been sent out by email. It was moved and seconded that the minutes be accepted. OLD BUSINESS Parish joins Santa Clara County of Churches - Tom/Terry The Parish Stewardship Council decided to join the Santa Clara County Council of Churches (SCCCoC). Funds were not committed, however. Walt says the JustFaith has left-over money and he will arrange to have a check sent. Yearlong Issues We continued the discussion about establishing certain themes that the HCC would address on a long term basis. Candidates are immigration reform, global poverty relief, and health care. One approach is to keep these issues in front of the parishioners by way of notices in the bulletin, appeals for letter-writing, etc. Walt called for volunteers to spearhead the Global Poverty Relief topic. Paul volunteered, but said that he hoped he could work with additional volunteers. Health Care - Tom There are several plans that are being worked on. Santa Clara County has plans to get people insured; there is a Community Action Meeting sponsored by several groups scheduled for February 12 at Congregation Shir Hadash in Los Gatos. The Governor is working on a plan to insure every person in California. There is also movement at the national level. John Edwards came out for a single-payer plan. Health care could be a topic for the Burning Bush series. Update on website - Paul Several new articles, written by Walt, were posted on the website. Walt urged others to be active in submitting good items to be posted. Mary Fong and Paul showed a willingness. NEW BUSINESS Representative to SCCCoC Two representatives from HCC are needed. Terry, who is already on the board, will be one. Tom will get details from Terry. January Burning Bush - Chris This session, "Powers and Powerlessness in Leadership," was hosted by PIA. It was about community organizing efforts and empowering the congregation to speak with one voice. March Burning Bush Carol, Walt, and Laura are working on the Burning Bush event for March on the topic "Just War Teaching and the Iraq War." Ed Ehmke, the liaison for peace to the diocesan Human Concerns Commission, is also involved. A report from Rosaryville Retreat Center in Ponchatoula, Louisiana Chris attended a week-long training session presented by PICO on community organization. There were 80 people in attendance, representing 50 organizations. He said that the sessions were very useful. Report of Parish Stewardship Council meeting - Tom - Pandemic planning: There is a diocesan plan for pandemics; it is 20 pages long and is very detailed. - New parish mission statement: A draft of a parish mission statement was handed out for our comment. It reads: "The mission of St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic parish is to be a community of Christ's disciples, on a journey of faith, living the gospel message as listeners, learners, and leaders." Susan suggested that the phrase "the mission of" should be deleted, so that it would read: "St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic parish is a community of Christ's disciples, on a journey of faith, living the gospel message as listeners, learners, and leaders." Report of Deanery Social Justice Liaison meeting - Tom The meeting last Monday among representatives of St. Thomas, St. Athanasius, St. Joseph, and St. Simon dealt mainly with fairer treatment for service employees in Santa Clara County. Many of these workers are not being treated with dignity. The group agreed that there should be a code of conduct for contractors. The group is for a future deanery-wide social justice event (not yet defined). Membership list update - Paul The HCC consists of more than 20 members, but may of these are inactive. Laura Chiu tried to contact those who have been inactive; some did not respond, and some indicated that they wish to continue to get email messages. We now have a small list of those who will be dropped from the roll. Catholic Campaign Against Global Poverty - Walt The USCCB and CRS has started the campaign. The campaign supports the Millennium Development Plan (started in 2000) to increase international foreign aid to developing countries by 0.7% (70 cents per $100) of participating nations' income. Only five countries have pledged 0.7% thus far (the U.S. now offers 0.02%). The goal is to reduce poverty by 50% by 2015. Undie Sunday The weekend for Undie Sunday is February 17-18. We need help in the vestibules after each Mass. We perhaps can get the youth group to help. Walt will talk to Rob Manfrey about this. Catholic Charities meeting - Mary Mary Fong reported on a meeting featuring the new president of Catholic Charities USA. He said that the goal of Catholic Charities is to reduce poverty in the US by 50% by 2020. He talked about the national outreach of the agency and the breadth of services offered. Catholic Charities partners with other groups, for example: St Vincent de Paul, Sisters of Charity and the Lutheran Services of America. Catholic Charities closely engages both the civic community (from the national legislative level down to the community level) and the parishes in support of their efforts. Some top concerns are: health care for all, home ownership, higher education and immigration. Darfur Former Governor Richardson has been instrumental in getting a 60-day cease fire. There is support for a combined UN/African Union force. Unfortunately it is necessary to get the rebel leadership to agree also. Next meeting: February 27 St. Thomas Aquinas Human Concerns Committee Meeting Minutes February 27, 2007 Minutes of the St. Thomas Aquinas Human Concerns Committee Meeting February 27, 2007 Attendance: Chris Lundin, Ruth Chippendale, George Chippendale, Terry McCaffery, Laurie Vavuris, Nancy Ng, Susan Adams, Walt Lundin. A "get-well-soon" to Tom, who was unable to attend due to illness. 1. We began with prayer. 2. January minutes were approved by unanimous consent and subdued applause. OLD BUSINESS: 3. Undie Sunday Report $1,636 in money donations (up about $500 from last year) and 1,100 items (up slightly from last year.) Several suggestions for improvements were made; Nancy took note of them. Thanks to the Ngs and all others (you know who you are) who helped out. Nancy said the Closet space at the Opportunity Center is limited. Some space-saving fixtures would be nice. She'll discuss this with the Closet Manager to see if some of the money could be used for racks, bins, shelves, etc. If OC staff approves, she'll determine specific needs, negotiate with Ikea for a price break and arrange a parish work day to install the stuff. She'll also make a bulletin request for Closet volunteers (they're short-handed) as well as give a big "Thank-you" to the many who contributed. ACTION ITEM FOR NANCY. 4. Membership in Santa Clara County Council of Churches: We've mailed the check for our annual dues. Terry McC. said the annual CoC board meeting is on Sunday, March 24, 2-4 pm, at Emmanuel Lutheran Church 1715 Grant Road, Mountain View. Terry would very much appreciate some of us attending that event. [Those not planning to attend the competing parish Burning Bush discussion could perhaps consider this.] ACTION ITEM FOR THE ACTION-ORIENTED. We discussed publicizing some of the appropriate ecumenical events the CoC announces. 5. Health Care: George and Tom went to the PACT-PIA Symposium at Temple Shir Hadath in Los Gatos. Good crowd, spirited presentations and discussions. Assembly member Jim Beall and County Supervisor Liz Kniss were present. Kniss pledged to support County-wide health care for adults, similar to the kids' health care now available in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. Beall pledged action in the Assembly on the Governor's health care proposal. (PICO endorses the Governor's plan.). Both pledged action within a month. 6. March Burning Bush: "The Iraq War: A Catholic Response" - Laura Chiu, Carol Schaffer, Ed Ehmke (Stanford PaxChristi) and Walt are working on this. "O COME, ALL YE (ADESTE, Y'ALL"), invited Walt. 7. Social Justice Liaison Report: Deferred to next meeting. 8. February Pastoral Stewardship Council Report: a. Percept: Susan and Walt urged HCC members to attend the March 14 PSC meeting. There'll be a session on Percept (census data analysis). Percept data should afford some facts to sharpen our evangelization efforts and give more focus to various ministry efforts. (The Percept report will be given to attendees.) Arrive just before 8:30 pm - out by 9 pm. ACTION ITEM FOR THE ACTION-ORIENTED. b. Parish Mission Statement: We reviewed the two versions offered and deftly and seamlessly merged the two as follows: "STA Roman Catholic parish is a community of Christ's disciples, on a journey of faith living and sharing the Gospel, as listeners, learners and leaders." We were firm about including "leaders," both because we are, de facto, or should be, trying to fulfill this counsel of perfection. NEW BUSINESS: 9. Immigration Symposium Walt reported on the Immigration Symposium February 10 at Stanford Law School. (See attachment #1.) 10. PACT-PIA immigration gathering at St. Patrick Ruth and George reported on PACT-PIA immigration gathering at St. Patrick, San Jose, on February 24. About 1,000 people, majority Latino, Fr. Paul Locatelli, and many other roman collars. Congressperson Zoe Lofgren was there, plus County DA Deborah Carr, a San Jose City Councilman, San Jose's police chief, representatives from business, agriculture, unions, etc. There was compelling testimony from upwardly-mobile students unable to enroll in colleges. The Latino community is very fearful about ICE raids. Lofgren (chair of an immigration sub-committee) brought some of her aides to take notes on specific cases. She pledged to push comprehensive immigration reform hard when she returns to Washington, D.C. Walt reported on similar February 24 meeting in Burlingame at St. Catherine of Sienna, organized by Northern California PaxChristi. (See attachment #2.) WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND? 12. Budget for 2007-08: Terry will draft a budget for HCC review at our March meeting. Chris suggested (we agreed) that we should think of increasing our financial support for those agencies with whom we have a fruitful relationship and growing productive ties. ACTION ITEM: ALL THINK ABOUT THIS; BRING YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS to the March 27 HCC meeting. Walt said JustFaith budget will be as last year. He should have, but did not, report that JustFaith, noting a decline in enrollments, plans to design a shorter, more bite-size program for next time. Details as we learn them. 13. Chris and George suggested a PIA-sponsored training session to develop lay leadership using the skills of Carolina Cervantes, PIA staff. On agenda for March. ACTION ITEM FOR GEORGE AND CHRIS. 14. Next meeting March 27. Walt Attachment #1: Attended Stanford Law School's Immigration Symposium on Saturday, February 10. About 130 people attended, mostly law students, but with a good sprinkling of law professors and attorneys. The panelists were lawyers, law professors and advocates for immigrant rights. Some highlights: 1. Illegal immigrants have some legal protections in the workplace, but it is always a battle to assert them. 2. By applying status labels - "illegal", "undocumented", "alien" - we strip the individuals of their humanity as persons, spouses, parents. etc. 3. The 2006 election replaced a good number of anti-immigrant legislators [not necessarily for that reason, but don't look a gifted horse in the mouth] with people favoring comprehensive reform. (Unfortunately Ohio Sen. Mike deWine, good guy, was dumped also.) 4. There's no great optimism about getting comprehensive reform passed in this Congress. (The president is weakened, the Iraq war is sucking up a lot of the oxygen, and there are a substantial number of Blue Dog Democrats not partial to the idea.) 5. If anything is passed it will contain a lot of compromise measures (the art of the possible) that will be unpleasant. 6. Like it or not, anything passed will have a strong measure of border security. So bite the bullet. 7. Among the 12-13 million undocumented are an estimated up-to 40 percent of people who have overstayed their visitor/student visas, including about 600,000 Irish and who knows how many Canadians, eh? They didn't all surge up from our southern border.  Attachment #2 Northern California Pax Christi meeting 2/24/07 About 55 in attendance. The principal topic was immigration. Bishop GABINO ZAVALA (Pres. of PaxChristi USA and Auxiliary Bishop, San Gabriel Region, Archdiocese of Los Angeles) was keynote speaker. Panelists were Fr. TONY MCGUIRE (pastor, St. Matthew Parish, San Mateo and organizer of the 2002 joint meeting of U.S. and Mexican Bishops on Immigration), JOSE CRUZ (from San Salvador, a political refugee), CATHERINE CUSICK (UniteHERE - a union organizer), CHRISTOPHER MARTINEZ (Catholic Charities SF - working on immigration and refugee issues) and the Rev. PHIL LAWSON (United Methodist minister - working on immigrant rights and "New Sanctuary"). Bishop ZAVALA reviewed the position of the USSCB on comprehensive immigration reform. (Nothing new here.) He repeated the 5 principles the US/Mexican bishops announced in 2002: 1. Persons have a right to have opportunities in their homeland. 2. Persons have the right to migrate to support themselves and their families. 3. Sovereign nations have the right to control their borders. 4. Refugees and asylum seekers should be afforded protection. 5. The human dignity and human rights of undocumented migrants should be respected. He told of a big interfaith coalition in Southern California organized by Cardinal Mahoney including labor, business and local government participants. Fr. MCGUIRE said the 2002 joint bishops' meeting was the first time the bishops had considered the border problem together. There was great rapport. They produced "Strangers No Longer" (I have a copy.). He told of memorial crosses outside Tijuana for people who died during the crossing attempts. He deplored NAFTA because it is destroying Mexican agricultural workers. Fields inland from Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco that once grew corn now grow maguey for tequila. Another speaker said the U.S. demand for out-of-season exotic produce turns Central American agriculture into agribusiness cash export crops and crowds out local truck farms. The Mexican economy, infrastructure, education and technology need a big boost. He said for 20 years, as the EU was forming, the European developed nations invested beaucoup bucks to bring less-developed Eastern European countries up to speed. Ireland, once a source of unskilled labor abroad, is now importing low-wage workers. In contrast, the US since 1984 has spent $30 billion on border protection and wondered how investing some of that to upgrade Mexican capacities instead might have helped. He quoted President Bush: "One kilometer of road in Oaxaca is better than 100 miles of border fence. " [I recall a speaker at the Stanford Law Immigration Symposium saying, "Show me a 50-foot wall and I'll show you a 51-foot ladder." CRUZ told of atrocity stories while a university student in El Salvador. He floated a conspiracy theory that powerful business interests that pushed free trade wanted to create conditions in the third world to force emigration of a workforce which could then be paid low wages and enjoy little legal protection and the right to organize. The free trade agreements were negotiated from a position of strength and guaranteed high profits. Someone suggested the recent nationwide ICE raids (about 13,000 deported in the last nine months) are designed to deport as many as can be found and sent back now, so that if there is to be a path later towards earned citizenship, there will be fewer around to earn it. MARTINEZ said Catholic Charities SF has good relations with SF DA Kamala Harris on immigrant issues. SF has a policy that police will not participate in ICE raids. He distributed Spanish language cartoon-type suggestions on how to act if the ICEman comes knocking. These are being used at ESL centers in the 3 archdiocesan counties. [I'm sending these to agencies in our diocese for possible use.] He also punched holes in various immigration myths: 1. They don't pay taxes. 2. They come here for the welfare benefits. 3. They send all their money back home. 4. They take jobs from citizens. 5. They're a drain on the economy. 6. They don't learn English. 7. Strong border protection will stop them. . . . And a few others. [By the way, The 700-mile fence has been signed into law but the FUNDS haven't been appropriated. Drop a dime on your Congressman to vote against any appropriation measure.] CUSICK's union is focusing on organizing hotel and restaurant workers and identifying contract firms which provide cafeteria and landscape workers getting low wages and no benefits. UnitedHERE lobbies the big (Genentech was mentioned) firms who use them and asserts they have enough clout to demand that the contract firms follow a humane code of conduct. LAWSON: His group seeks to gain public support for comprehensive reform, legal protections and support (hospitality) for deportees and their families during the legal process [SF Chronicle 2/27 had picture of rally on Monday in SF.]

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