“At this table we put aside every worldly separation based on culture, class, or other differences. Baptized, we no longer admit to distinctions based on age or sex or race or wealth. This communion is why all prejudice, all racism, all sexism, or deference to wealth and power must be banished from our parishes, our homes, our lives. This communion is why we will not call enemies those who are human beings like ourselves. This communion is why we will not commit the world’s resources to an escalating arms race while the poor die. We cannot. Not when we have feasted here on the “body broken” and the “blood poured out” for the life of the world.” – Joseph Cardinal Bernardin
Catholic Legislative Network
Catholic Social Teaching holds that a person is not only sacred but also social. How we organize our society directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community.
One fairly simple but highly effective way to participate is by letting your government representatives know your thoughts and opinions. E-mail is easy. Letters may be more effective. Phone access is available.
Information on how to contact your representatives as well as legislation currently being considered is readily available from the Catholic Legislative Network.
St. Mary’s Peace & Justice Council puts Catholic Social Teaching into action by creating opportunities for parishioners to learn, advocate and contribute to a peaceful, loving and just world.
St. Mary’s “Partners in Mission in Ecuador”
Ecuadorian Soup Supper
Thank You!
The Ecuadorian Soup Supper last Sunday evening and support for the Working Boy's Center through craft sales and donations were amazing successes. Thank you!!! St. Mary's response to our new partnership relationship was overwhelming. You showed incredible enthusiasm, care and concern for our Ecuadorian brothers and sisters at the Center. A total of $8300 was raised!!! All of that money will be used to directly support the mission of the Working Boy's Center to educate and care for families who are trying to work their way out of poverty. St. Mary's showed what it means to be part of a community - in our own parish and across continents. Thank you to all who worked so hard to make the kick-off to this new relationship with the WBC so successful and especially to those parishioners who were so flexible and supportive with our over capacity soup supper. The enthusiasm and spirit were stellar! As we move forward with this new partnership, please continue to pray for our friends in Ecuador. There will be other opportunities to participate in the future, including another immersion trip this spring. There was great interest expressed in the "Partners in Mission in Ecuador" ministry over the weekend. If anyone is interested in becoming more involved, please contact Carol Braham at 354-6121. Thank you, again!!!
Partners in Mission in Ecuador
This past spring, seven members of St. Mary’s JustFaith and WAV were commissioned by the parish on Holy Thursday to travel to Quito, Ecuador, to participate in a service project/immersion experience at the Working Boy’s Center (WBC) – A Family of Families. The WBC was started 45 years ago by a Jesuit priest and joined soon after by several Sisters of Charity, BVM. It began by serving the poor shoeshine boy population of Quito and has grown into a family program that provides care through meals, medical and dental services, values building, micro-enterprise credit, community homebuilding opportunities and most of all, education and vocational training. The WBC ministers to all family members to help them break the cycle of poverty though self-sufficiency.
As an outgrowth of that experience and complementing St. Mary’s Mission and Vision statements of the Peace and Justice Council, St. Mary’s Parish is working to establish a long-term relationship with the WBC. This new ministry is called “Partners in Mission in Ecuador.” Its mission is to promote and enhance the relationship of St. Mary’s Parish Community and our sisters and brothers who participate in our ministry partner, the WBC. It is the goal of this new ministry to join the people of St. Mary’s Community and the WBC in prayer, solidarity, advocacy, mutuality and faith development. There will be various opportunities to develop this relationship throughout the year. Please join our parish in building these bonds with our partners in mission at the Working Boy’s Center in Quito, Ecuador. Anyone wanting to help with this ministry directly should contact Carol Braham at 354-6121.
World Peace Day, September 21
Let's each consider what we might do to promote world peace on September 21, starting with how we treat each other, and our neighbors here and abroad. Read more.
This year on Labor Day, St. Mary's joins the Interfaith Council campaign, called “Hospitality with Dignity”, to support hotel workers in their quest for fair working conditions, dignity and respect. Parishioners put their faith into action by signing a petition calling on hotel corporations to become partners in ensuring that all workers earn enough to provide for their families' basic needs and are treated with justice and dignity. Read more.
Youth helping refugees: Following the Youth Ministry Annual Retreat at Tahoe, teens met at St. Mary’s in Los Gatos to prepare bags of rice and beans for the newly arrived refugees in our county.
St. Mary’s Peace & Justice Council – Introduction of Members
St. Mary’s Peace & Justice Council was formed eight years ago to help support the charitable activities of the parish and to encourage our growth as a parish to be advocates for peace and justice in the world. Our members serve a 3-year commitment on a rotating basis in which four members rotate off and four new members join each year. This year’s council includes Ali Miano, Bill Parkin, Sheryl Becker, Matt Kelsey, Mairead Donohue, Budianto Bong, Sue Fortune, Phil Grasser, Barbara Morrissey, Alan Grubb, Don Hand, Greg McKenna, and Jane Ferguson. Our current mission is to put Catholic Social Teaching into action by creating opportunities for parishioners to contribute to a loving and just world. In light of this, we will begin the year (starting for us in August) by promoting the Catholic Social Teaching of the Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers through our Labor Day Speak-Out at all the masses August 30-31.
Supporting Subcontracted Workers
In September 2007 on Labor Day weekend, Peace & Justice Council members Phil Micciche and Ron Pelzel spoke at all the masses about the plight of subcontracted workers, such as janitors and cafteria workers, in Silicon Valley. They asked parishioners to endorse a Code of Conduct that would improve working conditions for these employees at high-tech firms.
According to Andy Schwiebert of the Interfaith Council, "We have used the 8,000 cards we collected (300 of them--at least-- from St. Mary’s) to pressure some high tech companies to adopt a code of conduct that would ensure fair treatment and just pay for workers on their campuses. So far, we have made some progress in putting pressure on some companies to look critically at contracted workers on their campuses, but still have a ways to go before high tech leaders are taking up the cause to do something proactive."
Homebuilding in Pascagoula, MS
Parishioners from St. Mary's (Doug Aumack, Lisa and Bridget Hogan, Valerie Lozowicki and Doug's brother from Texas - Bruce,) traveled in April 2008 to Pascagoula, Mississippi to help rebuild homes along with 20+ Los Gatans from the Methodist Church. Our projects included painting the exterior of a grandfather's home; and rebuilding a bathroom for a disabled-elderly woman. The families we worked for have been challenged and overwhelmed for 31 months since Hurricane Katrina. As Doug Aumack said, "We wound up healing hearts, too."
