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JPIC Office Blog
May 4, 2007
Dear Friends,
Peace and all good to you!
May the peace and joy of the Risen Christ be
with you! I pray that our efforts to bring the life giving spirit of
Christ to all those we meet will help us to be more conscious
of how we can be in solidarity with those in need.
The
National Franciscan Family Steering Committee met in April to
further develop the Franciscan Action Network. The role of the
commission and the expectations of congregational membership have
been determined. An invitation will shortly be sent out to all
leaders in the Franciscan Family, inviting them to join the network
as well as to solicit nominations for the grassroots Commission.
When the Steering Committee meets on July 30th, we hope to make
decisions for Commission membership. It is exciting for me to work
with such committed and visionary Franciscans.
In the past
few months, the JPIC Office--as a member of the Diocese of Joliet
Advocacy Committee--held meetings with representatives of McDonald’s
Corporation and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to listen to
their concerns and raise questions. On April 16th, both the
Coalition and McDonald’s signed an agreement in Atlanta to work
together to address wages and working conditions for the farmworkers
who pick Florida tomatoes. The advocacy committee was perceived by
both as helping to make each side more receptive to negotiations.
Please click this link http://www.ciw-online.org/news.html#agreement
for further information and congratulation picture. We will use the insights from this
experience to help us in our efforts to promote comprehensive
immigration reform.
Thanks to all of your efforts, the JPIC
Office sent out 600 cards to our elected officials to promote
insurance coverage for children during Cover the Uninsured Week.
We continue to keep our elected leaders in prayer for a
peaceful resolution to the war through dialogue and effective
transitions in Iraq.
The conflict in Darfur is still
unsettling. Ongoing pressure continues through the Save Darfur
Coalition. The U.S. is president of the Security Council of the
United Nations for the month of May and is able to determine the
agenda. For more information to contact the U.S. Representative to
the UN, Dr. Khalilzad, please go to http://capwiz.com/africaaction/issues/alert/?alertid=9596016&type=CU.
Postcards are also available from the JPIC Office.
We are
watching the early stages of upcoming legislation: comprehensive
immigration reform, affordable housing, farm bill, trade and debt
cancellation. Preliminary information is on our website at http://www.wheatonfranciscan-jpic.org/currentactionalerts.html
The
JPIC Office is hosting a gathering for Sr. Florence Muia, ASN, 1000
Women for the Nobel Peace Prize Nominee and Executive Director of
Upendo Village in Naivasha, Kenya on June 12th, at Our Lady of the
Angels Auditorium. Please click here for more details of the evening. If you
would like to attend, please contact the JPIC Office.
The
JPIC Office is also a supporter of the 2nd National Conference of
JubileeUSA: Deepening Our Roots, Creating Community, Building
a Movement. This conference, June 15 to 17 at Loyola University in
Chicago, supports efforts to end the international debt crisis in
developing countries.
Thanks for all your prayers and for all you
are doing to make this world a better place.
Sr. Sheila Kinsey, OSF
JPIC Coordinator
Wheaton Franciscans
Blog Archives
October, 2006
November, 2006
December, 2006
January, 2007 and the 2007 World Social Forum
February, 2007
March, 2007
April, 2007
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