September 26, 2023: Announcements!
September 26, 2023: Announcements!
Announcement #1:
Father Greg Boyle speaks in San Francisco this Thursday
September 28 at 7:00PM at St. Agnes Church
1025 Masonic Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94117
1From Friendship to Kinship: Lessons from Homeboy Industries,
with Fr. Greg Boyle, SJ September 28, 700 PM - 800 PM
Fr. Greg Boyle is the founder of Homeboy Industries In Los Angeles, the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation, and re-entry program in the world. Homeboy Industries employs and trains former gang members in a range of social enterprises, as well as provides critical services to thousands of individuals who walk through its doors every year.
Fr. Boyle is the author of the 2010 New York Times bestseller
Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion
Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship (2017),
The WholeLanguage: The Power of Extravagant Tenderness (2021)
and Forgive Everyone Everything (2022).
The evening will include a presentation by Fr. Greg and several homies, a short Q&A and a social following the presentation.
RSVP at:
https://saintagnessf.org/fr-greg-boyle-sj
Announcement #2: from Nuns on the Bus (Network Catholic Advocates inspired by catholic sisters)
Please call Mike Thompson today and register your voice aganist a government shutdown (Easy and Fun to talk with his excellent staff or leave a message...)
Dear Ones:
The House is in chaos. We need your help today! Call your House Representative and tell them to support a bipartisan continuing resolution that funds human needs programs at the level agreed to this spring and is free of harmful policies that would separate families at the border.
In Spring 2023, a small group of House extremists refused to raise our country’s debt ceiling unless safety net spending was drastically reduced. Thankfully, a bipartisan deal was reached that spared WIC, SNAP, and other programs. But they are at it again! They want to go back on their promise to fund human needs programs and are threatening a government shutdown if spending on these programs isn’t drastically reduced.
They also hope to jail unaccompanied children seeking safety at our southern border and slash funds for faith communities that provide welcome.
Time is running out. Funding for our government ends this week on Saturday, September 30 and Congress isn’t even close to resolving this crisis. Members on both sides of the aisle in the Senate are poised to uphold the deal and pass a clean temporary bill that allows Congress to finish its work on a final funding deal.
Please call Mike's Office
2300 County Center Dr.
Suite A100
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
Phone: (707) 542-7182
When you call, here’s what you might say:
“Hello, my name is [YOUR NAME] from [YOUR TOWN]. I want to let Mike know that I am deeply concerned that a handful of House Members are pushing for deep cuts to our social safety net programs and want to separate children and families seeking asylum in our country. And, it's disturbing that they are threatening to shut down our government if their demands are not met.
Millions of government workers, small businesses that rely on them to buy their products and services, and others who rely on our government, will be negatively affected; and there will surely be an increase in the number of people struggling to make ends meet across the country.
Many people in my community face food and housing insecurity, challenges with high child care costs, and other hardships that make it hard to thrive without assistance. [Definitely share your own experiences and/or add local/state data here!] We cannot have a shutdown!
Representative Thompson I'm sure I can count on you to work to pass a clean bipartisan continuing resolution that prioritizes funding for human needs and rejects any and all anti-immigrant proposals.
Your voice matters! And when you act today, you remind Congress that they must keep their promise to our nation and pass a bipartisan solution grounded in concern for the common good. Together through action, we keep our promise to each other in God's beloved community--that we will work together for the dignity of all!
You can also double your efforts by sending your Member of Congress an action alert email.
In Solidarity,
Laura Peralta-Schulte,
Nuns on the Bus catholic advocates
Announcement #3:
Our hero Father Louie Vitale to be celebrated on Friday September 6, 2023 at 3:00PM at St. Boniface Church: 133 Golden Gate Ave, 94102, San Francisco
Dan Vrooman mentioned he is very enthusiastic about this celebration of life and would welcome a carpool to St. Boniface to celebrate Fr. Louis. Father Louis has been in jail so many times for protesting at military bases that his friends joke that it will be a relief to be able to visit him at a retirement home - which I did several times in Oakland. Dan, Jim and so many others assisted Louis as he crossed the line at Fort Benning Georgia - home of the School of the Americas which was the center for training the secret police of countries throughout Latin America.
Louis has spent many years in prison for peace and disarmament and was a leader of the Franciscans on the west coast. He opened St. Boniface Church to the poor and homeless. He encouraged them to use the church for taking a nap, to use the bathrooms or simply to walk in a quiet place out of the rain.
I had the great pleasure of knowing Louis since 1968 when he led us on a retreat at St. Anthony's Seminary in Santa Barbara. I worked with a team of "Louis followers" in Las Vegas and later in San Francisco. He was a fearless Christian.