Category Archives: NunsontheBus2018

Reflection: Philadelphia Nuns on the Bus Town Hall

Reflection: Philadelphia Nuns on the Bus Town Hall

Saint Joseph’s University students
October 24, 2018

The Nuns on the Bus stopped in Philadelphia for a Town Hall at Saint Joseph’s University. Students, community members, and local sisters alike came to learn about tax justice and talk about how the 2017 GOP Tax Law is impacting Philadelphians more specifically.

 

Two students shared their reflections on the event below:

 

 

“I really enjoyed attending the Nuns on the Bus event that took place at Saint Joseph’s University. Before attending, I researched into who the Nuns on the Bus are and learned they are a lobbying group located in Washington D.C. which tend to have more liberal views. Each sister introduced herself to the audience and explained who they are, which order they are a part of, and why they joined the bus. I found it interested that although these women are part of different orders, they come together for the same reason, change that will benefit everyone. The social justice issues each woman stood for were education, immigration, economy, social services, and many more.

“After introductions, each woman took a persona. This persona belonged in a socioeconomic class and demonstrated through steps how they benefited from the current tax reform. They then demonstrated through steps how Trump’s tax reform would not benefit everyone yet only certain people. Before seeing this demonstrated, I never completely understood the impact it would have on each social class. I would read about the impacts it would have and look at the statistics. Seeing the steps helped me to comprehend what this really means for the economy. After seeing these demonstrations, I enjoyed the group discussions. The woman I talked to told me she believes that voting is the best thing for change. She believes that voting needs to rise for my age group and all the decisions made in the elections now will affect my generation the most.

“Reflecting on the event, I really enjoyed this presentation. I feel I have learned more about the tax reforms and what changes need to be made to better everyone in the United States instead of benefiting a select few. Voting is one-way change can be made and I do believe that my generation will be most affected by what we vote on now. Through attending this event, I feel that I have gained a better understanding about how decisions made by those we elect into political office will affect everyone in some form.”

— Kella Pacifico

“I really enjoyed going to this event.  It gave me a platform on which I was able to have intentional conversations about the new tax laws and the potential detriment that they could have on our society.  I was given the opportunity to provide a younger student prospective to the nuns and other people around me as to why most college students are not engaged with this issue and our small groups bounced ideas for solutions.  I would like to thank both Network and all of the Nuns on the Bus for spreading awareness and empowering people all over the country to vote in favor of social justice.  University students like myself need to embody the words of Saint Ignatius Loyola to “go forth and set the world on fire.”

— Michael Williams

View more photos from this event here.

Reflection: Back in the saddle during the last week of the trail to Mar-a-Lago

Reflection: Back in the saddle during the last week of the trail to Mar-a-Lago

Sister Michele Morek, OSU
October 30, 2018

This post originally appeared on the Global Sisters Report website. 

 

There is an old country song (really old — Gene Autry sang it) called “Back in the Saddle Again.” I was singing it as we boarded the bus Oct. 28 for the journey from Washington, D.C., to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.

Coming off a two-week break from the bus, I arrived pretty refreshed, but I was amazed to see Social Service Sr. Simone Campbell and her Network staff still cheerful and full of energy. One of them told me they get new energy from the weekly shifts of new sisters getting on the tour bus.

First, we gathered for brunch in Crystal City at the restaurant Jaleo, owned by the chef José Andrés, who organized food distribution in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. The chef, who has 31 restaurants in North America and the Caribbean, arrived five days after the hurricane and worked with World Central Kitchen and 20,000 volunteers to serve about 3 million meals over three months.

After eating, we went out to find the bus. It was nice to see all the old-timers and Glenn the bus driver. The bus has a lot more names written all over it, covering almost every square inch until you get up to ladder height.

For about the first hour of travel, Sister Simone and her staff gave us the “Introduction to Life and Ministry on the Bus” speech and various practical directions (e.g., how to flush). We also had a Ceremony of the Beads in which we chose a bead expressing the hope we have for our week on the bus, explained our choice to the group, and put it on an elastic band around our wrists to wear the rest of the week.

After that, the warmth of the bus, the big brunch, and the three-hour bus trip called for a few naps — for those us not blogging, anyway. Our first event was a rally in Richmond, Virginia. In preparation, we all filled our swag bags with the Network newsletter, stickers and the cards that participants use to sign a pledge to work for the common good (a completed card gives one the privilege of signing the bus!) and headed out to meet the rally participants.

The rally was in a public plaza beneath a statue of Maggie Walker, the nation’s first African-American female bank president. She chartered the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank of Richmond, which helped black people rise out of poverty after the Civil War. The next year, her newspaper, the St. Luke Herald, incited a two-year boycott of Richmond’s segregated streetcars.

The crowd of about 75 was very receptive. After an invocation by an Episcopal priest, one of the nuns, Dominican Sr. Quincy Howard of Network, gave an introduction to the Nuns on the Bus. The mayor of Richmond, Levar Stoney, then spoke eloquently of what good leadership looks like, followed by the Rev. Jeanne Pupke of the Unitarian Universalist Church, a former Immaculate Heart of Mary sister, who talked about the current tax policy as the “mother of all inequality.”

Jackie Short, a black activist, entrepreneur and speaker for the Fight for $15 movement, spoke for a fair minimum wage, and Ali Faruk spoke of housing and business federal programs as investment in people. Former congressperson and political activist Tom Perriello praised the Nuns on the Bus and spoke of how the budget reflects our values. Finally, Sister Simone worked her usual magic on the crowd, convincing all that it is “we the people” who are responsible for the course of our democracy.

As always, I was struck by the hope in the faces of the people present, as if we were a roving team of cheerleaders who confirmed them in what they believe and value, who gave them a chance to get together with a group of like-minded people, and who provided a group of inspirational speakers from their own area who could speak to issues of concern to them.

And now what you have been waiting for: introducing this week’s Nuns on the Bus!

  • Benedictine Sr. Cathy Bauer
  • Social Service Sr. Simone Campbell
  • Dominican Sr. Quincy Howard
  • Dominican Sr. Mary Howard Johnstone
  • Immaculate Heart of Mary Sr. Donna Korba
  • Agnes Sr. Julie Krahl
  • Daughter of Charity Sr. Mary Ellen Lacy
  • Joseph Sr. Beth LeValley
  • Agnes Sr. Clare Lawlor
  • Ursuline Sr. Michele Morek

[Ursuline Sr. Michele Morek is Global Sisters Report’s liaison to sisters in North America. Her email address is [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @MicheleMorek.]

Follow all of GSR’s Nuns on the Bus coverage.

View more photos from all events here.

Travel Log: Washington, D.C.

Travel Log: Washington, D.C.

Sister Betsy Van Deusen, CSJ
October 26, 2018

The last day of the third leg was six days, saw us in six states, and held 15 events (with some stops on Capitol Hill)!

We ended our time together with a really delicious dinner in the rectory hosted by Father Patrick Smith, the Pastor of St. Augustine’s Catholic Church in Washington, D.C.  Ernesto was the chef and he told me he also cooks for the school and uses fresh fruits and vegetables. He told me once the children got used to it, they really love it. Dessert was sweet potato and pecan pie! 

We went next door to the school for our Town Hall for Justice. This event was unique in that the staff traveling on the Bus with us, as well as three of the nine sisters who live in D.C. During the discussion time, it was interesting being with residents of the District because they talked about “taxation without representation.” On the road we heard from many constituents who did not feel represented, and these people are in fact not! 

After the presentation people were invited to sign the Bus. It was raining so everyone had to wipe their spot before signing. Earlier in the day the NETWORK staff had attached the names of the 887 people who had sent a donation for Nuns on the Bus. The sister with whom I live and I had signed a sticker, and I thought it would be neat to see it on the Bus. On that rainy night in D.C. I got to see our sticker and was so grateful to the community support that made the “Tax Justice Truth Tour” possible. 

We said our goodbyes and “ubered” off to the Stuart Center where we spent the night before making connections home.

I would like to extend a huge thank you to the staff and supporting players for a very enjoyable, inspiring and passion filled experience.

View more photos from this event here.

Travel Log: Richmond

Travel Log: Richmond

Sister Michele Morek, OSU
October 28, 2018

I loved this event, which took place in a public plaza in Richmond beneath the statue of Maggie Walker, the nation’s first African American woman bank president. She chartered the St. Luke’s Penny Savings Bank of Richmond, which helped Black people survive financially and rise out of poverty after the Civil War. The next year, her newspaper, the St. Luke Herald, incited a two-year boycott of Richmond’s segregated streetcars.

The crowd of about 75 who had gathered for our Rally for Tax Justice were very receptive to our message.  After Sister Simone Campbell welcomed the group, acknowledging the deep sadness and fear of the country in the past week with the synagogue shooting and the pipe bomb scare, our speakers took the stage, including:

  • John Kerr of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church of Blackstone, VA giving an invocation
  • Sister Quincy Howard, OP, of NETWORK introducing the Nuns on the Bus Tax Justice Truth Tour
  • Mayor Levar Stoney of Richmond, VA speaking of what good leadership looks like
  • Jeanne Pupke of the Unitarian Universalist Church (and a former IHM Sister) talking about the current tax policy as the “mother of all inequality”
  • Jackie Short, a Black entrepreneur, activist, and speaker for “Fight for $15,” speaking for a fair minimum wage
  • Ali Faruk, Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy board member who spoke of housing and business federal programs as “investment in people”
  • Tom Perriello, a former U.S. Representative and political activist who advocates for policies based on values; he spoke for Nuns on the Bus and the budget as reflecting our values
  • Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, who shared the message that it is “We the People” who are responsible for the course of our democracy.

As always, I was struck by the hope in the faces of the people present: as if we were a roving team of cheerleaders who nourished their beliefs and values, who gave them a chance to get together with a group of like-minded people, and who provided a group of inspirational speakers from their own area who could speak to issues of concern to them.

View more photos from this event here.

Travel Log: Philadelphia and Pleasantville

Travel Log: Philadelphia and Pleasantville

Sister Margaret McGuirk, OP
October 25, 2018

Our day began as usual with contemplative prayer and sharing. At the end, Sister Betsy looked at her hotel key card and it said, “Passion Moves Us.”  This became our inspiration for the day and with a resounding “Amen,” we packed up our bags and were on the road again.

The Women’s Community Revitalization Project (WCRP) in Philadelphia was our first stop.  It is an amazing example of a dream realized through the work of a community committed to justice. Nora Lichtash, Executive Director, said that they brought together a coalition of sixty-two organizations and out of this emerged the WCRP. Their mission is to build permanently affordable housing and serve women and families. Pastor Richard Harris told how the neighborhood was deteriorating and there was land left vacant for 30 years.  The city had insufficient affordable housing and people living under bridges and struggling with the opioid addiction. Christi Clarke, Organizing Director, gave us a tour of new buildings of the Grace Town Homes – Community Land Trust. One of the beautiful parts of this tour was to learn how many persons with disabilities have made this place their home.  The event ended with a press conference where Congressman Brendan Boyle joined us. He spoke of his commitment to the common good. His voting record is aligned with NETWORK’s “Mend the Gaps” agenda and we were touched to learn that his vote while he was a member of the Pennsylvania state legislature made a difference in making this project possible.

Our second stop was the Village at St. Peter’s in Pleasantville which is low-income housing sponsored by the Catholic Archdiocese of Camden. Jamie Reynolds, Executive Director, gave us a tour and invited us to a meal with the residents. It was a delightful time to interact with the residents and experience the spirit of welcome and conviviality that they have created at this apartment complex. It was delightful when one of the men who does maintenance stood on a chair and led us in a blessing before the meal. We invited the seniors to come out to the bus and many of them did.  Both here and at WCRP, it was evident how investing in the lives of those who are marginalized can turn darkness to light.

View more photos from Philadelphia and Pleasantville.

Travel Log: Rep. Comstock Lobby Visit

Travel Log: Rep. Comstock Lobby Visit

Sister Janet Kinney, CSJ
October 26, 2018

Today we are making our last stops as we round out this week ‘on the road’ speaking about Tax Justice on our Truth Tour across the country.

We left Delaware and after a 3 hour ride arrived at the office of Representative Barbara Comstock (VA-10).  While Rep. Comstock voted against Speaker Ryan’s repeal of the Affordable Care Act, she has also voted to remove some of the provisions of this act that will affect thousands of people who rely on their health care plans to remain healthy and receive much needed care.  Rep. Comstock also voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which has not provided the tax benefits and wage increases promised to the average person, as it was designed to benefit the upper 1 % and major corporations.  Already we have heard that this country has lost over $160 billion in tax revenue this year alone because of the passing of this legislation!  And now Senate Leader Mitchell McConnell says we will have to cut our social programs – Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and other programs – to make up for the deficit!

 

I accompanied Sister Simone Campbell and Sister Richelle Friedman on a lobby visit with John O’Donoghue, who works on tax and healthcare issues for Representative Comstock.  We also were accompanied by Angie Voyles of the Little Lobbyists; Jim Vollmer, an SEIU member; and Yolanda, a representative of CASA Maryand.

Angie spoke movingly about her daughter Anna who is medically fragile and was born at 25 weeks, along with her twin brother.  Anna has a tracheostomy, feeding tube, cerebral palsy, metabolic bone disease, as well as a few other debilitating conditions and relies on the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid to receive the care that she needs.  Angie became Anna’s mom when she was 2 months old and officially adopted her at age 2.  Her daughter has had many medical emergencies and, because of her husband’s career in the military, they were flown to DC to get Anna needed care because their hometown hospital in Arkansas had run out of the resources needed to treat her conditions.

Despite the odds, Anna has grown, has started walking and talking, and is attending school!  She is able to attend school due to her access to a home healthcare nurse provided by the Medicaid Waiver program.  Angie and her husband are so fearful that the provisions currently being suggested to revise Medicaid will harm the services that help her daughter every day.

We tried to impress upon Rep. Comstock’s staff that her advocacy in Congress for her constituents and families like Angie’s was critical to their wellbeing.  Unfortunately we received only a message that he would pass along our concerns to the Representative.  When we shared statistics and data supporting our concerns made public by the Congressional Budget Office with Mr. O’Donoghue, we were questioned on the accuracy of our data!

After the lobby visit we had a rally outside Rep. Comstock’s office with a rousing group of her constituents who also shared that she has never had a town hall to listen to their concerns in her two terms in office, and they have experienced roadblocks every time they try to meet with her.  This was discouraging to hear!

Angie’s story and many other stories like hers, I have heard over and over during our trip this week.

These are the voices that need to be lifted up and shared with our legislators and one another, so that we vote for persons who represent “We the People.” I am praying that we have record turnout at the voting booths this November 6th. United together we can make this happen!

View more photos from this event here.

Travel Log: Wilmington Town Hall

Travel Log: Wilmington Town Hall

Sister Andrea Koverman, SC
October 25, 2018

Thursday evening ended with the Wilmington Town Hall for Justice hosted by the Grace United Methodist Church. Delaware is plagued by tremendous economic inequality and is a haven for tax loopholes and evasion. This is the first time Nuns on the Bus has come to Delaware, and we were met by an enthusiastic crowd and graciously welcomed by Reverend Edwin Estevez.

Reverend Edwin Estevez set the tone for the evening by leading us with a prayer by Sir Francis Drake (1577) titled, “Disturb Us, Lord.”

Disturb Us, Lord

Disturb us, Lord when we are too well

Pleased with ourselves.

When our dreams have come true

Because we have dreamed too little,

When we arrived safely

Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when

With the abundance of things we possess

We have lost our thirst

For the waters of life;

Having fallen in love with life,

We have ceased to dream of eternity

And in our efforts to build a new earth,

We have allowed our vision

Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,

To venture on wider seas

Where storms will show Your mastery;

Where losing sight of land,

We shall find the stars.

We ask You to push back

The horizons of our hopes;

And to push into the future

In strength, courage, hope, and love.

The content of the presentation is indeed disturbing. NETWORK’s human bar graph creates a startling visual of the impact of the change in economic growth for all families in the U.S. divided into quintiles as a result of changes in tax policy. Before Reaganomics introduced the idea that the increased revenue for corporations would benefit people at every level as revenue would “trickle down,” 100% of the people grew 100% together. But during the thirty plus years since then, people in the bottom quintile only grew 8.25%, while the top quintile grew 65% and the top 1% grew a whopping 205%.

The demonstration went on to depict how much worse the disparity is going to be as the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Law takes affect. The bottom quintile will get about an additional $60 on their income tax return, while those in the 1% will get $193,000. Those in greatest need will get the least while the wealthy and most economically secure will get even more.

To show the loss of income that will come as a result of the proposed cuts to programs such as Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, each quintile is asked to take steps backwards for cut that would affect them.

It just so happened that each step backwards brought people closer and closer to the altar in the church we were gathered in. How symbolic of what our faith calls us to recognize. As we let go of our human tendency to look out for ourselves, to take more than we need and more than is just, to blame those less fortunate for their own circumstances and refuse to acknowledge our responsibility for one another, we drift further away from the heart of God. When we do the opposite, we move into community with our sisters and brothers and closer to the heart of God.

View more photos from this event here.

Travel Log: Philadelphia Town Hall

Travel Log: Philadelphia Town Hall

Erica Jordan, OP
October 24, 2018

The Nuns on the Bus arrived in Philly with some time to spare, so we were able to fit in an eclectic supper of left-overs; some hummus, grape leaves, and olives from yesterday’s birthday celebration; and pizza.

Just before 6:00 PM, we went to the chapel to begin our explanation and dramatization of the effect of the tax law from the 1980s, when Reaganomics was introduced, until the passage of the new tax bill into law in December 2017 – some 30+ years. We wanted to help our audience understand peoples’ current economic position as the new law is implemented. This presentation of a “human bar graph” is a stark demonstration of the income inequality from the recent past and how much it will be exacerbated when the 2017 law goes into full effect.

The folks who gathered were mainly people from the surrounding community, several professors from St. Joseph’s University, and a few students. The teachers wished that more of their students could have experienced the presentation.  We, too, wish there had been more students so we could have heard from them about their present and future financial concerns. Our input might have offered them insights also.

We continue to puzzle about how to engage young adults in meaningful conversations about tax policy and its relevance to them and to the common good of our nation.

View more photos from this event here.