Category Archives: Sister Spirit

Travel Log: Tucson

Travel Log: Tucson

Sister Michele Morek, OSU
October 11, 2018

The Nuns on the Bus visited Tucson! Local advocates for justice were successful in securing a lobby visit in the district office of Representative Martha McSally (AZ-02), so four of our Nuns on the Bus joined two constituents, Christine Krikliwy of Vincent de Paul and Jeanette Arnquist, a local justice-seeker, at the visit, while Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, Sister Mary Ellen Lacy, DC, Sister Dusty Farnan, OP, and Sister Chris Machado, SSS, attended from the bus. There was a large police presence at first: four cars, due to intense protests the week before.

The Sisters returning from the visit did not look too happy; indeed, one looked a little “steamy.” CJ Karamargin, Representative McSally’s District Director, was not very receptive to their input or ideas. He said the Representative thinks the economic benefits that will come with the bill will help businesses hire more people, who are hoping for more construction.  Thus far, Representative McSally has not looked at the Affordable Care Act or possible healthcare solutions, but she voted against provisions protecting individuals with pre-existing conditions and lifetime caps.

Local people I met at the bus-side rally and the evening Town Hall told me that Representative McSally does not like to talk with local constituents, and usually refuses to see them.

Christine, one of Rep. McSally’s constituents, talked about the level of poverty among Arizona children (24%, higher than national average): Arizona is #45 of 50 overall in the level of poverty. Next, fellow constituent Jeanette talked about the local area’s interests and programs , such as AHCCCS (Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System).

The crowd of about 75 was very receptive, consisting as it did of a large number of justice-seekers. The AFL-CIO was there with a big banner, and they brought us a cooler of drinks; in return, we left them with a box of Connection magazines and Nuns on the Bus signs, which they requested and said they would put to good use at their own events.

For our evening Town Hall for Justice at St. Francis Cabrini Catholic Church, the crowd was large, noisy, enthusiastic, indignant about “the way things are,” and very welcoming! There was a friendly, comfortable spirit, with popcorn, drinks and snacks for the attendees.  Fr. Bill and the “Raging Grannies” warmed them up very effectively.  I believe it was our most enthusiastic Town Hall, and certainly the most fun.

The attendees loved the exercise we used to demonstrate the impacts of the Republican Tax Law and encouraged us to get the information out there in a form they could share, so attendees could convert their families and teach their children and co-workers.  Put it on YouTube , they said! There were some common themes that had arisen the previous night: win trust/make friends, and concern over voter suppression.

I met a woman who had dragged her Republican husband to the event, and she said he was absolutely converted by the end, saying, “I just didn’t REALIZE.”  People were offering generous donations to the Nuns on the Bus; we later learned that the sum we collected that night was the largest yet.  What fun!

Reflection: Paying Our Union Dues, Then Heading South

Reflection: Paying Our Union Dues, Then Heading South

Sister Michele Morek, OSU
October 12, 2018

This post originally appeared on the Global Sisters Report website.

The Nuns on the Bus canvass Las Vegas neighborhoods with members of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 on Oct. 10. (Network Lobby for Catholic Social Justice / Colleen Ross)

 

Si, se puede! U-nion! U-nion! 2-2-6! 2-2-6! We vote, we win!

We got right into the spirit of the vigorous chants of the members of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

After a long drive from California, we joined them Tuesday afternoon for a meeting with a large group in the union hall, listening to the issues they have with some of the casino owners. Most of the big casinos have come to an agreement with the workers on living wages and benefits, but there are still a few holdouts. The workers suspect it is not lack of funds that stands in the way — one owner just spent over $20 million on a daughter’s wedding. (One of the workers whispered into my ear that $2 million of it was for the cake!)

There are about 50,000 workers in the Culinary Workers Union Local 226, which includes food service industry workers in the big casinos and hotels as well as people in housekeeping and other aspects of the industry. Of these, 54 percent are women and 55 percent are Latino. There are workers from 173 countries who speak 40 languages. That they can organize themselves at all under those circumstances is a minor miracle, and that they have managed to do it so effectively is a major miracle! They have some talented and dedicated leaders.

Members of Culinary Workers Union Local 226 rally Oct. 10 in Las Vegas to hear us talk about the tour and about our support of their work before we all left for canvassing. (Provided photo)

I talked to one leader, Rashauna, who had taken a three-month “political leave” to work at turning out the vote for a candidate known to be more friendly to unions; she and many more had sacrificed their $20-per-hour earnings for $12 with the assurance of continued employment at the end of their leave thanks to the union. Their enthusiasm, love and respect and support of each other was inspiring to all of us.

It had been a long and exhausting day, so we were glad to see our rooms at the end of the second day: rooms at one of the less expensive casinos on the old Las Vegas Strip. There are no motherhouses or big convents in Las Vegas, and the casinos like to lure customers in with inexpensive rooms and food!

As tired as we were, there were some who ventured out to see the bright lights, and one sister even found a zip line to try. In spite of a few bleary eyes, we were at the union hall bright and early the next morning for our adventure in canvassing.

Sr. Michele Morek, OSU, left, and Sr. Simone Campbell, SSS, show off their red shirts from the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 for canvassing Las Vegas neighborhoods (Network Lobby for Catholic Social Justice / Colleen Ross)

We helped prepare packets and distributed ourselves among the groups going out to canvass the neighborhoods to push their candidates for the 2018 midterm elections and urge everyone to get out the vote. First, the leaders outfitted us with red shirts and hats and assigned us to teams. That was after a few more rousing choruses of “Si, se puede!” and “U-nion! 2-2-6!” and “We vote, we win!”

After we returned to the union hall and the workers signed the bus, we left Nevada, eating lunch on the bus, not for the first time. What gorgeous desert and mountain scenery! We enjoyed seeing Lake Mead and going across the Hoover Dam into Arizona; when we saw our first saguaro cactus and Joshua trees, we knew we were ready for our next adventure in Phoenix.

We are educating ourselves by site visits and talking with people; that’s part of the listening mission of Nuns on the Bus. But we are also determined to educate people about what the tax policy really means for real people and to encourage them to use tax policy as one of the most important norms of who should get their vote.

Each day, we begin with half an hour of prayer together: once in a motherhouse chapel, once in an unused convent chapel, once in a convent community room, and once in Sr. Simone Campbell’s hotel room at the casino. That and a cup of coffee gets us going.

One of the best tools of the bus is the town hall developed by Network staff as an educational illustration, an effective graphic description of the effects of tax inequity. Without giving away the plot, let me just describe it as a human bar graph that introduces the audience to a real character NETWORK has encountered in the process of listening to people all over the United States.

The exercise dramatically illustrates how much that person benefited (or not!) from past and current tax policies. If you figure in other events likely to result from the tax changes, the lower economic quartiles of people even go backward.

Of course, the talented Nuns on the Bus take the parts of the characters. Doing the actions the exercise called for made me feel in my bones and muscles the desperation and despair of people in the middle and lower quartiles. The take-home lesson is (and you have heard this before): The lower economic groups suffer while the upper ones benefit.

A new insight I gained from the exercise is an understanding of why the richer people often cannot even see the suffering of the less privileged. They just do not move in the same circles — they are so far away from the other’s reality. It may also explain why some feel isolated, lonely, angry, and threatened by any discussion of tax justice.

Members of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 sign the bus after an Oct. 10 canvassing session in Las Vegas (Network Lobby for Catholic Social Justice / Colleen Ross)

When we finish tonight, Thursday, we will have done this in three parishes or churches, each with its own personality and challenges. The discussion after the activity has been lively as the audiences discussed how the tax changes would likely affect their area or city or state and what they could be doing about it. Some great ideas have been suggested! The people have the answers. NETWORK then collects their input and uses it in later educational activities.

In legislative visits, we generally try to meet with a congressperson (usually one we know voted for the tax bill and does not agree with us!) to explain our position. We are meeting with them to hold them accountable for what their votes are doing to their constituents.

The first had to postpone the meeting with us but promised to meet with constituents on this topic later. We are heading for a meeting with office staff of U.S. Rep. Martha McSally of Arizona as I write this on the road to Tucson.

More later!

Reflection: A Kaleidoscope of Faces for the First Day

Reflection: A Kaleidoscope of Faces for the First Day

Sister Michele Morek, OSU
October 9, 2018

This post originally appeared on the Global Sisters Report website. 

Christine, the pastry chef at Homeboy Industries, helps us bake cookies Oct. 8 (GSR photo / Michele Morek)

 

Jesuit Fr. Greg Boyle’s “awards wall” does not feature his numerous awards, trophies and citations he has won for his work as founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles.

It was really an honor to meet Janet, a former client but now newlywed and a certified social worker at Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, the Nuns on the Bus’s first site visit of the 2018 tour. (Provided photo)

The wall is full of pictures of his success stories: the men and women who have been saved from a return to a life of crime or jail by his programs, which offer jobs, training, counseling and education.

The visit to Homeboy Industries was one of the site visits the Nuns on the Bus are making to listen to people all across the United States — from Los Angeles to West Pam Beach, Florida — to see how U.S. tax policies are affecting them.

As impressive as the work they are doing is, it is the faces we will remember: Christine, the pastry chef who let us “help” on the afternoon batch of cookies (ours did not meet quality control standards because of size variation, so we had to eat them); George, the former homeboy who in his new role as security guard took pride in showing us around; Janet and Boris, who met and married after successful completion of the program.

Other highlights of the day include the happy faces of the waiting crowds, like the lady wearing an “I’m with the nuns” T-shirt and GSR freelancer Heather Adams, who wrote about the opening event.

George shows us around Fr. Greg Boyle’s office at Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles on Oct. 8. (GSR photo / Michele Morek)

Now, would you like a tour of the bus before we get too many days down the road? This bus is a Cadillac that came “wrapped” (with its decoration) from Nashville, Tennessee. Our driver came from Nashville, too; he drove the bus to LA to pick us up. Meet Glenn Childress, driver of celebrities, including many country-music stars, actors and politicians. He has driven buses for Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton and spent six months with Barack Obama.

He’s driving the biggest bus I have ever seen, 45 feet and an imposing presence on the road. Inside, it has a back workroom where most of the sisters hang out, working on blogs and tweets. The staff room is in the front, and both sections have Wi-Fi and electrical connections. In the center, there is a fully equipped kitchen and restroom.

Sisters and staff use the back of the bus as workroom and living area. (GSR photo / Michele Morek)

But here’s what you have been wanting to know: the Nuns on the Bus! We are 10: Social Service Sr. Simone Campbell of Washington, D.C.; Social Service Sr. Chris Machado of Encino, California; Dominican Sr. Quincy Howard of Washington, D.C.; Dominican Sr. Bernadine Karge of Chicago; Dominican Sr. Reg McKillip of Madison, Wisconsin; Dominican Sr. Dusty Farnan of Milwaukee; St. Joseph Sr. Phyllis Tierney of Rochester, N.Y.; St. Joseph Sr. Julie Fertsch of Philadelphia; Daughter of Charity Sr. Mary Ellen Lacy of Washington, D.C.; and me, Ursuline Sr. Michele Morek of Shawnee Mission, Kansas.

We are staffed (assisted, bossed, waited on and shamelessly spoiled) by seven Network staff members on board, some permanent staff, some temporary.

Left: It was fun to meet a fan of Nuns on the Bus at the Santa Monica beachfront at our Oct. 8 kickoff event. Right: Glenn Childress of Nashville, Tennessee, has a lot of miles under his belt and will be our driver all the way to the end of the route at Mar-a-Lago in West Palm Beach, Florida. (GSR photos / Michele Morek)

So much to share, so hard to fit in the time to do it! I wrote this at 3:45 a.m. (my body is still in the Central time zone) and am trying to type it on a bouncy bus heading for a 3 p.m. appointment in Las Vegas. This morning, after prayer and breakfast, we also accepted an award from U.S. Rep. Lou Correa from Orange, California, and led a rally outside the local offices of U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters. So keep us in your prayers as we carry you with us in our big bus!

 

 

[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.]

Travel Log: Las Vegas Canvassing

Travel Log: Las Vegas Canvassing

Sister Quincy Howard, OP
October 10, 2018

We started our second day in Vegas after a late night of heavy drinking and gambling (I’m joking, of course).  We were warmly greeted by the Culinary Workers Union 226 at their headquarters, joining a large room crowded with culinary workers diligently prepping canvassing materials.  Their morning briefing before heading out was raucous and full of energy—a great primer for a quick rally with the nuns to follow.  Sister Bernadine Karge, OP and Sister Simone were joined by two female union members to address a crowd of 150 or so unionized workers.  They spoke powerfully about human dignity, the need to respect workers, especially women (54% of their union members are female) and the importance of communal action and unity to bring about change.  The idea of solidarity and shared responsibility is especially crucial for a union that consists of 50,000 members from 173 countries that speak 40 languages.

Since over half (55%) of Union 226 members are Latinx, Sister Chris Machado, SSS and I had the opportunity to canvass with two Spanish-speaking women from Mexico and Cuba.  Most of the union workers had taken a political leave of absence—one of the contract provisions won through years of hard-fought negotiations.  Maria and Martha were both proud to take a leave—along with a pay cut—in order to put in their share of hours canvassing.  They want to promote candidates who will, in-turn, support workers’ rights and strengthened collective bargaining.

During their familiar routine going door-to-door, they explained that the names and addresses were of residents who did not, or rarely, voted in past elections.  As non-partisan participants, for myself and my fellow Nuns on the Bus, our primary push was to stress the importance of voting on November the 6th—that their vote and who we elect makes a difference. Most knocks had no response, so we left the materials at the door and Maria and Martha would return to follow-up.  Each time Maria saw that a resident was a registered Republican she would make the Sign of the Cross before approaching the door—but she did it anyway.  Needless to say, they are sometimes turned away with harsh words, but these workers are a persevering bunch.  They are driven for the sake of their families and inspired by their fellow union members who they consider their sisters and brothers.

 

To view more photos of the canvassing event, visit our Flickr album.

Getting to Know Younger Sisters in Their Own Words

Getting to Know Younger Sisters in Their Own Words

Sister Susan Francois, CSJP and Meg Olson
August, 28 2018

In Our Own Words: Religious Life in a Changing World is a collection of essays written by 13 younger women religious about the issues central to religious life today, ranging from vows and community life to ministries and leadership. The book was written over 4 months, with the authors meeting over video chat, forming a community, and writing on their own. Then, they came together for a week-long retreat where they work-shopped their essays.

I had the opportunity to attend a book reading and panel discussion moderated by one of the editors, Juliet Mousseau, RMCJ, and featuring four of the contributing authors, including a member of our 2016 Nuns on the Bus trip, Susan Rose Francois, CSJP. I was so moved and curious about the writing process that I needed to ask Susan a few more questions!

Meg: Why did you decide to say “yes” to the editors Juliet Mousseau and Sarah Kohles and participate in this writing project?

Susan: For years, I had been saying that it was up to us, the newer generation, to write the next chapter of religious life, literally write it.  So much of recent writing about religious life explores the life in relation to the changes after Vatican II, or as Juliet says, in relation to what it is not.  For those of us born years or even decades after Vatican II, it felt like we needed an updated take on the core issues of our life, such as vows, charism and mission, community, and leadership.  In the end, since I had been encouraging others to write, when Juliet and Sarah invited me to participate, I felt had to say yes.

Meg: Tell us about your chapter, “Religious Life in a Time of Fog.”

Susan: The title was inspired by Sister Nancy Farrell, OSF who spoke at the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) assembly a few years ago about our time in history and in religious life.  She talked about this time as one where breakdown and breakthrough tussle with one another and the path forward is hidden in fog.  It certainly feels like that in the civic space these days, but also in religious life.  We keep saying that things will look different in the future, but I want to know how we get there. So, I look at the tremendous needs of the world at this time for things like peace, mercy, charity, and justice.  How are Catholic sisters being called to respond in this time of fog?  I believe that we are being called to de-commission the large-scale structures of religious life, both physical structures, but also how we organize our lives together, and recommission ourselves as critical yeast in a world yearning for our charism, witness, and presence.

Meg: What did you learn about women religious during this project? Did anything surprise you?

Susan: We had a lot of fun together. We shared deeply and found common ground so quickly, even though some of us had never even met.  We love our sisters in community and believe in the future of religious life. If anything surprised me, I guess it was the realization that what we hold in common as women of the Gospel is so much bigger than any differences, whether it be cultural or whether our community members wear a habit. No matter our congregation or leadership conference, we are sisters.

Meg: What is something that the NETWORK community should understand about this new generation of sisters under 50?

Susan: Collaboration and networking come natural to us.  Because there are fewer of us in individual congregations, we have been building peer relationships across congregational lines since the very beginning of our religious lives.  We also build networks outside of religious life, through our ministries, advocacy, and other connections. I think this experience will serve religious life, advocacy work, and the church well into the future.

Order the book at: https://litpress.org/Products/4520/In-Our-Own-Words

Susan Rose Francois is a member of the Congregation Leadership Team for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace.  She was a Bernardin scholar at Catholic Theological Union and a Nun on the Bus in 2016.  She has ministered as a justice educator and advocate. Follow her on Twitter at @susanfrancois.

Meg Olson is NETWORK’s Grassroots Mobilization Manager.

Originally published in Connection Magazine. Read the full issue here.

Sister Kathy Flynn: Don’t Assume the Poor and Hungry Aren’t Working

Don’t Assume the Poor and Hungry Aren’t Working

Sister Kathy Flynn
August 19, 2018

I’m a native Iowan and a Catholic Dominican Sister. I minister at Opening Doors, a program in Dubuque that welcomes women who experience homelessness and who seek our help as they rebuild their lives.

We work with them to find employment, pursue educational goals, and develop other life skills.

The women I work with can’t become self-sufficient if access to food is taken away from them and their children. That is why I am urging U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst to reject the House version of the Farm Bill, which cuts access to nutritional food.

In September 2018, the Farm Bill, which funds Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), expires and will need to be reauthorized. Both the House and Senate have created new versions of the Farm Bill, and now they have to reconcile them.

While the partisan House bill hurts families by cutting SNAP, the bipartisan Senate bill keeps SNAP safe and ensures that the women I work with will be able to eat and feed their children.

Sen. Ernst was appointed as one of a small number of Senate conferees on the bill, and she has the power and responsibility to make sure the Senate provisions in the nutrition title are upheld.

I see the “on-the-ground” ramifications of our food policies every day. I see women who desperately want to provide nourishing, healthy meals to their children but often can’t, due to limited resources or other barriers.

I see women without transportation or child care walking a mile to a grocery store and back, or taking an hour-long bus trip with children in tow. Being poor and without resources is simply exhausting!

It is a myth that people in poverty do not work. The vast majority of women who move through transitional housing live at or below the federal poverty threshold and are working — sometimes at two jobs while raising children — consistently trying to overcome barriers that are invisible to many of us.

Low unemployment rates mask the reality that most of the jobs available are low-wage and unpredictable. More than two in five Iowa households receiving SNAP include children. Options for child care and transportation are limited at best. Healing from trauma takes a lot of energy.

Sen. Ernst said the Senate Farm Bill lacked harsh work requirements and “missed an opportunity to help able-bodied SNAP recipients rise up out of poverty.”

Senator, you are wrong.

Most SNAP recipients who can work, already do work. In Iowa, 84 percent of SNAP families have at least one working member. If the 2018 Farm Bill makes it harder for people to eat, it certainly isn’t providing opportunities.

Expanding work requirements and adding unnecessary burdens to access nutrition assistance means more discouraging red tape for millions of Americans already struggling to get by. Insecurity and hardship takes a toll.

These are some of the most resilient people I have been blessed to know, but they deserve help to not go hungry.

The Dominicans are a mendicant order, meaning that for over 800 years we’ve begged — particularly when a just cause is at stake. And so I’m begging Sen. Ernst for a Farm Bill that does not make hunger and poverty worse in this country. Please look to the Senate’s version of the Farm Bill as the right path forward.

The author is a Dominican Sister of Sinsinawa, Wis., who is an education/employment case manager at Opening Doors in Dubuque, which ministers to women experiencing homelessness.

Sister Kathy Flynn’s Op-Ed was originally published in the Telegraph Herald. View the original here.

Finding Holiness in the Struggle for Justice

Finding Holiness in the Struggle for Justice

Bearing Witness to the Pain of our Immigrant Family Calls Us to Action

Sister Simone Campbell, SSS
August 3, 2018

I have shed tears watching the news coverage of ICE raids in work places. I have watched the separation of children, including very young children, from their parents in horror. I have had tears in my eyes as Temporary Protected Status for vulnerable people is ended without regard to the lived realities in these countries. I am shocked as the Republican Party, which always prided itself on being the party of “family values,” sets out with calculated cruelty to tear families apart. In the process, they are tearing the heart out of our nation.

But tears are not enough.

Pope Francis in his recent apostolic exhortation on holiness, Gaudete et Exsultate, challenges us with the insight: “The only proper attitude is to stand in the shoes of those brothers and sisters of ours who risk their lives to offer a future to their children. Can we not realize that this is exactly what Jesus demands of us, when he tells us that in welcoming the stranger we welcome him?” (Paragraph 102).

So how do we stand in the shoes of these immigrants? For some in Chicago it is being part of a prayer ministry for detained immigrants. In New Jersey, just across from New York City, it is providing detained people with basic necessities like stationery, stamps and international phone cards. In southern California, it is in providing parish identification cards and safe havens when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is around. In Minnesota, it is state organizing to provide actual protection for undocumented families. On our southern border, it is leaving water along the paths immigrants travel. In schools, colleges and, universities, it is making education accessible for undocumented children and young adults.

Everyone engaged in these and myriad other ministries is putting themselves in the zapatos (shoes) of the immigrant.

As I don’t spend my time doing this direct work, I sometimes wonder how am I putting myself in these sacred shoes? I am lead once again to the crying need for systemic change in our immigration policy. Our nation is being torn apart. Our values are being trampled. Our people are being hurt.

A couple of weeks ago, a mother told me that her first grade son came home extremely worried. He feared that his parents would not be there for him when he came home from school. He and his pals at school were talking about what had happened to one of their pal’s parents. His anxiety was high as he blurted out in tears: “It isn’t fair!”

I know that primal cry. It resonates in my being. I want to stand up and say STOP! This is my part – and yours. Together we are called as the NETWORK community to lobby Congress to change these unjust laws. But it isn’t just our own members of Congress that need to hear from us. We can get our friends around the country to contact their members of Congress too. We need to be missionaries of the common good for our family members who are suffering.

If we are going to reclaim our country, we must act according to our faith values. We will put ourselves in the shoes of those seeking our help and do all in our power to change these unjust laws. I commit to you that I will not step back from the fray even when my heart is broken and I want to flee. Will you act with me in the face of this mounting horror?

It is in this struggle that we might come to know the holiness that Pope Francis talks about. He tells us that it is marked by perseverance, joy, passion and boldness, community and constant prayer. Let us continue our advocacy, knowing that in our time this is the Gospel path. Let us respond together to the invitation: Come Follow Me!

Originally published in Connection Magazine. Read the full issue here.

Choosing Engagement over Alienation

Choosing Engagement over Alienation

Sister Mary Ellen Lacy
July 6, 2018

The other day, my NETWORK colleagues, sisters and other women of faith attended a prayer vigil in front of the Customs and Border Patrol Building in Washington, D.C.  We were there to pray for a conversion of hearts for those who peel crying children from their mothers in the name of justice, or worse, in the name of God. There were stirring testimonies, prayers and songs sent to heaven on behalf of the little ones. I cannot think about this situation without fighting back my own tears of pain and anger.

When it was over, we decided to take an Uber home. The Uber driver was an affable older man who sported a leather cowboy hat and greeted us with a heartfelt smile. After we were loaded up, we had to wait because the President’s motorcade was driving by. The Uber driver then shared with us that he was a ‘Trump Supporter’ and that children have been taken at the border for 12 years.  He wondered aloud, “why do people blame ‘the poor guy’ [Trump] for everything when he only does the same as all the rest before him?”

In these scary times, people who have opposing opinions may seem evil and perhaps we see them as an enemy to our basic notion of being a Christian or American. Often, out of anger and fear, we marginalize them and deport them from our hearts.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. taught us that, in order to love your enemies, you must begin by analyzing self. There may be something within you that arouses a tragic hate response to the other individual. So, we must examine ourselves.  Once we remove the plank from our own eye, as needed, we should remember that even the person who hates us most has some good in him, some of God in him. Thirdly, if we get the opportunity to devour our enemy, we should not take it.

My instinct was to scream when I heard the oft repeated ‘Somebody else did it too’ defense.  Instead, I offered that in the past it was not done for the same reasons or to the degree it is being done today. He seemed a little unnerved and his voice became strained and louder. Clearly, I had struck a chord. He repeatedly told me to ‘check the facts’ as he defended the new policy. I offered my personal experience at the border to counter his impression to no avail. It occurred to me, although we did, indeed, have the facts,  that was not going to change his heart. We did not need to embarrass him or prove him wrong because that was equally unhelpful.  At this point, one of my companions awkwardly tried to change the subject.

We got quiet for a moment. I questioned whether I had unnecessarily provoked the angry response.  However, the need for engagement, speaking up in our daily lives and transformational conversations with those of differing opinions beckoned me to attempt communion with this man. Protests and vigils have impact but real transformation calls us to remain in the uncomfortable conversation. Besides, this was a nice man who merely thought differently than I did. I should be able to talk with him. If we want the suffering of our sisters and brothers to end, we must be able to talk with each other. After all, God made me and God made him. We always have that much in common with another person.

So, allowing for the possibility that he had a piece of the truth, I asked him what he had hoped would happen in this situation? He relaxed his delivery but he still believed that immigrants should ‘go home’ and come back legally. His heart softened as he entered into a dialog with us and released the angry rhetoric he first presented to us. A few minutes into this more humble exchange, he came to admit that separating kids from their parents is a bad thing. By the end of the ride, he shared other political views that we could own, too. He even conceded a tax/budget issue to my companion and said he enjoyed our conversation.

When faced with the opportunity to deport this man from our hearts and devour him with facts, we chose to welcome the God within him and he responded in kind. I was grateful for our conversation because it reinforces to me that, if we can be generous to each other on the ground, and we elect leaders who mirror our values, then we have a chance of changing Congress.

Let us model the community and courageousness we hope to see in the halls of Congress.

Sister Mary Ellen Lacy, DC, is a NETWORK Grassroots Mobilization Fellow.

Guest Blog: The Power of Sisterhood

Guest Blog: The Power of Sisterhood

Sister Bernadine Karge OP
March 8, 2016

What a wonderful day and a half at the Sisters in Public Leadership  training in DC the first weekend in March 2016! I am most grateful for this experience learning about media and advocacy with the women and men of NETWORK and Faith in Public Life.

My name is Sister Bernadine Karge, and I am an immigration attorney. For most of my ministry I have worked in direct service with education and advocacy on the sideline. Having been a “Nun on the Bus” during the last three years brought opportunities to speak with reporters, to engage others in issues dear to their hearts and to be welcomed into diverse faith and ethnic communities and enabled me to experience and share my gifts and talents in new ways.

The most surprising part of our Sisters in Public Leadership training was the sense of sisterhood I felt and owning the title of “sister” to speak the truth about the lives, hopes, struggles and dreams of all the people who have blessed my life. Meeting the other sisters from across the country increased our sense of sisterhood. Our passion for justice and service for the poor connected us immediately. We could laugh and cry together at the mess of our world.

One valuable skill I developed was connecting the moral and religious aspect with the legal aspect of immigration, which has been my passion for decades. To come at the question as a Catholic sister, rather than as only a legal advocate was a helpful shift in perspective. I was encouraged not to be fearful of speaking out from a faith perspective.

The community of our sisterhood has been hidden under a bushel basket. Sisters are no longer immediately visible without traditional habits, but even more significantly, we have not seen ourselves as others see us, as powerful women with life and faith experience for which our world hungers. We are the ones who can take the risk to bring the faces of the poor to those who do not see them.

The feeling of trust and belonging that was shared during my Nuns on the Bus experience expanded my sense of community to those of other faiths. We are all one – not because we believe or act the same way, but because we all breathe the breath of God who calls us to the fullness of life in God’s image. It is our role to share our light, our life and our love with all.

 

Sr. Bernadine Karge OP
Chicago, IL
Dominican Sister of Sinsinawa, WI

Advent Reflection: When Will We Make Room?

Advent Reflection:
When Will We Make Room?

Sister Mary Ellen Lacy, DC
December 19, 2016

As the Advent season advances, we journey with Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem where they were met with insufficient housing. Consequently, when the time came, our Lord was born in a barn.  The Blessed Mother and St. Joseph were not lazy, unemployed or stupid (as some might say about those who are in need of shelter). On the contrary, they did precisely what they were asked to do at a very inconvenient time. And still, there was no room for them.

Today, many factors contribute to homelessness. Millions of families are one health diagnosis, one legislative action, one act of violence or one pay check away from homelessness. They, like the Holy Family, are responding to the many demands of life. And for some, it won’t matter. They will find no room at any inn.

Mr. McDermott lived on the same block as my mom for about 30 years with his wife and two sons. Mrs. McDermott was a nurse and he always worked, too. The kids went to the local Catholic school, grew up, married and moved away.  As the couple faced an empty nest, Mrs. McDermott was diagnosed with cancer. Toward the end of her battle, she was at the family home and Mr. McDermott was steadfastly present to her.

Last Christmas, on a cold, snowy afternoon, the ambulance came for Mrs. McDermott. The paramedics brought the dying woman out while her husband marched right beside them. His face was a billboard of numbing, incomparable sorrow. We pitifully looked on and offered our prayers as he trudged by us.

A couple months after the funeral, Mr. McDermott seemingly disappeared and the house was emptied of its contents. Subsequently, bank notices were posted on the front door and window. There were rumors, but I do not know whether he left the house due to foreclosure, taxes, or other reasons. I do know that Mr. McDermott was a good man who worked and did everything one could expect of him during a desperately painful time. In return, there was no longer room at his own inn.

Every day, people are responding to suffering and difficult situations with honor.  Can the same be said of our government?  As a community, we must call for the implementation of programs that enable families and individuals to live dignified lives. This includes ensuring access to affordable housing and healthcare, a living wage, and preventing domestic violence.

It is vital to increase the amount of subsidized housing that is clean, reasonably priced, and rodent-free.  Enhancing the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program will allow more families to move from areas that have been decimated by government-approved policies including redlining, forced urban development, and a lack of infrastructure maintenance.

It has been more than 2000 years since Jesus came into our struggling world, seeking shelter. He continues to come to us in our neighbors. This time, let us provide more than just a barn.

Sister Mary Ellen Lacy is a public housing attorney and a “Nun on the Bus”