Last week, during NETWORK’s January 2021 Legislative Webinar, Government Relations Associate Gina Kelley introduced NETWORK’s new policy agenda, the Build Anew Agenda.

The Build Anew Agenda is a response to NETWORK’s direct encounters with people and families as well as the direction of the country overall over the past several years. Year in and year out, we’ve seen how our society in the United States has been deliberately organized to benefit white people over people of color. This structural advantage occurs at all levels: the political, social, and individual.

The growing economic disparity and increasing individualism that results from maintaining our current racial hierarchy and economic inequality must end. As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, we are all connected to one another and our health, wellbeing, and lives depend on one another.

The Build Anew Agenda is our pathway forward to realizing our vision of a just and inclusive society.

Four cornerstones, based on the principles of Catholic Social Justice are the foundation for building our country anew in 2021 and beyond.

December 10 marked the first night of Chanukah, the 8-day Festival of Lights when Jewish people celebrate and commemorate the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem during the second century BC. Greek-Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes had abolished Judaism and desecrated the first Temple by renaming it for the Greek god Zeus. In response to this oppression, Judah and the Maccabees rose up and defeated the Syrian army, which restored not only the practice of Judaism, but also the Jewish people’s political autonomy and self-determination.

When the Maccabees entered the Temple to restore and purify it, their first task was to relight the ner tamid, the light that hangs in every synagogue to symbolize God’s omnipresence. However, they only had one jar of oil, which would only be enough for one day’s worth of light. Knowing that it would take eight days to obtain more oil, the Maccabees relit the ner tamid anyway, and it miraculously lasted for eight days.

Rabbi Susan Talve, the founding rabbi of Central Reformed Congregation in St. Louis, MO, has said that the real miracle of Chanukah isn’t that the one jar of oil lasted for eight days, but it was that the Jews had the chutzpah to light the ner temid at all, knowing that they didn’t have enough oil.

What I love about Rabbi Talve’s interpretation of the Chanukah story is that it emphasizes the miracle of people, rooted in faith, who took things into their own hands. Chutzpah is a wonderful Yiddish word that means “audacity.” When I think about the 2020 Election and NETWORK’s role in it, I think, “Wow, that took a lot of chutzpah!” Our staff and board had a lot of chutzpah to declare that Catholics can’t vote for Trump. It took quite a bit of chutzpah for us to hit the virtual highway with a month-long Nuns on the Bus tour. Our members and supporters had the chutzpah to share our Equally Sacred Scorecard with their bishops, pastors, and friends and to declare, “Yes, Catholics are multi-issue voters!” Beyond NETWORK’s own efforts, I’m grateful for the activists, poll workers, and election auditors’ chutzpah to ensure that our nation had a safe and fair election. Isn’t it a miracle that in a pandemic we had a record-turnout of voters? Isn’t it a miracle that we saved our democracy?

Now, as we wait for the inauguration of the Biden-Harris administration, we must refocus our efforts on ensuring that Congress passes a COVID relief bill that truly provides care for those who need it most. So much of our nation is hurting and broken right now. Those who have lost their jobs or had their hours reduced due to the pandemic are standing in line for hours for food donations and are on the brink of eviction. A COVID relief package must include cash assistance and paid sick days and medical leave if it is truly going to make a difference for individuals and families in crisis, especially for Black, Brown, Indigenous, and immigrant communities.

And so, in this time where we are mourning the deaths of nearly 300,000 Americans, working on the Georgia Senate Run-off, still seeing the Trump administration attempt to undo the Election, and figuring out how to celebrate the holidays safely with our loved ones, we must also have the chutzpah to tell our legislators, “No, the current bills are not enough. We need more!”

I know we can do it. To quote Peter Yarrow’s beautiful Chanukah song, “Light One Candle,”

We have come this far always believing
That justice would somehow prevail
This is the burden, this is the promise
This is why we will not fail!

We can be the miracle, the light in the darkness.

On the eve of the 2020 March on Washington, the NETWORK community gathered to pray, reflect, and recommit ourselves to the work of racial justice. Watch Tralonne Shorter and Leslye Colvin’s reflections.

Join the Virtual March on Washington at www.2020march.com.

Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, a day to reflect on Mary’s remarkable life and honor her great gifts. Religious scholars and theologians, like Sister Elizabeth Johnson in Truly Our Sister, note that Mary was born in Nazareth, a tiny Galilean town of about 1,600 people. She was a brown skinned, first-century Jewish woman who belonged to a peasant family. She lived in poverty, unable to read or write, and her daily life and labor were hard. Yet she stands as one of the most celebrated woman in history, the Mother of Jesus and the Mother of the Catholic Church.

On this feast day we remember the life and death of Mary. We celebrate young Mary’s bravery and willingness to say YES when asked by the Angel Gabriel to become the mother of Jesus. We recall the love shared between Mary and Jesus as she urged her son to help a friend at a wedding and he did. We marvel at her unflinching courage to endure the pain of watching the Roman Empire torture and crucify her son while never leaving his side. We rejoice, as she did, when the glory of the resurrection was revealed confirming God never abandons.

On this feast day, we call on Mary to protect the young mothers, the children, and all vulnerable people struggling with the health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic that has indiscriminately brought communities to a precipice. This includes the families of over 160,000 Americans who have died from the virus as well as the families grappling with new infections every day here and around the world. We ask Mary to be with the millions of low-wage workers, disproportionately in Black and Brown communities, as they struggle to put food on their tables and keep a roof over their heads.

We also summon the courage of Mary to continue our work to ensure Congress passes legislation that protects families like hers – the most vulnerable, the often forgotten. God’s love of those struggling in poverty is clear: Mary, a lowly, brown, peasant woman became the mother of God’s son. This is a holy paradox and a great lesson for those who seek to follow Jesus.

Let us commit today to fight for the bold and comprehensive legislation our people need to maintain their health, their dignity and their ability to thrive. Let us push past the forces of the State who fail to see, recognize or respond to the needs of those in poverty. Their willful indifference and deception condemns the vulnerable to misery and death.

Holy Mother Mary, pray for us.

On the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, let follow in Mary’s footsteps.

Everyone knows how difficult it can be to have a conversation about politics or current events with someone you disagree with. But avoiding these conversations is contributing to our nation’s increasing polarization, not to mention the harmful effects of this division on family and community ties.

In May, I presented NETWORK’s Transformative Conversations to Bridge Divides training to NETWORK advocates from Philadelphia and Pittsburg. About 20 participants came together online to learn and practice ways to foster productive conversations and create the conditions needed for transformation to occur. Some of the key takeaways and commitments from participants included, “doing more preparation before difficult conversations,” “approach potentially confrontational conversations with a little less arrogance,” and “think more carefully about the other person when I need to have a difficult discussion.”

After the training, Gerri in Philadelphia found “There are constructive, concrete, successful ways we can have meaningful conversations with those we love who have opinions other than ours.” As we approach the November election, NETWORK will provide additional opportunities for all members of our Spirit-filled network to participate in this Transformative Conversations training, as well as other trainings and activities. Together we can transform our policies and our nation!

PHOTO: Participants learn how to build the foundation for transformative conversations.

5 Steps to a Healthy, Transformative Conversation

1. Be Curious
   Seek to learn about the other person’s perspective

2. Listen
   Listen fully and attentively, with an open mind

3. Review
   Repeat back what you heard to make sure you understand correctly

4. Validate
   Acknowledge what they said, even if you feel differently

5. Express
   Share your truth, your assessment of the issue, your reasoning

Learn more: networkadvocates.org/transform

This story was originally published in the Third Quarter 2020 issue of Connection magazine. Read the full issue.