FW: Are we up to the challenge?
From: news=piconetwork.org@mail.salsalabs.net [mailto:news=piconetwork.org@mail.salsalabs.net] On Behalf Of Scott Reed, PICO National Network
Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 12:02 PM
To: Sandler, Herbert
Subject: Are we up to the challenge?
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<http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=2ZtHFXsslwkbcWbOekgS3cOzTv0nlTi0>[Description: Image removed by sender.]<http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=2ZtHFXsslwkbcWbOekgS3cOzTv0nlTi0><http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=2ZtHFXsslwkbcWbOekgS3cOzTv0nlTi0>
<http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=%2BSL4hmi6mX5n6CEVC9PzacOzTv0nlTi0>[Description: Image removed by sender.]<http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=%2BSL4hmi6mX5n6CEVC9PzacOzTv0nlTi0><http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=%2BSL4hmi6mX5n6CEVC9PzacOzTv0nlTi0>Dear Herb,
Our scheduled half-hour meeting at the Vatican in Rome, with Cardinal Turkson - President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace - stretched into two hours as he leaned in, listening to Rev. Traci Blackmon share about the racial and systemic challenges that her community in Ferguson, MO, is still facing.
Holding nearly 100 of our families' stories in his hands to be delivered to Pope Francis - stories submitted by our online community - of economic exclusion, detention, deportation, and the over criminalization of Black and Brown bodies across our country, Cardinal Turkson shared a word from his Holiness: 'We cannot claim to love God and not love what God created.'
We believe there is a moral crisis in America today as the toxicity of Washington politics places partisan politicking and the marketplace above the welfare of our families. And we recognize the power that world-leaders like Pope Francis have to bring a moral challenge to our Congress, our nation's leaders, and to all of us.
This is why we gathered at the Vatican in mid-June, at the encouragement of Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, often referred to as the "Vice Pope" and a strong supporter of PICO, who had urged us to share our stories, our perspective, and our hopes for the impact of Pope Francis' visit to the United States, with Vatican officials.
Click here to see more photos, videos, tweets and posts from our meetings with the Vatican curia.<http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Pc%2B7E35UKgxtAJyjkyICHMOzTv0nlTi0>
At every turn, we were heartened that our collective hopes and dreams are resonant with those of the Holy Father. Repeatedly, members of the Vatican Curia asked to hear more truth from our communities, including the impact of mass incarceration and criminalization of African Americans and Latinos, unfair immigration policies and growing income and wealth inequalities.
"It is our hope," we were told, "that with every Papal visit, there are people fortified to continue this struggle to expand the circle of care and compassion - to address inequities, to challenge systems that exclude and are indifferent to those most marginalized."
We are taking this challenge seriously by organizing and taking action in our congregations. Check out the stories below to see how we are creating moral choices in our communities, now and through 2016, so that people of faith might change the timid polity of our American landscape.
We know that this work that we do is not for the weak of heart but for those who are bold and courageous in their imaginations, building together a beloved community that unleashes the power of people to build a more just world. Together, we have an opportunity to create better futures for our families, fanning the flames of hope and new life by helping our country establish a moral compass.
This is a message that we know Pope Francis will bring to the U.S. this fall. Are we up to his challenge to us?
Scott
Scott Reed
Executive Director
PICO National Network
How we are challenging exclusion and indifference in our communities:
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FAITH LEADERS MEET WITH CFPB DIRECTOR TO COMBAT PREDATORY LENDING
On Tuesday, July 7, PICO faith leaders joined borrowers in a face-to-face meeting with Richard Cordray, Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to discuss the most outrageous predatory lending practices that threaten families. We asked the CFPB to rein in payday lenders by strengthening regulations and requiring new standards for economically moral loans.
“There is a hopelessness created by this industry that is contrary to the Lord's desire to set people free," says Chuck Greenaway, Community Care Pastor at James River Church in Ozark, Missouri.
Read more >>
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MLB, REDS HOST DIVERSITY SUMMIT DURING LEAD UP TO ALL STAR GAMES
In May, PICO and partners in Ohio began a petition to Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner Rob Manfred, asking that 'America's pastime' declare that Black Lives Matter.
One of the outcomes was a diversity summit held at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, hosted by MLB and the Cincinnati Reds on Friday, July 10, leading up to the All Star Games in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Read more >><http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=JFq44L28CI00Y0LuSzpKOcOzTv0nlTi0>
JOIN THE WEEK OF RIGHTEOUS RESISTANCE (WORR)
In response to the immoral attacks on Black churches in recent weeks, thousands of faith leaders across the country are standing in collective resistance to the continued violence against Black and Brown bodies and spirits through police brutality, racially motivated hate crimes and an economy that consistently exploits workers of color. Join the Week of Righteous Resistance<http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Zcqhr6%2BSBrbncUkpwvMZz1UiBtQksocA> as we respond to the tragedy of the destruction of black churches and resist the evil of white supremacy!
Click here to find out how you and your congregation can get involved >><http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=x2luGEvUXCiMmys5oSK0J8OzTv0nlTi0>
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PICO JOINS THE WORLD MEETING OF POPULAR MOVEMENTS
Last week, five faith leaders from PICO California--in partnership with NextGen Climate--arrived in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to participate in the World Meeting of Popular Movements from July 7 - 9. The gathering coincided with Pope Francis’ visit to a number of South American countries to focus on environmental dignity, working conditions, housing, slavery, migration, and peace. The Central Valley delegation shared their concerns about the impact of climate change on thousands of families, particularly low-income people of color in the region, and how to respond properly to humanitarian causes all over the world. Two delegation members were invited to be part of a 15-person group that met with Pope Francis prior to his address.
Check out photos and tweets from the trip >><http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=KSIciYD8imo3to7Xh1Fh%2FcOzTv0nlTi0>
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FAITH LEADERS MEET WITH POPE FRANCIS' ADVISORS ON "ECONOMIC EXCLUSION" AND RACISM HURTING AMERICAN FAMILIES
More than a dozen faith leaders and organizers with the PICO National Network from across the U.S. visited the Vatican in Rome in mid-June for a series of meetings with Pope Francis’ top advisors - pulling the veil off economic exclusion and racism, in advance of the papal visit in September, sharing stories of what is really hurting families in America.
“We want to push out the Black protestant voice, the immigrant family voice, the voice closest to the pain of police brutality and racial injustice to make the point that you can't talk about strengthening families in America, poverty, or any other issue in this nation without talking about race,” said Bishop Dwayne Royster, Executive Director for POWER (Philadelphians Organized to Witness Empower & Rebuild (POWER).
Check out photos and tweets from our trip >><http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=F1m0783h8ls6GGe3cYaPwsOzTv0nlTi0>
YEAR OF ENCOUNTER WITH POPE FRANCIS: A SIX-WEEK STUDY GUIDE
In the life of Pope Francis, we see the journey of faith beginning with the simple act of going out to meet people where they are at. He calls this "encounter," and says that, because we experience God's love there, it has the power to heal and transform.
In his writing, Pope Francis invites us to follow in the footsteps of Jesus: to "encounter" one another - especially those of us that society typically ignores, undervalues or excludes.
Join hundreds of congregations across our country this summer as we use this 6-week study guide as both a challenge and encouragement to encounter, and to be transformed by, our communities - across race, faith, gender and economic class.
While the faith reflections are written from the Catholic tradition, the values, studies and tools for encounter are applicable to many of our diverse traditions families and communities.
Learn more >><http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=IirA1mPrqZd2k9y6d9QsosOzTv0nlTi0>
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PICO National Network
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PICO (People Improving Communities through Organizing) National Network is the nation's largest network of faith-based community organizations, working with 45 organizations in more than 120 cities and 21 states, with a collective membership of more than one million families from more than 1,200 congregations. Together, our mission is to create racial and economic justice in the United States by organizing people of many faith traditions and those who are most oppressed by unjust systems and policies. To learn more, visit: www.piconetwork.org<http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Np%2Fi16DYT5WpmRsW9Ad%2FXMOzTv0nlTi0>.
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