Our response to injustice calls us to personal and social transformation
We see spirituality and justice as one and commit ourselves to live this out in all our relationships. Systemic evils deprive people of their intrinsic rights and working to help restore these rights is the work of justice.
Information from the Office of Peace, Justice and
the Integrity of Creation
If you would like to receive the JPIC updates in email form from the Office of Justice, Peace, Integrity of Creation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood, NY, please click here to open the form.
Witness At the Border: The Vigil Continues
A daily vigil continues in Brownsville, TX/Matamoros, MX to bring broad public attention to the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) policy also known as Remain in Mexico. After crossing the border requesting asylum, our dear neighbors are seen by a judge on video without due process in a tent court and told to return to Mexico into dangerous, life-threatening conditions which the US State Department deems the very highest security risk.
Local collaborators are ACLU Texas; The Children’s Defense Fund Texas; Team Brownsville; Angry Tias and Abuelos; and more. The Witness continues until asylum, due-process and human rights are restored.
Sponsors include Daughters of Charity, USA and Sisters of St. Joseph, Brentwood NY JPIC Office #Witness #EndMPP
Sisters of St. Joseph, JPIC Office is a co-sponsor of Feb. 14-16 , Love Not Hate in Brownsville, Tx-Matamoros, Mexico
Those witnessing post daily at:
Witness At the Border (formerly Witness Tornillo)
See the new website here!
If you are interested in Witnessing, please complete this form https://tinyurl.com/tlnctgk for travel info and coordination. For more info, contact witnessmpp@gmail.com.
Census 2020
Between March 12 – 20 the U.S. Census Bureau will begin mailing postcard invitations to households to complete the 2020 Census. You have a “month of Sundays”, and 29 workdays to spread the word. Thank you for all you are doing to ensure that the census count is inclusive of everyone.
Interfaith Immigration Coalition
As an interfaith campaign this time partnering with border organizations and shelters, we are focused on increasing acceptance of asylum-seekers into the U.S. and ending the Remain in Mexico Policy (also known as MPP).
Sign up for the campaign here by taking the pledge as an individual or endorsing as an organization. The Sisters of St. Joseph, Brentwood JPIC Office is signed on as well as the US Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR). In addition you may also sign on as an individual!
We wanted to update you on a few developments. But first, we ask you to share this op-ed from Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley with your networks. Sister Pimentel makes a plea to the President to end Remain in Mexico/MPP: “Don’t look away from the human suffering that is occurring because your MPP policy is keeping people out of our country. Remember that they are human beings.”
Posts can be re-shared easily from the Interfaith Immigration Coalition’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, or you can write your own. Remember to include #Faith4Asylum #RestoreAsylumNow and tag @interfaithimm.
We are pleased to report that over 300 individuals have signed our pledge to end Remain in Mexico/MPP, and nearly 100 organizations have endorsed the #Faith4Asylum campaign. Please continue to share our website with your friends and colleagues too, and encourage them to sign up here at www.faith4asylum.com.
New informational reports about the tragedies resulting from MPP were also released by Interfaith Immigration Coalition members and allies. Find several of them here.
We will be back in touch with the next action item soon, as we map out the next phases of the campaign! We welcome your ideas and ongoing input. For now, share our #Faith4Asylum website (www.faith4asylum) and encourage more people and organizations to join the movement to #EndMPP #SaveAsylum and #RestoreAsylumNow!
Queens Power Update
The Sisters of St. Joseph, Brentwood, NY are members of this IAF organizing group
Leadership training
Saturday 272 leaders packed First Presbyterian for our Queens Power leadership training. This far exceeded our goal of 200. Participants wrestled with the reality that you need power to create change and learned practical skills for building relationships with others in their communities. By the end 71 leaders committed to organizing house meetings in the month of February.
Next step: follow-up with leaders from your institution who attended the training and encourage them to set a date for their house meetings.
Congratulations to Redd Sevilla, Rev. Patrick O’Connor, Rev. Paulette Zimmerman, Rev. Kimberly Detherage, Joseph Branch, Rev. Chris de la Cruz, Joel Ponder, Lillian Castillo and Anna Dioguardi who facilitated the training sessions and made it a success.
Recruitment meeting
Thursday a mix of over 30 leaders from prospective institutions and Queens Power members organized a dynamic meeting. We had a synagogue, a Korean organization, and settlement house from Sunnyside all in the room – this demonstrated progress in expanding to more of the borough. I’m optimistic several of these institutions will come on board.
Next step: if you would like to work on recruitment or can introduce our team to institutions who may be interested in joining Queens Power, please contact Ben Thomases (bthomases@qchnyc.org). We will be scheduling a conference call.
Excellent work to Rev. Andrea Hargett, Ben Thomases, Rev. Kimberly Detherage, Rev. Paulette Zimmerman, Robert Steptoe, Rev. Patrick O’Connor, Barkat Tu Llah, Mother Karen Davis-Lawson, Tasha Miller, Rev. Jeff Thompson and Bishop Rice who made a very strong case for joining Queens Power at the meeting.
Meeting with Department of Buildings (DO😎 Commissioner
Tuesday six Queens Power leaders went to lower Manhattan to meet with Melanie La Rocca, the Department of Buildings Commissioner. Our aim was to establish a productive public relationship. After the meeting Commissioner La Rocca immediately responded to our DOB issues – New Jerusalem Worship Center is now on the path to getting a certificate of occupancy they have been waiting 15 years for. The Commissioner also committed to reviewing a list of additional DOB issues that we send her. It was a good start.
Next step: we will be compiling a list of DOB related issues within our institutions and organizing a meeting. Stay tuned for more details.
Rev. Kassinda Ellis, Rev. Jeff Thomspon, Bishop Calvin Rice, Pauline Parchment and Rev. O’Connor represented Queens Power very well in our first meeting with a commissioner.
Food and Water Watch
Food & Water Watch works with concerned individuals across the country to protect our food and water on every level – whether it’s helping a community to ban fracking, working to win stated-based GMO labeling, stopping a local water privatization or holding your elected official accountable.
Choose your state from the list below to begin. No matter where you live, we have the tools to help you to get active in your community to keep your food and water safe.
Sign up for email updates here, and we’ll tell you when there’s a threat in your state and how you can take action to stop it.