Meet Your Social Mission Core Team!
2019-2020
The Social Mission Core Team is a parish leadership team representing the breadth of our parish's social mission activity, with representatives elected to two year terms that begin in August. Core Team members serve as community organizers for the parish focused on sustaining and growing our social mission and forming active disciples. (You can learn more about their work in our weekly Social Mission Newsletter). Here, you can see who the current members are, what ministries they represent, and a favorite resource for peace and justice that has helped them through this time of pandemic. We hope you will consider checking out these resources for yourself!
Nora Buzek
Parish Involvement: 2 Years on Social Mission Core Team, Dismantling Racism Team, JustMatters Group Facilitator Resource: $2.00 A Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America by Kathryn J. Edin and H. Like Shaeffer (2015). I read “$2.00 A Day” as part of my JustFaith journey. This is a very real and compelling look at income inequality and deep poverty in America. It has given me new understanding into the real lives being lived beneath all the statistics and numbers. Something we are seeing even more clearly today as we witness the disproportionate burden of suffering among many in the wake of COVID-19. |
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Chuck Catania
Parish Involvement: 1 Year on Social Mission Core Team, Inclusion of All Abilities Discernment Group, Liturgical Minister Resource: Self-Care, resilience and maintaining peace of mind are important in everyday life but difficult in times of stress and trauma. Helping children while all home together can be daunting. Something as simple as framing the situation as ‘safe’ at home rather than ‘stuck’ at home can make all the difference. Here are resources to help focus on family mental health and safety, plus some on understanding racism, that I have found helpful in my work:
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Diane Ceo-Difrancesco
Parish Involvement: 2 Years on Social Mission Core Team, Casa de Paz/House of Peace, Immigration Advocate, Xavier University Associate Professor in the Department of Classics and Modern Languages Resource: Hinton, A. R. & Hardin, L. L. (2018) The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row. New York: St. Martin’s Press. I recently read this book and it has become one of my favorites. Anthony Ray Hinton spent 30 years on Alabama’s death row for two murders he did not commit. This book broadened my understanding and awareness of extreme bias in our legal system and the structural and systemic racism that exist in our society. Themes of hope, forgiveness, and silver linings are some of the beautiful messages in this book. |
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Sally Evans
Parish Involvement: 2 Years on Social Mission Core Team, Immigration Team Resource: The Death and Life of Aida Hernandez: A Border Story by Aaron Bobrow-Strain. This the true story of Aida, who’s mother moved the family to Arizona from Mexico. Being undocumented, Aida learned English and had dreams of living a life in New York City, but when she became pregnant at 16, she was deported back to Mexico where she finds herself in a city of violence. This story shows the struggle of one woman against unjust immigration laws and near death experiences and the resilience she develops, supporting others in detention as she awaits her own fate in the system. I see this as just one story, which represents so many stories, of struggle to survive and maintain family amidst poverty, violence, and abuse. While Aida was not flawless, she and others deserve justice and empathy. |
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Donna Hutchinson-Smyth
Parish Involvement: 1 Year on Social Mission Core Team, GIFT Volunteer, Inclusion of All Abilities Discernment Group Resource: Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion by Gregory Boyle, SJ. I was introduced to the work of Father Boyle when he visited Bellarmine a few years ago. As our family faced an especially hard time recently, this book offered needed stories of redemption and hope, bringing light into my darkness. Where We Stand: Class Matters by bell hooks. As a young person hooks’ work to expose the interconnection of race and class in our nation had a powerful impact on my choice to become an educator. Many truths discussed in this book from twenty years ago, sadly, remain the same. Our urban neighborhood schools in Cincinnati remain racially segregated and fundamentally unequal when it comes to access and resources. This current crisis continues to increase the disparities between the privileged and the poor in our community. Prayer App: Pray As You Go - beautiful music, scripture, the Examen and other prayer resources to bring peace and healing. |
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Bill Jackson
Parish Involvement: 1 Year on Social Mission Core Team, 7 PM Music Group, Kairos Prison Ministry Resource: I Dare Say: Inside Stories of the World’s Most Powerful Speeches by Ferdie Addis. From Jesus of Nazareth to Abraham Lincoln to Mohandas Gandhi to Winston Churchill to Martin Luther King Jr. to Nelson Mandela to FDR to Jawaharial Nehru and many others, history has seen adversity and seen how it has been faced. These are words that I found give strength and provide hope as much today as when they were first said. Living a Mighty Faith: A Simple Heart and a Powerful Faith by Angus Buchan. There are 365 scripture reflections, one for each day of the year. This is a simple straight forward devotional featuring heartfelt principles, from a simple potato farmer that came to lead international gatherings of faith. I found this to be a great start for each day, something to reflect on, something you can continue to come back to time and time again. |
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Bob Lorsbach
Parish Involvement: 4 Years on the Social Mission Core Team, Immigration Team Resource: I highly recommend the work of Doug Tallamy. In his book, Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens, Tallamy provides an entirely new way of looking at our yards and how we can utilize native plants to increase biodiversity so as to provide niches for butterflies and other beneficial insects, thereby providing food and habitat for songbirds. And in his new book, Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard, he discusses the concept of a “homegrown national park” comprised of our collective yards. He says that converting half of the area of all yards in the US would create 20 million acres of sustainable ecosystem.. "How big is 20 million acres? It’s bigger than the combined areas of the Everglades, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Teton, Canyonlands, Mount Rainier, North Cascades, Badlands, Olympic, Sequoia, Garland Canyon, Denali, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Parks.” |
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Nicole McCoy
Parish Involvement: 2 Years on Social Mission Core Team, Poco Young Adult Group, Fresh is Better: Evanston Garden Project Resource: Examen for Life During COVID-19 from the Ignatian Solidarity Network is a resource I have found to be life-giving during this time. I often use variations of the examen to help focus my prayer on specific areas of my life. This examen has helped me flush out how I have felt in different moments over the past three months and redirect my attention to areas of growth and connection with others. I am also sharing NPR’s Life Kit podcast page. From helping kids better under the coronavirus with Sesame Street to Processing Social Distancing with Haikus to starting a garden, Life Kit has lots of short tips and tricks to use during this time. |
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Nicole Ollier (Co-Chair)
Parish Involvement: 3 Years on Social Mission Core Team, Bellarmine Coordinator for Interfaith Hospitality Network Resource: YES! Media The stories and resources shared through YES! have been a source of hope and inspiration for me for many years. Their website, email newsletters, and quarterly magazine highlight people working toward a more just, sustainable, and compassionate world. Their coverage of COVID-19 has highlighted everything from the reality of how this virus impacts communities differently to the beauty of people coming together in creative ways to the impact on the environment. I have found their positive journalism to be a way to stay informed without getting trapped in the news cycle of fear. |
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Donna Park
Parish Involvement: 1 Year on Social Mission Core Team, Inclusive Language Team, Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center Resource: Our global pandemic is yet another reminder that our world is faced with many global problems that require global solutions. I find hope and inspiration in the work of Citizens for Global Solutions and other non-profits who promote a sense of global citizenship and a desire to transform the UN into a democratic federation of nations. Care for our global environment, protection of human rights for all, abolition of war and nuclear weapons, better management of global pandemics--all require better global governance. Check out:
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Theresa Popelar
Parish Involvement: 5 Years on Social Mission Core Team (Emeritus Member), Ignatian Solidarity Network, Habitat for Humanity Resource: Professor, Author, and Researcher Brene Brown has so many excellent works that have helped me to feel empowered, to act vulnerably and bravely in the world. As an entry point to her work, I recommend the Power of Vulnerability, a Ted Talk she delivered in 2010. |
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Rita Pritchard (Co-Chair)
Parish Involvement: 4 Years on Social Mission Core Team, Tender Mercies volunteer lunch coordinator, JustFaith Group Facilitator, Healthy Earth Team, Bread for the World Planning Team Resource: I recommend Mercy Reigns- a Daily Devotional of Compassion, Comfort and Healing by Bill Tonnis. This book has been a God-send to me especially in these times. My friend Bill is a wonderful musician and singer who I have known for many years. He incorporates his deep spiritual faith with words and songs in this book. I read it in the morning as part of my 5-minute meditation. It is one of those books that you can just keep reading over and over because our lives are ever evolving and each time I read or reread I find new meaning in the words and songs. |
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Brigid Simmons
Parish Involvement: 2 Years on Social Mission Core Team, Bellarmine Youth Group Leader Resource: I recommend Rachel Ricketts' spiritual activism course 101. Her website also has other great anti racism tools. I also recommend Redfish stream on facebook. They have good documentaries such as "Unsheltered: homeless in NYC during COVID-19," also available on Instagram. |
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Mary Zuccarelli
Parish Involvement: 3 Years on Social Mission Core Team, St. Vincent de Paul Resource: Praying with Frederic Ozanam: Companions for the Journey by Ronald Ramson, CM. This book is inspirational for those who wish to serve as Jesus taught us through service to the poor. The meditations on Christian spirituality are a wonderful accompaniment for journeys of finding Christ in the poor and marginalized. |
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Tim Severyn (Staff)
Parish Involvement: Director of Social Mission since 2015 Resource: I love using the Ecological Examen prayer, especially when I’m outside, because it helps me connect to God and encourages me to act in a way that integrates my concerns for both ecological devastation and injustice in our world. This resource was created by the Jesuits in collaboration with the Ignatian Solidarity Network. |
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Bellarmine Chapel
(513) 745 - 3398 Mailing Address: 3800 Victory Parkway Cincinnati, OH 45207-2211 Physical Address: 3801 St. Francis Xavier Way Cincinnati, OH 45207 Parish Center Address: 3832 Ledgewood Dr. Cincinnati, OH 45207 |
