Social Mission Newsletter:
Updates for Active Disciples
The thing the church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity.
I see the church as a field hospital after battle.
~Pope Francis
I see the church as a field hospital after battle.
~Pope Francis
About: This monthly, web-based newsletter is meant to help our community go deeper into the issues of our day, to help us put our faith into action. Here you will see updates from our social mission teams and updates on other social mission-related events, resources, and opportunities from our community and non-profit partners. If you have questions on anything you see here, want to get involved, or want to share your own resources or events, please reach out to our Director of Social Mission, Tim Severyn
October 2021
NOTE
Some content remains on this page for more than one month, especially when it relates to an upcoming event. If you visit this page regularly, you can skim through to new content by looking for the star 🌟 next to an announcement.
Some content remains on this page for more than one month, especially when it relates to an upcoming event. If you visit this page regularly, you can skim through to new content by looking for the star 🌟 next to an announcement.
Quicklinks: General | Dismantling Racism | Building a Bridge | Immigration | Healthy Earth | People of All Abilities | St. Vincent de Paul | Other | Archive
🌟Meet Your Social Mission Core Team 2021-2022!🌟
Catholic News Sources with Social Mission Content
America: The Jesuit Review | National Catholic Reporter | Commonweal | Crux
Follow us on Instagram @bellarminesocialmission
🌟Meet Your Social Mission Core Team 2021-2022!🌟
Catholic News Sources with Social Mission Content
America: The Jesuit Review | National Catholic Reporter | Commonweal | Crux
Follow us on Instagram @bellarminesocialmission
Active Discipleship Portal
Be Sure to Check Out our Witness Talks at
www.bellarminechapel.org/activediscipleship
Be Sure to Check Out our Witness Talks at
www.bellarminechapel.org/activediscipleship
🌟October 9 is Active Discipleship Day - RSVP Today 🌟
- Let your service shine! October 9 is a day of service across the Archdiocese in celebration of 200 years since its founding. We will be coming together with St. Francis Xavier parish, Church of the Resurrection, and Xavier University for our fourth Active Discipleship Day, a day of prayer, service, reflection, and fun. We will gather in the Arrupe Overlook of the Gallagher Student Center on Xavier’s Campus on Saturday, October 9, 9 a.m., go to service sites across the community, and return to campus for lunch and reflection, wrapping up by 1 p.m. Please review service options and RSVP today at this link. If you have questions, contact our Director of Social Mission, Tim Severyn.
General: Social Mission Core Team
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🌟October Outreach Collection: Fresh is Better and NEXUS Community Garden
In recognition of the Season of Creation and the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, our outreach collection this month will support several Bellarmine projects in the Evanston area focused on urban agriculture and food security designed to build long-term relationships with the community. Over the last five years, Fresh is Better has installed over 80 residential and educational garden beds for and with our neighbors. The NEXUS Community Garden and Urban Farm is a collaborative effort with black-owned non-profit, Brick Gardens, to grow food for donation to area pantries while building connections between the Bellarmine, Xavier, and neighboring communities in a vibrant garden space. Please use this link to donate today to support these transformative efforts. You can also mail a check made out to Bellarmine Chapel with gardens in the memo line. Thank you for your generous support!
Faith and Justice Curricula for Small Faith Groups
Social Mission Match Form
Join Links for Issue-Based Action Teams
In recognition of the Season of Creation and the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, our outreach collection this month will support several Bellarmine projects in the Evanston area focused on urban agriculture and food security designed to build long-term relationships with the community. Over the last five years, Fresh is Better has installed over 80 residential and educational garden beds for and with our neighbors. The NEXUS Community Garden and Urban Farm is a collaborative effort with black-owned non-profit, Brick Gardens, to grow food for donation to area pantries while building connections between the Bellarmine, Xavier, and neighboring communities in a vibrant garden space. Please use this link to donate today to support these transformative efforts. You can also mail a check made out to Bellarmine Chapel with gardens in the memo line. Thank you for your generous support!
Faith and Justice Curricula for Small Faith Groups
- Our new JustFaith groups on racial justice, climate change, and hunger have filled up, but these curricula are available to any existing small faith communities who might want to run through them once a month or more frequently.
- Let Tim Severyn know if you’d like access to check them out and potentially run one with your group!
Social Mission Match Form
- If you’re thinking you might want to get involved in more active ministry in the new year, but are not sure where to start, you can still complete our Social Mission Match Form today, and a member of our Social Mission Core Team will follow up with you!
Join Links for Issue-Based Action Teams
- Immigration Team: https://groups.google.com/a/bellarminechapel.org/forum/#!forum/immigration/join
- Healthy Earth Team: https://groups.google.com/a/bellarminechapel.org/forum/#!forum/healthyearth/join
- Dismantling Racism Team: https://groups.google.com/a/bellarminechapel.org/forum/#!forum/dismantlingracism/join
- Building a Bridge Team: Please email Katherine Inskeep at kinskeep@alumni.nd.edu to join
- People of All Abilities Team: Please email Nicole Ollier at ollier.nicole.m@gmail.com to join
- Ignatian Advocacy Team: https://groups.google.com/a/bellarminechapel.org/forum/#!forum/advocacy/join
Ignatian Advocacy Team
Next meeting is Wednesday, October 13, 12PM on Zoom
Team meets the 2nd Wednesday of the month at 12PM
🌟Ignatian Advocacy Webpage
🌟Panel Discussion on Visibility Events
Use this join link to be added to the Ignatian Advocacy Team email list for regular updates.
Next meeting is Wednesday, October 13, 12PM on Zoom
Team meets the 2nd Wednesday of the month at 12PM
🌟Ignatian Advocacy Webpage
- Bellarmine's Ignatian Advocacy Team now has their own webpage to share advocacy-related issues and resources, including our past two webinars-Ignatian Advocacy 101 and Letters to the Editor 101. Check it out here!
🌟Panel Discussion on Visibility Events
- Mark your calendar now to attend this Zoom “lunch and learn” from 12 PM to 12:30 PM on Wednesday, October 27.
- Tala Ali of the Xavier University Center for Faith and Justice and Bekky Baker of the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center will join Bellarmine's Coordinator of our Ignatian Advocacy Team, Sara Damewood, and a panel of your fellow parishioners to talk about the nuts and bolts of visibility events for Catholic advocates. If you can’t make it, the webinar and Q & A will be recorded and posted on our YouTube page.
- Please RSVP here for the Zoom link.
Use this join link to be added to the Ignatian Advocacy Team email list for regular updates.
🌟October Menu of Actions🌟
Thanks to those who completed an action in September! Below are the new actions for October.
Write a Letter to the Editor
Find out why and how here. We offer suggestions below, but maybe you have your own thoughts? The important thing is to use your Catholic voice to speak up for those who need our advocacy.
End the Death Penalty
Join us on Tuesday, October 12, at 5:45 p.m. in the yard outside the Chapel for an interfaith prayer vigil to end the death penalty hosted by Bellarmine, the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center, and the Archdiocese’s Social Action Office. This is part of faith communities throughout Ohio advocating during Death Penalty Abolition Week. Additionally, help reach the goal of at least 800 letters to legislators to end the death penalty. Use this easy, online tool to write them now.
Healthy Earth
Ohio HB 282 and SB 171 would allow waste from the fracking process to be discharged into the environment as a de-icing agent on roads. The contents of this fracking waste or ’brine’ can contain very high levels of the carcinogen radium. The passing of these bills would eliminate the tracking of where, when, and how this fracking waste is used. Contact your representative and senator and ask them to oppose HB282 and SB171!
SB 117, which would repeal subsidies for heavily polluting coal plants and is a key step in reducing Ohio’s greenhouse gas emissions, is currently stuck in the Public Utilities and Energy Committee. Read more about the bill here, contact your state senator and members of the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee to express your support, and be sure to sign a postcard after Masses on October 10th! This action was shared by Faith Communities Go Green, an initiative of Green Umbrella.
Immigration
Write a letter to the editor about “welcoming the stranger.” Use your Catholic voice and some talking points from the USCCB’s “Justice for Immigrants” campaign webpage and the Ignatian Solidarity Network.
Dismantling Racism
Raise awareness about how gentrification is affecting Cincinnati by writing a letter to the editor that asks readers to learn more about this issue and how it contributes to poverty and systemic racism. Consider supporting efforts to freeze property taxes. Our Ignatian Advocacy Team member Melanie Moon offers her opinion here. Here’s an example of an LTE on the topic. You could also prepare by reading about strategies for responding to gentrification and keeping neighborhoods affordable.
Read about Critical Race Theory and consider calling your Ohio representative to oppose HB 322 and 327, which opponents say would “‘whitewash’ history, intimidate teachers and keep kids from participating in the political process.” You may also want to consider these action alerts. Be sure to check each bill’s status before you call. This action alert was shared by A Mighty Stream, a new interfaith initiative of Equasion and the Festival of Faiths.
Building a Bridge
Learn about LGBT Catholics in history, and share about them on social media. This raises awareness about these gifted individuals and promotes empathy.
Write a Letter to the Editor
Find out why and how here. We offer suggestions below, but maybe you have your own thoughts? The important thing is to use your Catholic voice to speak up for those who need our advocacy.
End the Death Penalty
Join us on Tuesday, October 12, at 5:45 p.m. in the yard outside the Chapel for an interfaith prayer vigil to end the death penalty hosted by Bellarmine, the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center, and the Archdiocese’s Social Action Office. This is part of faith communities throughout Ohio advocating during Death Penalty Abolition Week. Additionally, help reach the goal of at least 800 letters to legislators to end the death penalty. Use this easy, online tool to write them now.
Healthy Earth
Ohio HB 282 and SB 171 would allow waste from the fracking process to be discharged into the environment as a de-icing agent on roads. The contents of this fracking waste or ’brine’ can contain very high levels of the carcinogen radium. The passing of these bills would eliminate the tracking of where, when, and how this fracking waste is used. Contact your representative and senator and ask them to oppose HB282 and SB171!
SB 117, which would repeal subsidies for heavily polluting coal plants and is a key step in reducing Ohio’s greenhouse gas emissions, is currently stuck in the Public Utilities and Energy Committee. Read more about the bill here, contact your state senator and members of the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee to express your support, and be sure to sign a postcard after Masses on October 10th! This action was shared by Faith Communities Go Green, an initiative of Green Umbrella.
Immigration
Write a letter to the editor about “welcoming the stranger.” Use your Catholic voice and some talking points from the USCCB’s “Justice for Immigrants” campaign webpage and the Ignatian Solidarity Network.
Dismantling Racism
Raise awareness about how gentrification is affecting Cincinnati by writing a letter to the editor that asks readers to learn more about this issue and how it contributes to poverty and systemic racism. Consider supporting efforts to freeze property taxes. Our Ignatian Advocacy Team member Melanie Moon offers her opinion here. Here’s an example of an LTE on the topic. You could also prepare by reading about strategies for responding to gentrification and keeping neighborhoods affordable.
Read about Critical Race Theory and consider calling your Ohio representative to oppose HB 322 and 327, which opponents say would “‘whitewash’ history, intimidate teachers and keep kids from participating in the political process.” You may also want to consider these action alerts. Be sure to check each bill’s status before you call. This action alert was shared by A Mighty Stream, a new interfaith initiative of Equasion and the Festival of Faiths.
Building a Bridge
Learn about LGBT Catholics in history, and share about them on social media. This raises awareness about these gifted individuals and promotes empathy.
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Dismantling Racism Team
Next meeting is Tuesday, October 26, 6 PM on Zoom Team meets the 4th Tuesday of the month at 6 PM |
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🌟Visit Church of the Resurrection Parish This Fall!
- Did you know members of Bellarmine's Dismantling Racism Team have been meeting monthly with the Justice Team at Church of the Resurrection, a historically black parish in Bond Hill (1619 California Ave., 45237), for the last 6 months?
- On January 22 and 23, we have arranged a pastor exchange. Fr. Dave and Deacon Royce of Resurrection will celebrate our morning masses at Bellarmine, and Fr. Eric will celebrate at Resurrection's Saturday evening, 4 PM, and Sunday morning, 10 AM masses.
- In the lead up to this exchange, members of each parish are invited to attend at least one Sunday at the other congregation, to experience worship together.
- Sometime between now and then, try to make it a point to join Church of the Resurrection for a mass. And be sure to welcome anyone new you see at Bellarmine too!
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🌟IJPC Virtual Series on Race and Racism in Cincinnati
YWCA Racial Justice Breakfast Virtual Event
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🌟Supporting Black-Owned Businesses
Our Dismantling Racism Team, in living out the new parish Statement on Racial Justice, is committed to supporting black-owned business and making it easy for you to as well! Here’s some you might try this month: Originalitees Wear your state, city, or neighborhood pride on your sleeve—literally. Part of the proceeds from this clothing store’s most recent line, Unity Within the Community, directly supports the Freestore Foodbank’s efforts to provide assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic. 2809 Woodburn Ave., Woodburn, originalitees.com/ Grace + Grit Spa Self care shouldn’t be a luxury only for the few. That’s the gospel the team at Grace + Grit preaches each day at their spa, where services range from waxing and facials to relaxation and therapeutic massages. 6712 Montgomery Rd., Silverton, (513)818-3010, graceandgritskin.com Jazzy Sweeties Bakery Decadent layer cakes and cupcakes are just the tip of the dessert iceberg at Jasmine Ford’s Walnut Hills bakery, which features perfect-for-summer specials like peach cobbler cheesecake and strawberry crunch cupcakes. 1006 E McMillan St., Walnut Hills, (513) 492-2535, jazzysweetiesbakery.com |
Building a Bridge Team
Team Meeting on, Sunday, October 10, 5:00 PM via Zoom
Team meets every other Sunday at 5:00 PM
Team Meeting on, Sunday, October 10, 5:00 PM via Zoom
Team meets every other Sunday at 5:00 PM
🌟Building a Bridge Fall Social
🌟Remembering Father Mychal Judge
Pray Away Documentary
"Home for All" Catholic Call for LGBTQ Non-Discrimination
- The Building a Bridge team is holding a fall social/ picnic on Saturday, October 16 at 5pm. Those interested in joining Building a Bridge are invited to join us! Please email Katherine Inskeep at kinskeep@alumni.nd.edu for more details and to RSVP.
🌟Remembering Father Mychal Judge
- America Magazine published this piece on the life and legacy of Father Mychal Judge, chaplain for the New York City Fire Department and gay, Catholic priest who was the first recorded 9/11 victim.
Pray Away Documentary
- The Building a Bridge team encourages everyone to watch and discuss Pray Away, a newly released Netflix documentary about 'ex-gay' ministries, the 'pray away' movement, and their effects on former leaders and members.
"Home for All" Catholic Call for LGBTQ Non-Discrimination
- More than 250 theologians, church leaders, scholars, and writers have endorsed New Ways Ministry's theological statement supporting the church's teaching that LGBTQ people should not suffer discrimination. Read the powerful statement and add your name here.
Immigration Team
Next Team Meeting is Tuesday, October 19, 7 PM on Zoom
Team meets the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 7 PM
Next Team Meeting is Tuesday, October 19, 7 PM on Zoom
Team meets the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 7 PM
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🌟Share the Journey Concert Recordings, Donations, and Thank You!
🌟Bellarmine Ministry Returning: CITA Bus Ministry
- If you missed the Share the Journey Concert last week, it is not too late to view the recordings. You can find them here or above!
- It is also not too late to give in support of the migrant and refugee work of Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio, Casa de Paz, and Kino Border Initiative. You can make your donations online at this link or mail a check to the Chapel made out to Bellarmine with Share the Journey in the memo line.
- Many thanks to everyone who contributed to these concerts and made them the fantastic events that they were!
🌟Bellarmine Ministry Returning: CITA Bus Ministry
- The CITA Bus Ministry is up and running again! This group is composed of volunteers who go to the Greyhound bus station to meet asylees from the southern border who have sponsors they are traveling to see. The asylees have been COVID-tested and are required to wear masks on the bus.
- We currently only meet bus #1502, which arrives at the station at approximately 4:15 p.m. We share food (they haven’t had a meal since leaving Memphis at 4:30 a.m.) and hand out snacks, water, toys for kids, and diapers.
- If you are interested, email parishioner Ellen Owens or call 513-257-9091.
National Hispanic Heritage Month
Casa de Paz Panes y Peces Fund Drive
Needing Upholstery Work?
- September 15-October 15 2021
- National Hispanic Heritage Month is a period from September 15 to October 15 in the United States for recognizing the contributions and influence of Hispanic Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States
- Want to Attend Events for Hispanic Heritage Month! Visit https://business.hispanicchambercincinnati.com/events
Casa de Paz Panes y Peces Fund Drive
- In October, we will be soliciting funds for our operation during 2021 and into 2022, along with money for our endowment fund. The goal will be $200,000, and we will match your donations with $100,000 in seed money. Every dollar you donate will generate a matching dollar. This campaign will be called “Panes y Peces,” or “Loaves and Fishes.” Please take Casa de Paz into consideration for your year-end giving.
- Read more here
Needing Upholstery Work?
- Glenda and Jorge, our friends from El Salvador that the parish is hosting as they go through the asylum process, do top-notch upholstery work on chairs and other small pieces of furniture.
- If you have something you want re-done, reach out to our Director of Social Mission and he will connect you with them!
Healthy Earth Team
Next meeting is Monday, October 25 at 6 PM via Zoom
Team meets the 4th Monday of the month at 6 PM
Next meeting is Monday, October 25 at 6 PM via Zoom
Team meets the 4th Monday of the month at 6 PM
🌟 Healthy Earth: Green Action for October
🌟Fresh is Better Potluck a Success!
- Our Healthy Earth Team invites you to consider how you use energy in your home, at work, and in the community spaces you occupy. Did you know that your phone charger uses electricity when it's plugged into the wall, even if you're not using it to charge your device? Remember to turn off lights once you leave a room, and pay attention to how you use heat and air conditioning in your home spaces. Notice which things are essential and which you might be able to switch off!
- October Eco-Challenge: Faith Communities Go Green, a part of Green Umbrella, invites everyone to get involved from October 6-27th by joining an eco challenge. When you click on the link and register, you will be invited to find a specific action(s) to take for the month in an effort to create a more sustainable world. You can learn more about it here.
🌟Fresh is Better Potluck a Success!
- Healthy Earth Team’s Fresh is Better group helped to host a potluck lunch at the Evanston Recreation Center on Saturday, September 25th. It was a gorgeous day and close to 20 people came to celebrate a successful gardening and harvesting season. Florence Niklewski and Laurie Roche brought a variety of plants to share with anyone who wished to take some home. A wonderful sense of community continues to grow among these gardeners.
🌟Bellarmine Chapel Signs onto Laudato Si' Action Platform
- October 4th, the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, is the launch date for Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ platform. This will be a 7-year initiative to help all of us discern and implement our response to the environmental crisis. You can read more about it here.
Our Updated Recycling Flyer and Resource Page
- We recently updated our Recycling Resources handout. It includes a feature on the newly opened Cincinnati Recycling and Reuse Hub, which accepts various hard to recycle materials, including plastics 1-7.
- Information on family activities, daily life, prayer, and many other topics of interest are available on our Resource Page, click here.
People of All Abilities Team
NO Meeting in October, Please Attend Event Below!
🌟All Are Welcome: Fall Fun
People of All Abilities - Feedback Appreciated
NO Meeting in October, Please Attend Event Below!
🌟All Are Welcome: Fall Fun
- Our new parish People of All Abilities Team invites you, your family, and your friends of all abilities to join us for some fun and accessible social gatherings this year! All are welcome!
- Our next event will take place on Sunday, October 10, after mass from 12:30–2:30 p.m. on the North Xavier Yard outside Bellarmine Chapel. Come together to join us for board games, yard games, creation-themed crafts, and opportunities to connect. Help us build a community of inclusion and have fun too!
- RSVP is appreciated at this link.
People of All Abilities - Feedback Appreciated
- Our People of All Abilities Team, which launched just a few months ago, is interested in soliciting feedback from the parish regarding your experiences of inclusion/exclusion and accessibility in our spaces, both physical and digital. You can share your accessibility experiences on this webform (including anonymously) or via phone with our Director of Social Mission, Tim Severyn, at 513-745-1908.
St. Vincent de Paul
Home Visits Have Resumed!
Meetings are Saturday, 9 AM in the Activity Room
Home Visits Have Resumed!
Meetings are Saturday, 9 AM in the Activity Room
🌟St. Vincent de Paul Story
🌟Book Collection in the Narthex
- The Vincentians visited a lovely young woman and proud mom who had recently moved into her new apartment following a period of homelessness. After losing both of her parents and having her husband diagnosed with a chronic disease, she lived in a shelter, and her two school-aged children were placed in the custody of Child Protective Services. With the help of Bethany House, she was finally able to secure an apartment and get help with rent and some furnishings for her new baby. However, she had very little furniture and needed bedding, dishes, lamps, and other household items. The Vincentians were able to help with furniture and furnishings for the apartment, and most importantly, beds for her two children so they could live together as a family again. Later she called to say that her children were returning home and her family of five could start their lives together in this new home. The Vincentians were very grateful that they had been able, through your generosity and the help of others, to make a difference in the lives of these five people just as St. Vincent de Paul, whose feast day is tomorrow, did so many years ago.
- SVDP members continue to meet on Saturdays at 9 a.m. to reach out to neighbors outside their homes or on the phone. Call Conference President Marta Hewitt at 513-348-8949 to join us any Saturday morning.
🌟Book Collection in the Narthex
- Bellarmine St. Vincent de Paul is collecting gently used books for the SVDP Neyer Outreach Center. We are especially looking for “relaxation” reading for both adults and children. There is a crate in the narthex. Please, no textbooks.
Other Social Mission Events and Opportunities
🌟Never Forget: 9/11 Reminds Us to Be Kind to One Another
- This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11. Glen Prasser, a Procter & Gamble executive, lived five days in a church in Gander, Newfoundland, when his plane and 37 others were diverted to Gander and away from New York. Watch his reflections below.
🌟Lego Thank You!
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🌟Cincinnati Interfaith Vigil to End the Death Penalty
🌟Unpacking Histories: Reflecting on the relations of Indigenous Peoples and Jesuits
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Social Mission Overview
Bellarmine Chapel is a church committed to Vatican II and the revolutionary idea that the Catholic church should serve as a field hospital, promoting active missionary discipleship amongst all our parishioners. You can see a visual depiction of the way our community works to fulfill that mission here. And you can learn more about many of these initiatives by clicking on the remaining tabs under the Social Mission Initiatives heading. Please feel free to reach out to our Director of Social Mission, Tim Severyn, at severyn@bellarminechapel.org with any questions or concerns.
Bellarmine Chapel is a church committed to Vatican II and the revolutionary idea that the Catholic church should serve as a field hospital, promoting active missionary discipleship amongst all our parishioners. You can see a visual depiction of the way our community works to fulfill that mission here. And you can learn more about many of these initiatives by clicking on the remaining tabs under the Social Mission Initiatives heading. Please feel free to reach out to our Director of Social Mission, Tim Severyn, at severyn@bellarminechapel.org with any questions or concerns.