St. Lawrence 0‘Toole Catholic Church
Matteson, IL
Ministry
Name: Peace & Justice
Commission
Role/Purpose of Ministry:
The Peace & Justice Commission serves the truth that all people are created
by one Father, in His image, and are all brothers and sisters in Christ. We all
deserve the peace, justice, respect and dignity due the children of God; all
deserve to live in conditions of life worthy of people redeemed by Christ. We
are called to be aware of brothers and sisters whose peace, justice, dignity or
respect are ignored or challenged, and to do what we are able to restore them
to the community. We are called to build the Kingdom, beginning with our
community.
Contacts (include
names, phone numbers, e-mail addresses if available)
Arlene Casey, SFO (708) 481-2728 casey@ync.net
JoAnn Bory (708) 747-4023
Dale Heath, SFO (708) 720-2997 mgramdale@juno.com
Mary Cermak-Vis (708) 503-0672
History of Ministry:
Moving Toward Oneness—An Archdiocesan
program that allows participants to share their histories, examining the ethnic
and racial stereotypes that influenced and/or affected them. A good basis for
ongoing discussion of the problem of racism, and thought-provoking discussion
of possible remedies.
Moving Toward Oneness, II—An O’Toole
follow-up to Moving Toward Oneness that
continued the discussion and fellowship of that program.
Breakfast Club—A program in which diverse people were
paired to meet once a month to share breakfast and conversation, at their
convenience. A good way to get to know some-one who is different (by faith
group and/or ethnicity) and discover all the similarities.
Unity Day—A
community celebration of our diversity. Has been done as a one-day Fest with
multi-ethnic sharing of foods, music, conversation; also done as part of Hands Across Southland. A good
community-building activity.
Make a Difference Day—A one-day event in
October that combines community building with the Corporal Works of Mercy.
Christmas in April—Annual event on the last Saturday
in April, which assists elderly or disabled homeowners of limited means.
Volunteers and professionals team up to do repairs or maintenance. Our
participation is part of South Suburban projects although this is a nationwide
program.
Family Form/Wealth Building—A
new program aimed at educating and assisting pro-spective homebuyers or
re-financers to obtain lower rate mortgages, with low down-payments and no
P.M.I. (and with safeguards against foreclosure). Sponsors of this program
include the Archdiocese of Chicago, New Cities, La Salle Bank, Harris Bank and
others. O’Toole co-sponsored the forum, hosted by Cathedral of Joy Church in
Homewood.
Current and Future Events:
Recovery from Racisms—Focal support group
where individuals explore their personal relationship to the institution of
racism. Will meet for 8 weeks, one night/week.
National Night Out—August 1, 2000.
Encourage parishioners to host or attend block parties, ice cream socials, etc.
with their neighbors, getting better acquainted.
Bishops’ Pastoral Letter—Distribution of
the pastoral letter with follow-up activities, including study/discussion
groups.
Unity Day—September 24, 2000, 1:00
p.m.-6:00 p.m. at downtown Park Forest, with circles within circles of people
holding hands at 3:00 p.m. A public display of South Suburbanites celebrating
our rich cultural diversity. Multi-cultural foods, entertainment, games. An
extended family reunion.
Racism and Ethnic Sensitivity—Partnered
with three other parishes in this Archdiocesan program, we will be participating
through a two-day event on December 1-2, 2000. Another session will be held in
April, 2001. Part of this program includes viewing and discussing the NBC
Dateline program on racism that was filmed in Matteson.
Make a Difference Day and Christmas in April will continue.
Office for Peace &
Justice: http://www.archdiocese-chgo.org/p-guide/p-agencies/office-pj.html
Meeting Time and
Day:
7:30 p.m. at the Parish Office
on August 16th, September 13th, October 11th,
November 15th, December 13th. Call Arlene Casey to
doublecheck if you plan to attend (708) 481-2728.
Additional
Information: