Mission

Mission Statement

We, the Social Justice Committee of St. Therese's Parish, are called to build God's kingdom of peace and justice as a way of life in our parish community and in the entire earth community, according to Catholic social teaching.

What is the Social Justice Committee?

Social Justice "concerns the social, political, and economic aspects and, above all, the structural dimension of problems and their respective solutions" (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 201). The Social Justice Committee promotes Catholic Social Teaching within the parish community and beyond through "Two Feet of Love in Action."

Two Feet

There are two components or "feet" in Catholic Social Teaching. The first "foot" is charitable works or direct service such as: feeding the poor through collections for the local food bank, providing and serving meals for the homeless, and the Thanksgiving Pantry collection of grocery gift cards; the Giving Tree at Christmas; providing assistance to recent immigrants, etc. The second "foot" consists of social justice or education and advocacy work: our "Coffee and Conversation" educational/advocacy events; sale of Ethical/Fair Trade products; offering of letters to state and national representatives on issues of peace and justice, our work on human trafficking and care of earth. Faith without works is dead. Works that stand only on "one foot" are inadequate to our troubled times.

Joy in Service

There is joy in being of service. Recipients express gratitute and appreciation. Members of the parish and beyond who have come to our "Coffee and Conversation" sessions have expressed appreciation for the events. Although we often do not know how our representatives hear us, it is extremely important that we do our part as citizens and let our representatives know how we stand on issues pertaining to peace, justice, and care of the earth.

As parish members receive vital input on Catholic Social Justice issues on a regular basis, they will come alive with the desire to walk on the Two Feet of Christian Justice through the three-fold approach of prayer/worship, learning and action. We will be living the Gospel more fully, and we hope, be an inspiration to other parishes in the diocese.

"The harvest is great, but the laborers are few." Contact the rectory if you are interested in joining the Social Justice Committe, which meets on the second Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. in the lower level rectory meeting room.

Click on the button below for more information on "Two Feet of Love in Action" from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.