Pledge to Eliminate Racism adopted by the Marianist Family Council. Read the Pledge and accompanying materials. We urge all those in the Marianist Family, individually and as communities, to sign this Pledge!

Visit us at www.msjc.net

Remember - Our website is interactive. We’d like to hear from you! We’ve made some recent changes in our setup so it is easier to use. Some of the current discussion topics:

• School of the Americas and Civil Disobedience
• How can Marianists respond to the Magnificat challenges in our world today?
• How can Marianist Lay Communities get involved in social justice issues?

Just get a password and you can enter into discussions with other MSJC members about these and other issues. NOTE – if you are using the AOL browser, you can view the website but may not be able to enter any of the discussions with that browser.

Special hymn on Blessed Chaminade from Bro. John Samaha is attached to this email.

Scroll down to read the following items:

• Issue Team updates
• MSJC Steering Committee Update
• Resources
• A Thought to Ponder
  

Issue Teams Update – visit our website for more details

Ecology & Environment
The team will be meeting May 12-15 in Dayton. They will be examining further strategies to promote sustainable consumption within Marianist world. Anyone interested in attending should email Don Geiger at donald.geiger@notes.udayton.edu.

Anti-Racism
A team of 10 Marianists, both professed and lay, are meeting in St. Louis Feb. 25-27 to plan how to offer the resources of the Cultural Audit to the Marianist Family. The goal is to build communities that are deeply multicultural in their attitudes, practices and membership.

Death Penalty
Team meeting – Feb. 18-20 in Baltimore. Agenda – direction for the coming year, choosing a new chair, considering the possibility of broadening the team’s focus to include other “consistent ethic of life” issues. All are welcome. Some funding is available to help with travel. Interested in attending? Contact Brian Halderman, brian.halderman@notes.udayton.edu.

War and Peace

• The team is supporting an exhibition of Eyes Wide Open, Feb. 11-13 at St. Mary’s U. in San Antonio. The exhibition serves as a memorial to all American and Iraqi casualties, reminding us of the human cost of war. For more information, visit www.eyes.afsc.org or contact Floyd Contreras at floydscon@swbell.net.
  
• Team meeting scheduled for March 11-13 in San Antonio. Anyone interested in attending should contact Sr. Laola Hironaka, hironakafmi@aol.com.

MSJC Steering Committee Update

What a great 3 day meeting we had in San Antonio. A few highlights:

• Approved internships with several of the issue teams for this summer;
• Developed the initial steps for a long-term fundraising effort;
• Finalized the MSJC Display Board;
• Agreed to develop a Youth Initiative aimed at involving more young people in the work of MSJC;
• Agreed to continue exploring connections with the World Council of the Marianist Family in order to promote international connections around social justice;
• Approved development of a retreat/immersion/training experience focused on the vision of Adele de Trenquelleon and social justice.
  

Resources – know any good ones? Share them with us.

• All new MSJC Display Board that can be used at conferences, workshops and other gatherings. Tells the key things about MSJC and how people can be involved in our work of social justice. Click here to see it. It’s yours to use!! If you would like to borrow it, contact Jim Vogt, jimvogt2@yahoo.com.
  
• Opting for the Poor by Peter Henriot SJ. At a time when poverty is increasing, this modern classic inspires us to understand and live out Catholic Social Teaching’s option for the poor. This short book (62 pages) from the Center of Concern focuses on how to serve the poor and stand with the poor, practically and with compassion.
  
• Capital Consequences: Families of the Condemned Tell Their Stories. Author Rachel King tells the stories of families that have lost life savings supporting an accused, endured intense public and media scrutiny, and are struggling to live with the inhumane treatment their loved ones receive on death row. The book gives voice to death row family members, the forgotten victims of capital punishment.
  

A Thought to Ponder

    "Hope has two lovely daughters, anger and courage: anger that things are not as they ought to be and courage to make them what they might be.”

               -St. Augustine