Update: November 2010 | St. Francis Xavier Parish Peace & Justice Ministry

Dear Friends of Peace & Justice,

In this Update, we have a lot more information about local activities, both at St. Francis and in the area: One of these is the 86 Hunger Program– which involves eating out at some nice restaurants in the area!

In the Resources section, we have a review of new book, Stones Into Schools: Promoting Peace Through Education in Afganistan and Pakistan by Greg Mortenson, a follow up to his Three Cups of Tea, One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time.

On the Calendar we have information about many local events, including Travel as a Spiritual Act with Rick Steves--author of over 50 European travel guidebooks and host of the PBS-TV series, Europe, Through the Back Door.

In the Links, we have new company based in Evanston called Greenola that sells fair trade women's clothing and helps support Solidarity Bridge.

We also made a few changes on the Home Page: we added a new introductory paragraph, switched some of the photos in the slideshow and have added a new link on the parish website.

As always, if you have any comments or suggestions please let us know.

Peace!

Vic & Mary

LOCAL ACTIVITIES

Family Promise Celebration

Late last month, Gayle, Carl and their son, Keyel – one of the Family Promise families that stayed at St. Francis last summer –found a new home! Carl & Gayle were in the program a little over 5 months and a party was held to celebrate the occasion at the Family Promise Chicago North Shore Day Center in Evanston. Many people from the supporting congregations attended the event -- including some representatives from our community. If you'd like to reach Gayle and Carl to wish them well, contact Rebecca at the Family Promise Chicago North Shore office at 224-216-9780 or rebecca@fpcnorthshore.org. For more information on Family Promise, click here: http://www.familypromise.org/.

St. Francis Xavier Parish Peace & Justice Meeting

Recently a group of us met to discuss some of our activities and to plan to future events. If you were not able to make to the meeting and have any ideas or suggestions, please let us know – everyone is welcome!

Pots & Pans for Refugees

Ellen Walker is collecting the cookware reward stickers at Jewel/Osco Food Stores to purchase pots & pans for the refugee families that have come to the Chicago area the past year or so. If you would like to contribute to the cause, please ask for the stickers when you do any grocery shopping there. For every $10 you spend using your Jewel-Osco Preferred Card, you can receive one sticker. The program expires on January 12, 2011 so please consider this for your holiday meal planning. If it's convenient, we would be glad to collect the stickers and get them to Ellen. Thanks for your help!

86 Hunger

The 86 Hunger dinner series, presented by Northern Trust, brings together Chicago Food Depository supporters and the culinary community to join together for a common cause: ending hunger in our community. 86 Hunger is a revision of a Food Depository classic: the Bag Hunger Auction. But instead of a large ballroom downtown, you get to experience a taste of Chicago's finest in an intimate setting, the way the chef intended. What's more, the participating chefs are there sharing with you their culinary vision and artistry. 86 Hunger is borrowed from a culinary phrase--to 86 something--that lets the kitchen and restaurant staff know that a menu item is no longer available. So, let's 86 Hunger ... and take hunger off the menu.

Each dinner in the series is specific to the chef's philosophy of food and dining. The series is comprised of private culinary experiences at prominent restaurants in Chicagoland:

The Greater Chicago Food Depository, Chicago's food bank, is a nonprofit food distribution and training center providing food for hungry people while striving to end hunger in our community. The Food Depository distributes donated and purchased food through a network of 650 pantries, soup kitchens and shelters to 678,000 adults and children in Cook County every year. Last year, the Food Depository distributed 66 million pounds of nonperishable food and fresh produce, dairy products and meat, the equivalent of 135,000 meals every day. The Food Depository's programs and services for children, older adults and the unemployed and underemployed address the root causes of hunger. For more information, log onto www.chicagosfoodbank.org or call 773-247-FOOD.

Tickets are $150 per person. To purchase tickets or for more information, click here: www.chicagosfoodbank.org/site/PageServer?pagename=86h_Naha

Chicago Food Depository Tours

Local poverty is on the rise. The Chicago Food Depository estimates that over 777,089 individuals in Cook County live in poverty -- up from five years ago when there were 713,040. As a result, many people are finding themselves skipping meals or cutting back on the quality or quantity of food they purchase for themselves and their families. In 2006, 31% of households had to make the choice between buying food and paying for housing. 26% had to make the choice between buying food and paying for healthcare.

The Food Depository distributes 66 million pounds of food, including more than 12.8 million pounds of produce, to 650 pantries, soup kitchens and shelters in Cook County. Nearly 142,000 men, women and children turn to the Food Depository's network each week, and nearly 678,000 people turn to the network annually.

Tours of the Food Depository are available by appointment during the last week of each month. For more information, click here: www.chicagosfoodbank.org/site/PageServer

Hunger 101

This is an interactive, informational exercise about hunger in Cook County. The way it works, is the participant takes on the role of someone living with hunger in Cook County and tries various ways to feed his or her family based on their limited income. This is a simple way to walk in someone else's shoes and experience hunger. To try it, click here:
www.chicagosfoodbank.org/site/DocServer/h101_04_chicago.swf?docID=3041

St. Francis St. Vincent de Paul Society

The Society is a lay association of volunteers, freely gathered together to enhance their personal spiritual growth and development and, as a result of this growing spirituality, to act out their Faith commitment in service to one another and the needy of our immediate community, the greater Chicago community and the Church of Chicago. They donate considerable resources, primarily time to those in need, such as:

For more information, contact Peter Keller at: peterakeller@yahoo.com

St. Thomas of Canterbury Food Pantry

As part of our sharing parish ministry, the community at St. Francis helps support hundreds of people in need each week through the food pantry at St. Thomas of Canterbury parish. The pantry is supported by the Walk for Hunger and for every dollar earned, St. Thomas receives a $10 credit. The food costs .10/lb. and sometimes their van is loaded with 4,000 lbs. of canned goods. For more information, contact Ray Gass or Sara Crome, Sharing Parish Liaisons at 847-256-4250.

St. Francis "Gym Mass" Collection

Every Sunday, the people who attend the St. Francis Xavier parish 10:15am Mass collect food to donate to the St. Thomas Food Pantry. For more information, contact Ron Rogers at: rrodgers@erdi-exams.com

GLOBAL SOLIDARITY

Farmland Disappearing in Every State

The American Farmland Trust has reported that more than one acre of farmland is being lost every minute in the United States, which adds up to nearly a million acres per year. This land is most often near urban areas and is being used for highways, shopping malls and housing developments. Most of this land is in Texas, California, Florida, Arizona and North Carolina. The American Farmland Trust explains that smart growth strategies, including more efficient development, can help slow the conversion and fragmentation of our farm and ranch land. Visit the Farmland Information Center for the full report and state-by-state data. For more information click here: blog.farmland.org/2010/09/farmland-is-at-risk-in-every-state OR www.farmlandinfo.org/agricultural_statistics/

Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) Web Site Survey

CCUSA would like to enhance their website. To let them know what you like the most, what you like the least, and what features you would like to see in the future, fill out a survey at: Web Site User Survey