Peace & Justice
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WHO WE ARE
The St. Cletus Peace & Justice Ministry was formed in 2005 to communicate and promote Catholic Social Teaching perform works of charity, and advance social justice wherever we can make a difference. We do this to serve our parish, our community and beyond, while providing experiences to help our parishioners "See Christ in the Face of Others" and become His hands and feet for justice. MISSION STATEMENT P - Prayer: To promote continuous prayer E - Education: To foster learning and education A - Action: To take peaceful action to right wrongs C - Compassion: To empathize with and seek to relieve others’ suffering E - Enlightenment: To open minds to social justice needs Our Strategic Focus Youth Involvement We assist St. Cletus Grade School to support the teaching of social justice and tolerance, and develop teaching tools and games that may be useful in conveying the Principles of Catholic Social Teaching. We work with our parish Life Teen ministry to engage them in community action projects, such as for the homeless. We also support teens and young adults wishing to participate in annual mission trips to El Salvador. Communication and Education We publish a quarterly email newsletter, The Channel, for our parishioners and other interested readers. It highlights our ministry activities and offers articles and viewpoints on the social justice issues of today. Prior issues of The Channel can be accessed by clicking on the links to the right. Fill out the form below to subscribe to The Channel. Care For Creation We work with the parish and the school to implement "green" modifications to lighting and food packaging and develop recycling/composting options. We regularly publish suggestions on care for the environment in the parish bulletin. One of our members serves on the archdiocesan Care for Creation (Laudato Si) task force. Racial Equality and Justice We join others in the struggle for equality and justice for all BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and work closely with the archdiocesan Office of Racial Harmony. We sponsor book discussions, videos, invited speakers, and help the parish celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, Black Catholic and Black History Month. We are members of the archdiocesan-wide Catholic Racial Justice Collaborative. In 2022 we sponsored a Prayer Service for Racial Healing. Homeless Ministry We work in concert with the Community Council and with St. Vincent de Paul to provide temporary housing and other assistance to the homeless. Funds are provided by SVdP and the caseworkers are members of our ministry. We also fund youth projects at St. Cletus to provide non-perishable groceries to the homeless and "Blessing Bags” for homeless people on the street. In addition, we support the Bridge Bread Program in St. Louis that employs former homeless as bakers, by selling their products at church every month. LGBTQ Welcoming and Outreach In an effort to follow Christ's admonition to reach out to all the marginalized, we are exploring ways to have St. Cletus parish be a welcoming community to LGBTQ persons and their families. We hold book discussions, meet with other faith groups, and consider ways to develop a support ministry for LGBTQ Catholics and their families. Assisting Our Neighbors in Need Throughout the year we hold STOP Collections (Sharing Our Table of Plenty) to benefit worthy organizations that serve the poor and marginalized. As needed, we also sponsor fund drives and collections for key charitable organizations, such as the St. Louis Food Bank, and for local emergency events such as flooding. Subscribe to The Channel
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Peace & Justice Ministry meets on the fourth Wednesday of the month at St. Cletus Parish at 6:30 pm.
Contact: Bill Weisrock [email protected]
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