Pax Christi Florida



Pax Christi Florida

Prayer-Study-Action (PSA) Network

 February 2010 E-Newsletter

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(Left to Right) Pax Christi Florida Council Members, Carol Ann and Lee Breyer, with Kerry Kennedy, Robert Kennedy’s daughter and founder of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, along with Lucas Benitez, co-director of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, during a recent statewide witness at the Lakeland-based corporate headquarters of Publix.

NOTE! Pax Christi Florida urges its members and friends to support the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ Farmworkers Freedom March from Tampa to Lakeland, April 16-20, 2010. More information can be found below under the Faith in Action section.

Prayer

Novena Prayer for the People of Haiti

(You are invited to repeat daily for 9 days)

All powerful and all-loving God of mercy,

look kindly on the people of Haiti in their suffering.

Ease their burdens and make their faith strong

so that they may always have confidence and trust in Your care.

Help them face the difficulties

of this tragedy of nature with courage.

Bring their dead into Your eternal rest

and comfort those who mourn them.

Bring their wounded and all those who suffer into your healing presence

and strengthen those who serve them.

And, finally, O God, bring us all an abiding sense of Your care and compassion

that we may respond with generous hearts, open hands and a renewed sense

of solidarity with all Your children, especially those in greatest need.

You are our all-merciful God, forever and ever.

Amen.

Note:

• See “Pax Christi Haiti Needs Our Help” in the Faith In Action section below.

• Reliable Web site related to Haiti:

o USCCB

o Catholic Relief Services

o Fonkoze

o Pax Christi International

o Pax Christi USA

Quote of the Month

Colin Powell, former US Secretary of State, stated his foreign policy view as the "Pottery Barn rule": if you break it, you own it.

The US has worked to break Haiti for over 200 years. We owe Haiti. Not charity. We owe Haiti as a matter of justice. Reparations. And not the $100 million promised by President Obama either -- that is Powerball money. The US owes Haiti Billions -- with a big B.

The US has worked for centuries to break Haiti. The US has used Haiti like a plantation. The US helped bleed the country economically since it freed itself, repeatedly invaded the country militarily, supported dictators who abused the people, used the country as a dumping ground for our own economic advantage, ruined their roads and agriculture, and toppled popularly elected officials. The US has even used Haiti like the old plantation owner and slipped over there repeatedly for sexual recreation.

Bill Quigley (Pax Christi USA Teacher of Peace)

Why the US Owes Haiti Billions -- The Briefest History

Cost of the War as of February 6, 2010

  Iraq

• Total Number of U.S. soldiers killed:                             4,375

• Deaths - State of Florida:                                                  191

• Financial Cost to U.S. Taxpayers:             $705,000,000,000+

• Cost of Iraq War to Taxpayers in FL $ 38,000,000,000+

Afghanistan

• Total Number of U.S. soldiers killed:                                984                       

• Financial Cost to U.S. Taxpayers:             $252,000,000,000+

• Cost of the War in Afghanistan

to Taxpayers in FL $ 13,000,000,000+

Source: National Priorities Project and .

Pax Christi Florida News

A word from Pax Christi Florida’s Coordinator

Dear Pax Christi Members and Friends,

The wonderful, challenging season of Lent is upon us. On February 17 we begin a 40-day journey of focused prayer, self-sacrifice and acts of justice that can move us along in our work of bringing forth the kindom. I encourage you to utilize the resources available on the PCF Web site. Information on these resources can be found below.

On January 30-31, the Pax Christi Florida Council held its bi-annual weekend meeting at Mercy-on-the-Manatee, the home of Carol Ann and Lee Breyer. The first item on our agenda was the terrible devastation in Haiti and how Pax Christi Florida members and friends could best support Pax Christi Haiti as they struggle to assist the children and others in Cite Soleil. Anne Richter, a nurse-midwife and long-time member of Pax Christi Florida, is intimately connected to Haiti and has agreed to act as the conduit for monies raised through the appeal you will find below. She has been there many times on medical missions, is in frequent contact with the leadership of Pax Christi Haiti and knows the best process for getting your donations into Haiti.

A brochure plus additional information related to the Pax Christi Florida 2010 retreat, Jesus and the Gospel of Nonviolent Resistance, with Simon Harak, S.J. will be available on the PCF Web site on or by Feb. 10th. Additional information will also be added to our web site as the retreat approaches. We will gather at the Life Enrichment Center, April 24-25, to listen, reflect, grow, share, and be in community. I hope you will join us.

NOTE! Hard copies of the retreat brochure should be arriving in your mailboxes within the next two weeks.

Each of us has different gifts, different challenges, different focuses but we are all united in our commitment to speak out against injustice wherever we may find it. Your actions for justice inspire and encourage many Floridians and beyond so ‘keep on keeping on.”

In peace,

Barbara Richardson (bar8537@)

Pax Christi USA News

Pax Christi USA December 2009/January 2010 Newsletter

Click here to download.

Sr. Dianna Ortiz, OSU joins PCUSA staff as D.C. Office Director

Pax Christi USA, the national Catholic peace movement, announced the hiring of Sr. Dianna Ortiz, OSU, as the new director of their Washington, D.C. office. Sr. Ortiz assumes responsibility for several primary components of Pax Christi USA’s work, including policy direction, coalition work, and coordination and supervision of the new D.C.-based internship program. She will also be active in aspects of fundraising and development. Sr. Ortiz is author of the award-winning book The Blindfold’s Eyes and

founder of the Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition International To read more, click here.

2010 Lenten Resource from Pax Christi USA

by Jean Stokan and Scott Wright

Living as Resurrected Beings in the Midst of the World's Crosses

Just as Lent calls to mind our deep desire for peace and reconciliation, it also awakens a deep awareness of our human failings, of our failure to bring peace to a world divided by poverty, racism, and violence, in a word, by our sinfulness. . . . We begin this Lenten journey, therefore, profoundly aware of our own failings and brokenness in our personal lives, but also as a people and as a nation. . . But we know even more that we are “loved sinners,” that we are created in the image and likeness of God. We are human beings called to celebrate our human dignity, our human diversity, our gifts of love and service that we offer to God and to each other so that life may truly flourish. Precisely because we know to Whom we belong, we rely on Jesus Christ who saved and empowered us to follow his way of peace and nonviolence by living as resurrected beings in the midst of the world’s crosses. $3.00 plus shipping and handling. Bulk rates available. Click here.

Please note: Spanish-language version available the second week of February.

Pax Christi International News

Pax Christi International January 2010 Newsletter

Click here to download.

Special Focus on Haiti in the Aftermath

A collection of articles (in English and French) from Haiti from Member Organisations and friends in Haiti, as well as interviews with Pax Christi’s Secretary-General and former Prime Minister of Haiti, Claudette Werleigh are now available on Pax Christi International’s Web site. A few pictorial presentations of Haiti before and after the earthquake can be found under “Interesting Articles and Links”, along with a number of opinion pieces and press reports. Messages of solidarity can also be submitted via this section in English, French and Spanish. To view, click here.

Study Resources & Articles of Interest

US Bishop calls for world free of nuclear threat

Archbishop Edwin O’Brien of Baltimore said humanity must “build a future free of the nuclear threat” in remarks on 3 February at the Global Zero Summit in Paris. The two-day conference brought together 200 international political, military, business and faith leaders for strategy talks on the phased elimination of all nuclear weapons.

Archbishop O’Brien cited the Second Vatican Council’s condemnation of “total war” and the Council Father’s skepticism of “deterrence” as a way to lasting peace. He anchored his reflections in just war principles and the teachings of modern popes. He quoted Pope Benedict XVI’s 2006 World Day of Peace message, in which the pope said, “In a nuclear war there would be no victors, only victims.” The Archbishop acknowledged, “It will not be easy. ... A world with zero nuclear weapons will need robust measures to monitor, enforce and verify compliance. The path to zero will be long and treacherous. But humanity must walk this path with both care and courage in order to build a future free of the nuclear threat.”

The full text of Archbishop O’Brien’s remarks can be found online at: sdwp/international/global-zero-summit-2010-obrien.pdf

Depletion & Abundance: Life on the New Home Front

by Sharon Astyk

Climate change, peak oil and economic instability aren't just future social problems -- they jeopardize our homes and families right now. Our once-abundant food supply is being threatened by toxic chemical agriculture, rising food prices and crop shortages brought on by climate change. Funding for education and health care is strained to the limit, and safe and affordable housing is disappearing.

Depletion and Abundance explains how we are living beyond our means with or without a peak oil/climate change crisis and that, either way, we must learn to place our families and local communities at the center of our thinking once again. The author presents strategies to create stronger homes, better health and a richer family life and to

• live comfortably with an uncertain energy supply

• prepare children for a hotter, lower energy, less secure world

• survive and thrive in an economy in crisis, and

• maintain a kitchen garden to supply basic food needs.

Most importantly, readers will discover that depletion can lead to abundance, and the anxiety of these uncertain times can be turned into a gift of hope and action.

An unusual family perspective on the topic, this book will appeal to all those interested in securing a future for their children and grandchildren.

Take note of upcoming events in St. Petersburg!

The Social Justice Ministry/Green Team of St. Paul Catholic Church, St. Petersburg, of which Mary Ann Holtz of Pax Christi Tampa Bay is a member, will be conducting a Book Study this spring (The group will meet on the second and fourth Wednesdays of March, April and May from 7-9 pm in the Parish Center - Gold Room) related to this wonderful resource. You might also be interested in knowing that the parish “Green Team” is also conducting a Lenten retreat, Reconciliation with the Earth, Saturday, Feb 27, 8:45 a.m. -12:30 p.m in the St. Paul Church cafeteria. For more information on both of these events, contact Mary Ann at walt231@.

National Priorities Project - President's Budget FY2011

Yesterday President Obama released his $3.7 trillion FY2011 budget which will have profound implications for states and local communities. NPP researchers are crunching the numbers to pull out their stories and potential local impact.

 

On Monday, February 8, NPP will release a full analysis of President Obama's FY2011 budget complete with comparisons to the FY2008, FY 2009, FY2010 and projected FY2012 budgets. NPP will also track multi-year federal aid to states through the following programs:

 

• Children's Health Insurance Program

• Medicaid

• State Energy Program

• Weatherization Assistance for Low-Income Persons

• Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program

• Title 1 Grant

• Head Start

• Community Development Block Grant

• Social Services Block Grant

For more information, click here.

Lenten Study Module

In the Footsteps of the Crucified: Torture is Never Justified

This new JustMatters module on torture is offered by our friends at JustFaith Ministries. This module was written by author and activist Scott Wright, long-time Pax Christi member and currently a Policy Associate with Pax Christi USA. The module represents the work of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), Pax Christi USA, and the Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition (TASSC), and focuses on the reality of torture and on inspiring examples of faithful and prophetic witness against torture by survivors, human rights groups, and concerned citizens.

To download this excellent resource, click here.

Faith in Action!

Pax Christi Haiti Needs Our Help!

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Pax Christi Florida continues to pray for all those impacted by the devastating earthquake in Haiti on January 12.   Pax Christi Florida dedicated its January 2010 e-newsletter to Haiti. In this publication, you will find prayer, study, and action resources.  (Click here to download)

Pax Christi Florida recently received a letter from Daniel Tillias, one of the coordinating team members of Pax Christi Haiti sharing the horrifying extent of the devastation and immeasurable needs of the Haitian people following this recent catastrophic event and yet expressing the deep faith with which our Haitian brothers and sisters face each day. To read Daniel’s letter click here.

How YOU can help:

At Pax Christi Florida’s recent council meeting, it was determined that the most likely way that we, as a community of peacemakers, can help in this situation is to support Pax Christi Haiti and their important work with the Haitian children especially at this most desperate time.

We are asking each of our members to prayerfully consider a financial contribution to Pax Christi Haiti. Anne Richter of Pax Christi Tampa Bay has offered to facilitate funneling the funds directly to Pax Christi Haiti. Checks should be made out to Anne Richter (Note: Please write Pax Christi Haiti Fund in the Memo section of your check) and mailed to Anne at 10853 43rd St. N., Clearwater, FL 33762. Please be as generous as you possibly can!

Florida Execution Alert

February 16 at 6:00 p.m.

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Gov. Charlie Crist has signed a Death Warrant for Martin Grossman to be killed on Feb. 16, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. Grossman was convicted of the 1984 killing of Florida Wildlife Officer, Margaret “Peggy” Park.   Pax Christi Florida joins the Catholic bishops of Florida in opposing capital punishment and urges its members and friends to publicly stand in opposition to the use of the death penalty. 

• For a prayer service that can be used during the time of an execution, click here.

• For action suggestions, click here.

• For additional resources, click here and scroll down to “Death Penalty Resources”.

• Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP) is joining with other organizations calling on Gov. Crist to halt the execution and to grant Martin Grossman a clemency hearing to consider commuting his sentence from death to life in prison.  Please click here to sign the petition. 

National Day of Prayer for Criminal Justice System Reform

February 7, 2010

Pax Christi Florida members and friends are encouraged to join faith communities across the country in praying for reform of the criminal justice system, for empowerment of faith communities to advocate for reforms, and for moral and accountable leadership by our elected leaders to bring about just and humane reform.  For more information, click here.

Related Article:

Pax Christi Florida Council member, Patrick Finn-Schultz, recently wrote a thought-provoking article entitled “Overhauling Florida’s Criminal Justice System”. To read the article, click here.

Lent 2010 begins Feb 17th

Join Carbon Fast

The Archdiocese of Washington's Environmental Outreach Committee produced a calendar listing 40 carbon fasting actions everyone can consider as a part of Lenten preparations. Each of these actions challenges us to reflect on our consumption habits, reduce our production of climate change pollution and help to preserve God's great gift of Creation. As Pope Benedict reminded us in his World Day of Peace Message: "Our present crises…require us to rethink the path which we are travelling together. Specifically, they call for a lifestyle marked by sobriety and solidarity…" What better time than Lent to begin practicing such a lifestyle. To download the Carbon Fast Calendar for your parish, school, Pax Christi chapter, or individual use, click here.

April 16-20, 2010 

Farmworker Freedom March

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers announces “Farmworker Freedom March,” Tampa to Lakeland, Florida, calling for “Freedom from forced labor; Freedom from abuse; Freedom from poverty and degradation”  

Farmworker Freedom March

• Three-day march of farmworkers and allies

• April 16-18, from Tampa to Lakeland (home of Publix)

• Route details and logistics to be announced soon on CIW’s Web site:

Modern-day Slavery Museum

A mobile educational vehicle in the form of a box-truck outfitted as a replica of the trucks involved in the latest slavery prosecution and accompanied by educational displays on modern-day slavery in Florida, its roots, its causes, and its solutions.

For more information on the march and the mobile museum, or to arrange for a museum visit to your community, you can contact us at workers@ciw-

Mark Your Calendars Today! Plan to be among the Pax Christi Florida members and friends this spring who will be in support of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ intensive campaign of education and action to end modern-day slavery in Florida's fields.

Living Green!

Green Bag Tags at CVS

January 27, 2010 by Kimberly ~ greenWell

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CVS just came out with their Greenbagtag – an innovative way to encourage people to stop using plastic bags and be rewarded for doing so.

If you’re a CVS ExtraCare card member (it’s free to join!), then you can buy a Greenbagtag for. 99 cents at CVS. Skip the plastic bag on your purchase, swipe the Greenbagtag card and after four visits, you’ll earn $1 in Extra Bucks on your ExtraCare card.  Extra Bucks work just like cash at CVS and you can really save some money if you visit CVS on a regular basis.

CVS joins Whole Foods and Target by financially rewarding customers who skip the plastic or paper bags and use their own.  Whole Foods offers .10 cents for each reusable bag, while Target offers .05 cents for each.

Kimberly Button is the founder of greenWell, a green consulting company which helps families and businesses create healthier, greener living and working environments. Visit for more information on greenWell’s green living services in central Florida.

Fuel Saving Tips

1. Slow down - One of the best ways to save gas is to simply reduce your speed. As speed increases, fuel economy decreases exponentially. If you are one of the "ten-over on the freeway" set, try driving the speed limit for a few days. You'll save a lot of fuel and your journey won't take much longer.

2. Check your tire pressure - Under-inflated tires are one of the most commonly ignored causes of crummy MPG. Tires lose air due to time (about 1 psi per month) and temperature (1 psi for every 10 degree drop); under-inflated tires have more rolling resistance, which means you need to burn more gas to keep your car moving. Buy a reliable tire gauge and check your tires at least once a month – make sure tires are cold.

3. Check your air filter - A dirty air filter restricts the flow of air into the engine, which harms performance and economy. Air filters are easy to check and change; remove the filter and hold it up to the sun. If you can't see light coming through it, you need a new one. Consider a K&N or similar "permanent" filter which is cleaned rather than changed; they are much less restrictive than throw-away paper filters, plus they're better for the environment.

4. Accelerate with care - Jack-rabbit starts are an obvious fuel-waster -- but that doesn't mean you should crawl away from every light. If you drive an automatic, accelerate moderately so the transmission can shift up into the higher gears. Stick-shifters should shift early to keep the revs down, but don't lug the engine -- downshift if you need to accelerate. Keep an eye well down the road for potential slowdowns. If you accelerate to speed then have to brake right away, that's wasted fuel.

5. Hang with the trucks - Ever notice how, in bad traffic jams, cars seem to constantly speed up and slow down, while trucks tend to roll along at the same leisurely pace? A constant speed keeps shifting to a minimum -- important to those who have to wrangle with those ten-speed truck transmissions -- but it also aids economy, as it takes much more fuel to get a vehicle moving than it does to keep it moving. Rolling with the big rigs saves fuel (and aggravation).

More fuel saving tips coming next issue!

_______________________________________________

Pax Christi Florida



Please feel free to share this posting widely – anyone wanting to join PCF’s PSA Network should email Phyllis Jepson at phyllisjepson@.  Please be sure to put “Join PSA Network” in the “Subject” line and include your name, mailing address, phone number and email address in the body of the email - your information will NOT be shared.

Comments related to this e-newsletter should be directed to Pax Christi Florida’s Prayer-Study-Action E-Newsletter coordinator, Phyllis Jepson, at phyllisjepson@. Thank you!

Donations to support the work of Pax Christi Florida

should be made payable and mailed to:

Pax Christi Florida

Mercy-on-the-Manatee

505 Palm Avenue

Ellenton, FL 34222

To Contact PCF’s Coordinator:

Barbara Richardson

(561-307-6293; bar8537@)

God bless the whole world...no exceptions!

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