HAYESVILLE — On Sept. 27, Pope Francis helped to launched a two-year worldwide campaign of Caritas Internationalis in support of migrants and refugees. ln the U.S. the campaign is being implemented by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Charities USA.
Campaign organizers hope to raise awareness among Catholics about migrants and refugees and have targeted the week of Oct. 7-13 for prayer and action to raise awareness of this campaign of Caritas Internationalis.
In the Diocese of Charlotte, Catholic Charities promoted the upcoming campaign at the Bishop Begley Conference on Appalachia Sept. 23 in Hayesville. Pictured are (from) Dixie Shaw of Catholic Charities Maine, Nicholas Haskell of Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte, Netta McFaddin of Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte, Jane Stenson of Catholic Charities USA, and Joseph Purello of Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte.
There are numerous ways to participate in this campaign, especially remembering migrants and refugees in prayer in a special, more focused way Oct. 7-13.
Go to www.sharejourney.org to learn more, including ideas on how to implement the campaign in your personal and family life and in your parish, and find prayer resources and statements by campaign organizers.
Resources are available in English and Spanish.
— Photo provided by Joe Purello
Share the Journey campaign urges Catholics to connect with migrants
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A prayer here, a share on social media there, a voice of support in a letter to the editor, even a get-to-know-others potluck.
Supporting refugees and migrants can take many forms, and Pope Francis is hoping Catholics around the world will act over the next two years to encounter people on the move.
In the U.S., the church's leading organizations have developed a series of activities, including prayers, that families, parishes, schools and individuals can undertake during the Share the Journey campaign the pope is set to open Sept. 27 at the Vatican.
Share the Journey is an initiative of Caritas Internationalis, the global network of Catholic chari-table agencies. It is meant to urge Catholics to understand and get to know refugees and mi-grants who have fled poverty, hunger, violence, persecution and the effects of climate change in their homeland.
In addition to Pope Francis' formal announcement at his weekly general audience, key church representatives, including Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila, Philippines, president of Cari-tas Internationalis, were to conduct a media conference the same day.
U.S. partners in the effort are the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and its Migration and Refugee Services, Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Charities USA.
The effort will give Catholics the opportunity to learn and explore Catholic social teaching on refugees and migrants, said Joan Rosenhauer, executive vice president of U.S. operations for CRS.
"Catholic social teaching has clear messages of caring for strangers, the importance of hearing their stories and understanding their needs," she said.
Much of the effort will be focused on sharing stories about migrants and refugees, the struggles they face and why they chose to seek a better life elsewhere, said Kristin Witte, coordinator of domestic Catholic educational engagement at CRS, which is the U.S. bishops' overseas relief and development agency.
"The hope is that through the stories that are presented, the images presented, that people will be moved from their place of comfort to a place of encounter. That's what the church is calling us to. That's what the pope is calling us to," she said.
The campaign began across the U.S. with special Masses, prayer vigils and events involving local migrants and refugees. The Diocese of Venice, Florida, introduced a photo exhibition and slideshow highlighting the issue. A video about the adult child of migrant workers who now serves as program director for Catholic Charities Guadalupe Social Services in Immokalee, Flori-da, also debuted.
The coalition of Catholic organizations has developed a toolkit in English and Spanish that in-cludes prayers, suggestions for activities for families, prayer groups, classrooms and clergy, and utilizing social media with references to #sharejourney.
"We're giving people clear direct ideas, not just in their neighborhood but to mobilize communi-ties. To create an environment or an opportunity for action is critical especially at this time," Wit-te said.
Mark Priceman, communications for the bishops' Migration and Refugee Services, said the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that about 22 million people are on the move around the world, making the Christian community's awareness and response to their situation critical.
The number of refugees to be admitted to the U.S. was capped at 50,000 by President Donald Trump for fiscal year 2017, which was to end Sept. 30. It is less than half of the ceiling of 110,000 set by President Barack Obama. A presidential determination on the number of refugees to be accepted for fiscal year 2018 was due by Sept. 30.
Since 1996, the number of refugees admitted has fluctuated between 70,000 and 90,000 annual-ly. The number of refugees to be accepted each year is determined by the president under the Refugee Act, which was signed into law in 1980 by President Jimmy Carter. The act amended earlier law, created a permanent and systematic procedure to admit refugees, and established a process for reviewing and adjusting the refugee ceiling to meet emergencies.
Share the Journey looks to mobilize people quickly. Soon after the opening, the campaign is call-ing for a week of prayer and action for migrants and refugees Oct. 7-13.
Special prayers at Masses, prayer vigils, simulation exercises, school announcements, lesson plans and speaking events are among the activities suggested as ways to learn about people on the move.
Similar activities will be taking place worldwide throughout the campaign, Rosenhauer said.
"It is a reflection of the Holy Father's leadership, but it's also a reflection of the commitment of leaders around the church around the world," she explained.
Nearly three dozen cardinals, archbishops and bishops as of Sept. 25 have pledged to participate in the campaign, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami addressed the concepts of the Share the Journey cam-paign in an op-ed column Aug. 28 in the Sun Sentinel in Broward County, Florida.
"'Share the Journey' invites us to see through the eyes of others rather than turning a blind eye," he wrote. "As Pope Francis says, 'Not just to see but to look. Not just to hear but to listen. Not just to meet and pass by but to stop. And don't just say, 'What a shame, poor people,' but to al-low ourselves to be moved by pity.'"
The campaign will take advantage of specially designated days throughout the year to raise awareness, including the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe Dec. 12; Lent; the church's observance of National Migration Week in January; World Refugee Day June 20 and the September 2018 United Nations meeting to consider two global compacts on refugees and migration.
There also is an advocacy component to Share the Journey, Rosenhauer said, giving U.S. Catho-lics the opportunity to take what they learn about migrants and refugees and approach federal policymakers to better allocate international assistance to address the factors that cause people to flee.
Together with Catholics worldwide, the U.S. organizers said they hope the campaign will begin to ease the burdens under which migrants and refugees live.
"We're mobilizing the worldwide Catholic Church to serve," Witte said. "There are so many net-works that the Catholic Church already has that we can infuse an opportunity allow them to live their baptismal call and to stand up for the most vulnerable."
— Dennis Sadowski, Catholic News Service
HUNTERSVILLE — A 14-year-old with “the voice of an angel” and a choir of youth aged 9 to 14 are softening hearts with their pro-life message one song at a time. They are the face of the D3 Foundation’s efforts to share Christian art and music focused on God’s love for all, especially the most vulnerable among us such as the pre-born, the sick, the poor and the elderly.
The youth are lending their talents to pro-life songs and videos, hoping to change hearts and minds about abortion. Their first song, “Let Me Live,” was recorded last summer and includes a video. Their latest song, “We Stand,” is also now available.
The D3 Foundation was created six months ago, a labor of love of Doug Abell Sr. He is a retired psychiatric nurse and a parishioner of St. Mark Church. Since retiring and moving to North Carolina, he and his wife joined the parish’s Respect Life Ministry and have regularly prayed outside local abortion facilities.
Abell named the non-profit outreach D3 in honor of the three generations of his family – himself, his son and his grandson, all named Doug – volunteering to spread the Gospel message of life through the work of the foundation.
“What we are trying to do is promote Christian ideas…mostly by our youth,” Abell explains. “When people see these (songs and videos) we want them to feel something. We want them to think and we want them to change their minds.
“We basically want to change hearts and minds on what abortion is…We’re not condemning anyone. We just want to change hearts and minds.”
Abell and the foundation seek students interested in using their God-given gifts to write, sing, draw and perform in Christian art and music productions to be shared with the community. Projects are funded through donations of time, talent and treasure of individual and community sponsors.
All proceeds received by the D3 Foundation from these projects are reinvested in its three-fold mission to support the production of Christian art and music projects; support teachers at Catholic schools in need of financial assistance for personal or professional development; and offer tuition assistance for students and their families who desire a Catholic education.
Abell says the idea to express ways to convert hearts on abortion came from promptings of the Holy Spirit. “I kept seeing children I thought were aborted children. I wrote a book of poetry on that called “The House Behind the Trees, Poems for the Aborted Child.”
He believes his poems sound like songs, so he thought it would be good to have children sing them. He wrote the lyrics and one day when he was at Mass at St. Mark Church thinking about who could sing the songs, he heard Rebekah Martinez cantoring at Mass. He asked his wife who she was.
“It was almost like on cue, Rebekah started singing. She has a great voice and it’s only getting better,” he says. “At that moment at Mass I thought, ‘You were sent from heaven!’”
Martinez, 14, is happy to volunteer to be part of the pro-life efforts of the foundation.
“It’s a really great thing we are doing,” she says. “It’s amazing that so many people want to do this for the same reason. We all want to save babies, to save their lives. We all want this to end. We want to do this together.”
Sisters Bella and Bree Spaedy, 13 and 11, are lending their voices on the recordings. Bella says she is part of this outreach to “use my voice to spread awareness about the terrible evil of abortion.” And Bree says she also wants “to do my part in helping to stop abortion.”
Other backup singers include Elizabeth and Mollie Obermiller, 14 and 12.
Elizabeth says, “I wanted to be a part of this because it’s important that I speak out against abortion. It’s sad and wrong that people who never got the chance to live could have contributed to the world in amazing and beautiful ways.
Mollie explains that she wanted to be part of D3 Foundation’s projects because people need to hear the pro-life message in this beautiful way.
“I hope when people hear us sing these songs, they are encouraged to pray to end abortion. One small organization like D3 Foundation can make a difference.”
Fifteen young people from the parish are currently signed up to volunteer their talents for upcoming projects to bring about a “civilization of love,” as promoted by St. John Paul II.
“We’re looking for kids who are artists too. We are looking for good pro-life art,” he explains.
D3 Foundation’s initial single, “Let Me Live,” launched on iTunes and Amazon. The “Let Me Live” video is on YouTube and the D3 Foundation website. A second single, “We Stand,” is now available.
Martinez, lead vocalist on the songs, says she hopes that when people hear it, they get the good out of it.
“I want people to listen and see the video and I want them to think and know that it can change someone’s life. It can save someone’s life.”
For more information, to donate or to listen to the pro-life songs, go to www.d3foundationnc.org.
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter