Holy Trinity Student Parish

Earth Day: April 22, 2010

Care for God's Creation is one of the principles of Catholic Social Teaching and a requirement of our faith.  All of creation is a gift and we are responsible for it.  When the Earth is abused by environmental degradation, it is a sin and all of us our affected especially the poor.  Pope Benedict in his World Day of Peace address this year has linked environmental justice with the cause for peace.  He shows and our faith teaches that caring for God's creation enables and encourages solidarity with all the Earth's inhabitants.

Our Peace and Justice commission and Center for Catholic Social Teaching encourages you this Earth Day to put your faith into action.  Below are some ideas to how you can celebrate the day and links to resources.

Ideas of how you can care for God's creation this Earth Day

• Ride a bike or walk to school or work.
• Make an energy fast by not using electricity.  Keep your lights off, do not run your appliances, and refrain from using hot water.
• Instead of watching TV for entertainment, play board games with family and friends.
• Get outside and go for a hike or work in a garden.
• Bring your own bags shopping and your own mug to the coffee shop. 
• Reduce, Reuse. Recycle.

Here are some links for more ideas and resources:

The Catholic Coalition on Climate Change works with the U.S. Bishops to promote environmental justice.  Take the St. Francis Pledge to care for creation and the poor. 

The USCCB, through their Environmental Justice Program, has many resources to help you learn about this issue.

The Legacy Land Conservancy is a local non-profit working to protect and preserve the environment of southern Michigan.

Flow for Water works to raise awareness about water issues and protecting the Great Lakes.  They are at the forefront of combating the problems of the bottle water industry and the privatization of water.

The Pew Center for Climate Change is a leader in bringing together business leaders, policy makers, scientists, environementalists, and others to find new ways to protect the environment and while sustaining economy security for all people.  Their website has many resources to educate you on this complex issue.

Alternative Spring Break to Mexico

 

Plan de los Amates

Guerrero State, Mexico

February 27-March 6, 2010

For our Alternative Spring Break, we travelled to the P.I.M.E. mission in Mexico and were transformed by the hospitality and love of the people.  Mexico is in turmoil as it wrestles with changes to its traditional culture, the rights and treatment of indigenous peoples, the exploitation of the poor, and the violence associated with the drug trade and yet our group gained solidarity and connection with the people of Mexico and the P.I.M.E. mission which we hope will grow at Holy Trinity. 

Please check out our photo album and join us for a Mexican Fiesta on April 17th to learn more about the trip and ways you can help.  Details will be posted soon.

 

1Cup (Catholic Urban Project)

Wednesday, February 3^rd

Newman Lounge

8:30 pm

Rachel Thelen, the director of 1Cup, will share how you can put your faith into action this summer right here in Ypsilanti through this new and exciting volunteer program.

Rotating Homeless Shelter

...for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me . . . Mt 25:35

Monday, February 8-Monday, February 15

lower level, John XXIII Campus Center

Working with the Shelter Association of Washtenaw County, Holy Trinity will once again host an emergency winter shelter for homeless men of our community.  We will welcome twenty men each night and provide them fellowship, hot coffee and something to eat, and a warm place to sleep.  Without this assistance, these men would have no where to escape the dangerously frigid temperature.  Volunteers are needed each morning and evening to drive our guests to and from Ann Arbor.  In addition, we need volunteers to provide hospitality while they are here as well as overnight hosts.  If you are interested in volunteering, please sign-up in the atrium or contact the office.

Conventional wisdom says that people are homeless because they are either lazy and don't want to work, they are all addicted to drugs and alcohol, or they are mentally ill.  These falsehoods and half-truths blame the homeless person for their predicament rather than exposing the real causes for these problem.  The reasons and causes for homelessness are as varied as the people who experience it for each homeless person is unique and valued and has their own story to tell but there are some common causes. 

The lack of job opportunities and affordable housing, the lack of affordable health care, limited social services and poor access to help, domestic violence for women and children are all causes of homelessness but the number one reason for homelessness in America is poverty.  There are homeless people who have jobs but find that their source of income is not adequate to provide for all the necessities of life (food, clothing, child care, health care, transportation, and housing).  Something has to give and with the high cost of housing, it is often a home.  An accident, an illness, or a lay-off can be a catastrophe for someone living at the poverty line.

To be sure, many homeless people do suffer from addictions and/or mental illness but there is no correlation that their addictions or illness caused their homelessness.  There are also many people who suffer with addictions and/or mental illness that do not find themselves living on the street.  Addiction and mental illness coupled with poverty will increase one's risk of becoming homeless.  And homelessness will exacerbate the problems associated with addictions and/or mental illness.  It is a vicious cycle.

Contact the National Coalition for the Homeless to learn more about homelessness and poverty in America as well as find out ways you can help.

Justice Cafe

Monday, January 18^th

8:00pm-10:00pm

Newman Lounge, John XXIII Campus Center

The Holy Father in his World Day of Peace address this year highlighted our responsibility to care for creation as necessary to ensure justice and peace.  Meet other people committed to justice in a relaxed coffehouse setting and engage in conversation on issues of global concern.  Visit www.ipjcjusticecafe.ning.combefore and after the event to explore this issue and join a growing national network of committed people working for justice.  Contact Bill at balt@htspemu.orgfor more information.

Thanksgiving Day Dinner

    

Thursday, November 26^th

11:00am-1:00pm

social hall, John XXIII Campus Center

We are once again providing a home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner for the Ypsilanti-Ann Arbor community.  Please come help us serve the meal and enjoy hospitality and fellowship with your neighbors.

Did God Survive the Holocaust: a Jewish/Catholic conversation

Monday, November 23^rd

7:00 pm-8:30 pm

EMU Student Center Ballroom

On Monday, November 23rd at 7:00 PM, in the Eastern Michigan University’s Student Center Ballroom, Holy Trinity Catholic Student Parish at EMU and Hillel at Eastern Michigan University in partnership with EMU’s Division of Academic Affairs, the College of Arts and Sciences, and multiple academic departments are sponsoring “Did God Survive the Holocaust: A Jewish/Catholic Conversation” between two scholars of international distinction, Guy Stern, Ph.D. and Father John T. Pawlikowski, OSM, Ph.D.

Dr. Stern is the director of the Holocaust Museum in Farmington Hills and a distinguished professor of German and Slavic studies at Wayne State University.

Fr. Pawlikowski is a professor of social ethics at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and an international leader in Jewish-Catholic dialogue. He is the past recipient of the Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian Award and a founding member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.

You do not want to miss this interesting and challenging evening of dialogue and conversation. You can receive LBC credit for this event.

 

Healthcare reform

In our Catholic tradition, health-care is a basic human right.  Access to health-care should not depend on where a person works, how much a family earns or where a person lives.  Every person, created in the image and likeness of God, has a right to life and to those things necessary to sustain life, including affordable, quality health-care.  This teaching is rooted in the biblical call to heal the sick and to serve "the least of these," our concern for human life and dignity, and the principle of the common good.

~Most Reverend Earl Boyea, Bishop of Lansing

 

To read Bishop Boyea's special report on healthcare reform, please download a copy here.

Learn about the U.S. Bishop's position on healthcare reform here and download resources about this important issue.

Alternative Breaks!

February 27-March 6, 2010

Guerrero State, Mexico

May 9-15, 2010

Nazareth Farm, West Virginia

We will be working with the Mixtec people of the PIME mission in Mexico and the community of Nazareth Farm in the hills of Appalachia.

The PIME mission in Mexico

The work of the PIME Missionaries in this country is unique.  Opened in 1993 to assist the local Catholic Church and the Mixtec community, PIME has had a hands-on role in Guerrero, one of Mexico's poorest states.

In these sixteen years among the Mixtec people, much has been accomplished: mission centers were put up, many programs have been started, many people have grown in awareness of their dignity and have begun to work towards living that dignity, many interested persons have visited and given their time and talent for the betterment of the people.  We will be a part of PIME Missionaries ministry of assistance in health, nutrition, education, development, the promotion of women and children, ecology, and other pastoral works.

You will give but you will also receive.  It is about mutuality and solidarity.  Opportunities for real interaction with people of diverse backgrounds allow you to be enriched with the faith perspectives of those with whom you serve.   To describe the Mission is not easy.  It is better to see it once than to hear about it one thousand times.  There is no substitue for a personal visit to experience the heat, the smell, the flavor, and the interaction with the people, to become globally aware. 

Surprise yourself and put your faith into action.

Nazareth Farm, West Virgninia 

For thirty years, the community of Nazareth Farm has tried to live the Gospel through the cornerstones of prayer, service, community, and simplicity.  In solidarity with their neighbors, they address sub-standard housing by providing home repair to those in need.  They celebrate the richness of Appalachia and experience God by building relationships between volunteers and the local community.  Through their unique service-retreat experience, they have transformed thousands of lives.  Nazareth Farm is truly Almost Heaven and an experience you do not want to miss.

Check out Nazareth Farm's website for more information.

 

 

 

Information meetings

October 6^th (Mexico)

October 13^th (Nazareth Farm)

October 20^th (Mexico)

October 27^th (Nazareth Farm)

November 4^th (both)

We will meet in the Newman Lounge, lower level of the John XXIII Campus Center at 4:00pm.

Contact Bill at balt@htspemu.org or 734.476.1395 for information and to register.

Holy Trinity Day of Service

Saturday, October 17^th

9:00am-2:00pm

Pinckney Recreation Area

The State Park Stewardship Program works to restore native tall grass prairie, lakeplain prairie, and oak savannah ecosystems.  Catholics on Campus will be helping the DNR preserve these unique ecosystems for future generations by collectings native wildflower seeds.  Volunteers should bring a clean, empty gallon milk jug for seed collection and wear sturdy shoes. (We will be hiking.)  A water bottle and hat are also recommended.  We will be carpooling from Holy Trinity so please let us know if you can drive.  Contact Kristin at kcatenac@emich.edu to sign-up.  Come and learn about the natural and cultural histroy of this area while caring for God's creation.