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 The St. Giles Social Justice Ministry have as our purpose to foster the work of justice in the parish and in the world. It is guided by the worldwide Catholic Social Teaching, as well as the seven principles of Social Justice promoted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
Our Goals for the 2009-2010 Year:
- We discovered that a number of USCCB's principles can be put into practice when we support the Fair Trade movement. St. Giles will continue to sponsor the Fair Trade Market.
- The Seventh Principle states, "We are called to protect people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of God's creation". The Social Justice Ministry will aid the parish groups in assessing their environmental awareness and support them in their efforts.
- The Ministry will encourage the Catholic-Moslem dialogue by developing Study Circles to better understand the Moslem faith and persons.
 During the last few years we have been subjected to many negative images of Islam and Muslims. It is quite natural for fear to grow because of this. One root of fear is lack of knowledge. For this reason a study circle about Islam as a religion is being offered to aid our understanding and to develop dialogue with the Islam Community.
We will be using the book, Islam Is written by Sr. Mary Margaret Funk OSB. Mary Margaret is a nun from Our Lady of Grace Benedictine monastery near Indianapolis. She is the first woman invited by the Bishops Conference to join the Muslim - Catholic dialogue. In the book she writes about the history of Islam, the Pillars - the five principles on which Islamic faith is based - and explores three contemporary questions: 1) Does Islam foster violent fundamentalism? 2) What about women's equality? 3) Can Islam be democratic? Her last chapter asks, What would Thomas Merton do? At the end of her Preface, she writes, "there are 1.2 billion Muslims, one billion Catholics, and 500 million other Christians who share this planet. It seems to me that the dominant religions should have a 'feel' for one another - since religion is in service for all of us humans on Earth. If this book gives you something of that 'feel', then it might lead to a relaxation of tensions and a move toward peace."
The St. Giles Social Justice Ministry has sponsored two study circles about Islam as a religion to aid our understanding and to develop dialogue with the Islamic Community on January 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26 and February 1, 2. Because many others have expressed interest in these groups, two more study circles will be offered. Once again we will be using the book Islam is written by Sr. Mary Margaret Funk OSB.
The study circles will meet on Monday mornings and Tuesday evenings in the St. Giles Parish Center located at 1025 Columbian Avenue. Registration is required as each group will be limited to 12 participants. To register for the Monday group, which will meet from 9:15 to 10:30 am on February 15, 22 and March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, call or e-mail Mary Lou Jenks at 708-524-1766 or edwjebks@sbcglobal.net. To register for the Tuesday evening group, which will meet from 7:30 to 9 pm on February 16, 23 and March 2, 9, call or e-mail Wayne Vanek at 708-848-4983 or waynevanek@gmail.com. Books will be available for $12 from Mary Lou or Wayne.
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