The SBS Social Justice Committee’s Book of the Month recommendation is:  

See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love – by Valerie Kaur

Valarie Kaur – Renowned Sikh activist, filmmaker, and civil rights lawyer —describes revolutionary love as the call of our time, a radical, joyful practice that extends in three directions: to others, to our opponents, and to ourselves. It enjoins us to see no stranger, but instead, look at others and say: “You are part of me I do not yet know.”

Kaur takes readers through her own riveting journey; as a brown girl growing up in California farmland finding her place in the world; as a young adult galvanized by the murders of Sikhs after 9/11; as a law student fighting injustices in American prisons and on Guantánamo Bay; as an activist working with communities recovering from xenophobic attacks; and as a woman trying to heal from her own experiences with police violence and sexual assault.

Drawing from the wisdom of sages, scientists, and activists, Kaur reclaims love as an active, public, and revolutionary force that creates new possibilities for ourselves, our communities, and our world. See No Stranger helps us imagine new ways of being with each other – and with ourselves – so that together we can begin to build the world we want to see.

The book is available as an Audiobook, Hardbound, Paperback or Kindle at Amazon using the link below.

Amazon.com: See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love: 9780525509110: Kaur, Valarie: Books

Please see the below Alert from the Sisters of Mercy asking members of Congress urging them to cosponsor the Protect Vulnerable Immigrant Youth Act.

Sincerely, 

SBS Social Justice Committee

Childhood, given its fragile nature, has unique and inalienable needs. Above all else, there is the right to a healthy and secure family environment. … They have the right to be children.

—Pope Francis, Message for the 103rd World Day of Migrants & Refugees, 13 October 2016

Help Protect Vulnerable Immigrant Youth

Dear SBS and ASBS,

Please click here to write to your Congressional representative and senators, urging them to cosponsor the Protect Vulnerable Immigrant Youth Act.  Due to legal categories for immigration applicants, children in urgent need of protection who already qualify for permanent residence must wait years to receive permanent residence. The Protect Vulnerable Immigrant Youth Act would remove the cap on the number of children we can protect in this way. Contact your legislators today!

Working together to welcome everyone,

Mercy Justice Team

Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament
Assembly 2022
In Communion, we embrace God’s Promise

Attentive to God’s call we move forward, promoting racial, social, and ecological justice through collaboration among ourselves; with and for others.

Document of SBS “Share the Bread” …address to a greater extent the structual causes of social injustices. …relationship between racism, economic injustices and militarism and to see their interconnectedness locally, nationally and globally.

One of Catholic Social Teaching’s principles, The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers, says “The economy must serve people, not the other way around.  Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing participation in God’s creation.  If the dignity of work is to be protected, then the basic rights of workers must be respected – the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to organize and join unions, to private property, and to economic initiative.”

How can we help ensure the dignity of work and rights of workers?   We can purchase fair trade products; in the upcoming holiday seasons, when cocoa and chocolate are staples, we can purchase online or locally fair trade products from one or more of the companies listed at the end of this reflection.

By purchasing fair trade products, we avoid chocolate produced through the exploitation of child labor. Fair trade is a system of certification that aims to ensure a set of standards are met in the production and supply of a product or ingredient. For farmers and workers, fair trade means workers’ rights, safer working conditions and fairer pay.

Fairtrade changes the way trade works through better prices, decent working conditions and a fairer deal for farmers and workers in developing countries.
https://www.fairtrade.net/about

sistersagainsttrafficking.org

Social Justice Committee: Gary Scott, ASBS, Chairperson; Sr. Faith Okerson, SBS Leadership; Joyce Hadley, ASBS; Hilda Wiltz, ASBS; Kathy Scott, ASBS; Madeline Tymes, ASBS; Ernest Tymes, ASBS;  Sr. Geraldine Mikulec, SBS; Sr. Patricia Rogan, SBS; Sr. Patricia Downs, SBS