Tag: NETWORK

Nuns on the Bus & Friends in Ithaca!

Be a multi-issue voter!

Yesterday, spouse B, daughter T, and I were able to meet up with NETWORK’s Nuns on the Bus & Friends in Ithaca, New York, about an hour from our home. Ithaca is also home to Cornell University, T’s undergrad alma mater.

The Nuns on the Bus 2024 tour began September 30 in Philadelphia and is slated to end in San Francisco on October 18, with events in eleven states along the way. The focus of the tour is Vote Our Future, an opportunity for us to use our votes to build thriving communities and an inclusive democracy. The events are non-partisan, focused on issues rather than specific candidates.

rally sign showing some of the important issues that the Nuns on the Bus highlight


In Ithaca, the Nuns on the Bus & Friends made a visit to Loaves & Fishes of Tompkins County, a volunteer-powered program which has provided “free meals, hospitality, companionship, and advocacy for those in need, regardless of their faith, beliefs, or circumstances” since 1983. At the public press event/rally in Dewitt Park following lunch, we heard from the executive director of Loaves & Fishes and their volunteer coordinator about their work in creating a welcoming, inclusive community for all.

We also heard from several of the Bus riders, two who are Catholic sisters and others who are friends involved in working for justice and an inclusive democracy. From them, we learned that the Congressional district we are in, New York’s 19th, has become the most expensive race in the country. Unfortunately, some of the rhetoric has been anti-immigrant, trying to stoke fear and create grievance. In reality, our area includes generations’ worth of immigrants, including recent arrivals.

The speakers reminded us that our votes are important to express our values across a range of issues. NETWORK Advocates provides resources that can help voters evaluate candidates across a range of issues, including the Equally Sacred checklist which, while grounded in Catholic social justice doctrine, is applicable to all people of good will, whether or not they follow a particular faith or spiritual practice. The checklist is helpful to evaluate candidates for all levels of government, as local and state entities are also responsible for implementing programs impacting health, justice, the environment, violence prevention, and more.

Our votes are important! As a sign of our commitment to be multi-issue voters, we were invited to add our signatures to the bus, joining those from previous stops on the tour, leaving space for those who will sign in upcoming events.

Even if the Bus won’t be visiting a location near you, you can join in the commitment to be a multi-issue voter. If you are a registered voter in the United States, review the candidates’ positions on a range of issues that reflect your values and carry out your plan to vote!

My thanks to those of you who have already cast your ballots through early voting or absentee ballots. Let’s all Vote Our Future on or before Tuesday, November 5, 2024!

One-Liner Wednesday: contrasting Project 2025 and social justice doctrine

NETWORK has assembled a non-partisan, educational resource contrasting Project 2025 and the tenets of Catholic social justice doctrine, which are shared by millions of Americans, whether or not they themselves follow a faith tradition.

Join us for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/09/18/one-liner-wednesday-you-know-you-need-coffee-when/

Presidential Debate Bingo

NETWORK, a social justice lobbying organization founded over fifty years ago by a group of Catholic sisters, is currently embarked on their Nuns on the bus & Friends tour in the run-up to the November election.

They have provided a non-partisan tool to use during the September 10th presidential debate to keep track of which issues are mentioned during the debate. It’s a bingo card!

The page above puts it this way:

The 2024 election poses a critical choice to our country: will we choose a future where everyone thrives? You can use the bingo card to help you track what the candidates have to say on the issues, and discern how your vote will protect and expand a flourishing, multiracial, multi-faith democracy for all.

I know that many of us, whether or not we follow a faith tradition, want to see everyone thrive. Please feel free to use and share this bingo card and NETWORK’s Equally Sacred Multi-Issue Voter Checklist to help guide deliberations in choosing for whom to vote at all levels of government.

One-Liner Wednesday: debate checklist

This non-partisan checklist (from NETWORK, based on Catholic social justice principles which are shared by many people of faith, as well as totally secular people) will assist viewers of the US presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump tomorrow (Thursday, June 27 at 9 PM EDT) in tracking the candidates’ views on a range of issues.

This public service announcement comes to you as part of Linda’s One-Liner Wednesday series. Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/06/26/one-liner-wednesday-have-you-ever/

a new civic/religious hymn

Since the Jubilee of 2000, I have belonged to NETWORK, a lobbying and educational organization dedicated to the principles of Catholic social justice and how they can be expressed through our democracy in the United States.

Their Lenten program this year is “Becoming Faith-Filled Voters.” In the introduction, the prayer segment was this new hymn. I was very moved by it and wanted to share it. While it is written in a religious context, I find that it invokes many principles that are shared by all people of good will.

A Hymn for a Time of National Crisis

O God of All the Nations
LLANGLOFFAN 7.6.7.6 D (“Lead On, O King Eternal”; “Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers”)

O God of all the nations, your ancient prophets saw
that kings and institutions are not above the law.
Integrity is precious, and truth will one day stand;
Your way is peace and justice, and love is your command.

O God, when times are troubled, when lies are seen as truth,
When power-hungry people draw praise and not reproof,
When greed is seen as greatness, when justice is abused,
We pray that those who lead us will know what they must choose.

We pray they’ll gather wisdom and lift up high ideals,
To guide our struggling nation along a path that heals.
We pray they’ll have the vision to value each good law,
To put aside ambition, to seek the best for all.

O God of all the nations, may those who lead us see
that justice is your blessing, that truth will set us free.
Give all of us the courage to seek the nobler way,
So in this land we cherish, the good will win the day.

Tune: Traditional Welsh melody, from Daniel Evans’ Hymnau a Thonau (Hymns and Tunes), 1865 (“Lead On, O King Eternal”; “Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers”)

Text: Copyright © December 19, 2019 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved.
Permission is given for free use of this hymn.

It’s a Spring Party… Let’s Groove 🎶🌻🌷⚘🌺🍉🍔🍗🍿🍦🍻💃

Jacqueline is hosting a marvelous Spring Blog Party! Scoot over there, enjoy some lovely treats, and mingle with the other guests!

jacquelineobyikocha's avatara cooking pot and twisted tales

Online Blog Party

Thank you for coming to my Spring party. I love Spring. It’s a beautiful season with a lot of refreshing promises of budding life and blooms. A season of rebirth.

Do make yourself comfortable. Refreshments are nicely arranged down the page: Drinks, Chocolates, Cakes, Donuts, freshly squeezed juice, Coffee, Tea and so much more. :-)

The little party rules.

  • Be friendly. Mix and mingle with others. Don’t be a wallflower. Blog parties offer the opportunity to meet many other bloggers in one place. Use the opportunity effectively.
  •  Please leave your blog link or post link in the comment box below along with an introduction.
  • It’s one link per comment, but come back as often as you’d like, that way it’s easier for others to focus on a link one at a time.
  • Have fun, this is a great way to find bloggers and have them find you.
  • Please show some love. Reblog…

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One-Liner Wednesday: security

“Our security is not in weapons, not in walls, not in isolation. Our security is in community.”
~~~ Sister Simone Campbell of NETWORK
*****
Join us for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesday! Find out how here:  https://lindaghill.com/2017/02/08/one-liner-wednesday-to-pooh-a-villain/

#1linerWeds badge by nearlywes.com

Thanks, Linda!

This should probably be my Sunday post, but it’s never too early for gratitude…

A huge THANK YOU to Linda for creating, organizing, and shepherding Just Jot It January!

I’ve actually not missed a day (yet), which is unusual for me as I am not generally an every day poster. I do intend to post for the next two days, but tomorrow is Stream of Consciousness Saturday and, perhaps, by Sunday I will finish a post that I have been intending to work on for the last several weeks, but which still has only a few sentences completed.

I love that Linda is so creative in her ways of building and connecting the blogging community. I’ve found new blogs to follow through Just Jot It January and am grateful that other bloggers have visited Top of JC’s Mind because of it. I have gained some new views, likes, comments, and follows, which are always much appreciated.

For those of you who have been seeing this graphic

JJJ 2016

on my posts this month but haven’t joined in yet, the invitation still stands! Visit here first:  http://lindaghill.com/2016/01/29/just-jot-it-january-29th-ghost/.  To find the rules for Just Jot It January, click here.

Again, many thanks, a round of applause, and a standing ovation to Linda! (You can imagine a cute, celebratory gif here. I am lucky to get regular photos and badges to post correctly. Images that move are too scary for me!)

Giving Tuesday

Today is termed “Giving Tuesday” and is promoted to remind people to include charitable giving in their December plans.

I chose to support three charities today.

First, I contributed to the NETWORK Education Fund, which is the tax-deductible affiliate of NETWORK, the Catholic social justice lobby, of which I am also a long-time supporter. They help to educate people on issues such as immigration reform, voter registration, economic justice, etc.

Second, I supported Mary’s Pence, which funds projects which empower women, in the US and the rest of the Western Hemisphere. Some are co-operative economic endeavors, while others are geared toward health, education, or bringing about social change. They also fund study grants for women.

My final choice was the Tanzanian Children’s Fund, which operates a school and orphanage in Tanzania, as well as microfinance projects and medical services. Our cousin Sara has a long history of volunteering with them in Africa and we give to them every December in honor of her and the family.

Of course, we don’t confine our charitable giving to one day, but I am glad that there is a special day to remind people to give to others if they are able. There is no shortage of causes that are worthy of support.

The magnetic force of hope – Global Sisters Report

The magnetic force of hope – Global Sisters Report.

I had to re-blog this post from the Nuns on the Bus Tour on Sister Simone Campbell’s acceptance of the Pacem in Terris Award. She is such a powerful advocate for peace and the common good.