Human Concerns
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News/Programs/Initiatives
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JustFaith Faith & Poverty: A Biblical Response
Summer 2025 beginning June 1(8 meetings, plus mini day retreat and service project)
In person TBD or virtuallyLooking for a way to grow in your faith? Want to ”walk the journey together with others? Lumen Christi is offering a special way to do this, by joining a JustFaith small group.“JustFaith Ministries was birthed in the effort to invite and prepare people of faith for the life-changing and world-changing call of the Gospel to help heal the world and, in so doing, experience a deeper faith, a more fulfilling life, and a community of care and vitality.” (Source: JustFaith) Visit website justfaith.org to learn more about JustFaith. Since 1989, they have been offering ways for people to grow in faith and community so that we may live out Jesus’ call to serve others.
We will take the entire summer to do this 8 week course to allow for already scheduled summer plans. Small groups will find the times and dates that will work for them. Besides meeting 8 times to discuss the readings there is a mini day retreat and a service day which will be coordinated to meet the needs of the group. No experience necessary, only a desire to grow. There will be some reading involved as there are 3 books that will be referenced throughout the program, but longest is 240 pages. JustFaith and Lumen Christi realize life can be busy and have broken things down to a manageable level.
So - what will we discuss?
How do I respond to poverty and injustice? What tools does my faith have to offer? Faith and Poverty: A Biblical Response explores God’s call to respond to poverty in our local communities, equipping participants to take action in effective and sustainable ways.
How do I participate?
Sign up by May 29, 2025 via the button below. The cost is just that of the materials. The rest is through the generous stewardship of our parishioners. Need assistance covering the price of the books, please contact Catherine Zirngibl.
Questions?
Contact Nikki D'Cruz at [email protected] or Catherine Zirngibl at [email protected].
Sign up for JustFaith!
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Pastoral Letters on Immigration
Just this week, Pope Francis wrote to the US bishops, "Jesus Christ is the true Emmanuel (cf. Mt 1:23); he did not live apart from the difficult experience of being expelled from his own land because of an imminent risk to his life, and from the experience of having to take refuge in a society and a culture foreign to his own. The Son of God, in becoming man, also chose to live the drama of immigration."
Click below to read the letters/press release:- Pope Franics's letter to the US bishops
- WI Catholic Conference pastoral letter on migration chaired by Archbishop Grob
- WCC press release announcing pastoral letter on migration
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The Wisconsin Catholic Bishops’ Pastoral Letter on End-of-Life Decisions
End of Life Planning: Now and at the Hour of Our Death
A Pastoral Letter from the Roman Catholic Bishops of Wisconsin on End of Life DecisionsThey have published the 4th edition of the pastoral letter, Now and at the Hour of Our Death, to share the Church’s moral guidance and helpful resources to help prepare for the end of life and relieve some of the pain, sadness, and anxiety that dying entails. The letter includes Church teaching on a wide variety of issues at the end of life, including:
- Assisted Suicide & Euthanasia
- Ordinary & Extraordinary Measures
- Measures Withheld or Withdrawn
- Nutrition & Hydration
- Palliative Care & Hospice
- Pain Management
- Redemptive Suffering
- Organ Donation
- Spiritual & Sacramental Needs
- Funeral Planning
- Advance Care Planning
- Power of Attorney for Health Care
- Living Wills & POLST
- Burial & Cremation
- Alkaline Hydrolysis
- Human Composting
To assist in end of life planning, they also offer free legal forms, including the Catholic Authorization for Final Disposition and Addenda to the Power of Attorney for Health Care. Visit wisconsincatholic.org/endoflife for links to the pastoral letter, resources, legal forms, and diocesan contacts.
Read the full pastoral letter
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Care for Creation Video Series
The Lumen Christi Care for Creation Committee is excited to share the following six-part video series recently created by the Catholic Climate Covenant, a national organization seeking to unfold creation care as an integral aspect of Church practices and ministries. The series titled, "God's Creation Needs You", features six Catholic communities across the nation caring for our common home through climate action, advocacy, farming, community organizing, service to others, solar energy, education, prayer and a focus on environmental justice.
- Video #1: Catholic Youth In Action
- Video #2: A Hampton, VA Parish Is Changing The World!
- Video #3: Education, Action, And Faith With Creation Care Teams (Houston, TX)
- Video #4: Caring For Creation: Healing The Soil And Feeding Souls
- Video #5: Inspired By Faith To Protect Their Community
- Video #6: Faith-Driven Environmental Justice
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About Us
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The Human Concerns Commission discerns and responds to the needs of the people within the parish, out in the community, and throughout the world. It identifies resources to meet their needs and enlist the active cooperation of parishioners. The members collaborate with the pastor, staff, and other organizations in the following ways: direct service, advocacy, social justice, social bridging, and empowerment of people. Meetings are monthly and discuss a number of topics including the following:
- Respect Life, which supports the following pregnancy resource centers:
- Life's Connection: 494 W. Main St., Waukesha
- Women's Care Center: 1441 N. Farwell Ave., Milwaukee 53202
- Women's Support Center: 2051 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee 53233 // 414-934-8888
- Global Twinning
- Missionary Fraternity of Mary (Guatelmala)
- Working Boys' Center (Ecuador)
- Social Justice
- Advocacy
- Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship - is the US bishops' teaching document on political responsibility of Catholics.
- Civilize It: Dignity Beyond the Debate - is a year-long civility initiative from the US bishops' so that Catholics can bring our faith to the public square.
- Racial Justice - please see the response from Wisconsin Catholic Conference in the document section below.
- USCCB Justice for Immigrants (JFI) website & Jesuit Refugee Services/USA (JRS) site will be on the site soon. These sites are Catholic sources for current immigration information. JFI and JRS are analyzing & monitoring immigration law reform bills and sending action alerts to encourage people to contact their representatives to share their faith based support or not for these proposed changes in immigration law.
- Advocacy
- Welcoming and Inclusion
- Especially for those affected by clergy sexual abuse.
This past year, the Human Concerns Commission has committed to being a place of welcoming for those affected by the twin crisis of clergy sexual abuse and the failure of church leadership to properly address it. By hosting listening sessions with Fr. Dan, attending 2019's Lenten Soup and Substance presentation by Supreme Court Justice Janine Geske, and by surveying our parishioners on this topic, we are committed to being a part of the solution to ensure that clergy sexual abuse does not continue to happen.- Parish Questionnaire - To better understand the impact of the twin crisis, a questionnaire was conducted to better understand how the crisis affected a person's life as a Catholic and their thoughts on the reasons for the clergy abuse and coverup in the Church. (see document list)
- Racial Justice - The Wisconsin Catholic Conference recently issued a statement regarding recent unjust killings and subsequest protests. We encourage all parishioners to read the Wisconsin bishops's statement.
- Gerard Randall was a recent presenter to the commission sharing his personal experience of being African American in Milwaukee. Video of the discussion can be found on this page.
- Especially for those affected by clergy sexual abuse.
- Respect Life, which supports the following pregnancy resource centers:
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Contact Us
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Catherine Zirngiblzirngiblclumenchristiparish.orgPastoral Associate
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