Discernment, Capacity Building and Parish Mobilization

1. Discernment, Capacity Building and Parish Mobilization June 17-18, 2018 Jesuit Parish Gathering for Justice Tim Severyn, LSW

2. A Cyclical Model Encouraging Action

3. Who We Are? Bellarmine Chapel is a Jesuit Parish on the Campus of Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio Demographics: 750 households; predominantly white and middle class; progressive for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati Working in Partnership with:

4. Actions Taken • Parish Immigration Team operating since September 2016 – 20 members – three sub-committees: Education, Relationship-Building, and Advocacy Education • Kickoff Event: Befriending the Stranger – Immigrant Stories – 200 in attendance • Lecture from Fr. Dan Groody, Notre Dame • 6 JustMatters: Crossing Borders/Exploring Migration 8-Week Prayer/Study Groups – 50 parts. • 2-Day Share the Journey Parish Retreat – 100 participants • 4-Day Immersion Trip to the Kino Border Initiative Relationship-Building • Hosting a Family of Four from El Salvador in partnership with KBI – engaging 50 volunteers • 4 Share the Journey Potluck Meals with Immigrants • Helping Start Casa de Paz/House of Peace and an Immigrant Catering Company Advocacy • Raised over $100,000 for an Immigrant Assistance Fund • Convening Ohio ISN Conference Calls on Immigration Issues • Collecting over 5,000 letters for the Dream Act Statewide • Participating in the Sanctuary Congregations Coalition and Immigrant Dignity Coalition Locally

5. Discernment Best Practices:What We Have Learned? • Keep Faith at the Center of the Effort, Not Politics • Start with Stories, Relationships and Encounter that Change the Narrative • Create a Concrete Ask to Build Efforts Around (I.e., Hosting a Family)

6. Capacity Building Best Practices:What We Have Learned? • Learn Community Organizing and Practice It With Your Team • Snowflake Model for Leadership Opportunities • Practice One-to-One Relationship Building • Go to the Upper Room with JustFaith and Similar Programs

7. Mobilization Best Practices:What We Have Learned? • Building a Base to Call upon Leads to Long-Term Commitments • Opportunities Need to Be Specific and Doable • Small Victories Build Power

8. Challenges on the Journey • Language – Identify Spanish-Language Speakers as Part of the Discernment Process • Volunteers Have Diffused Priorities and Limited Availability – Be Clear on Commitments and Calendars • Empowerment – Teach An Empowerment Orientation, Not a Charity Orientation – Difficult to Get Past a Helper Mentality • Build Don’t React – There is a Temptation in This Political Environment to be Reactive Rather than Building for the Long Haul – But We Are Working Towards the Reign of God

9. Hope for the Future “Every stranger who knocks at our door is an opportunity for an encounter with Jesus Christ, who identifies with the welcomed and rejected strangers of every age (Matthew 25:35-43).  The Lord entrusts to the Church’s motherly love every person forced to leave their homeland in search of a better future.” ~Pope Francis, January 14, 2018, Message for the 104th World Day of Migrants and Refugees  Our Efforts at Bellarmine Can Be Duplicated Across Jesuit Parishes We Can All Share the Journey!

10. Questions? Contact Tim Severynseverynte@xavier.edu 513-745-1908 More on Our Immigration Work Available Here:https://ignatiansolidarity.net/campaignforhospitality/2018/05/17/encounter-hospitality-bellarmine-chapel/