Social Action Commission


The St. Francis Social Action Commission inspires and mobilizes our Parish family to promote justice and human dignity in our local and global communities through education, advocacy and service.

Catholic Social Teaching

To help keep us grounded in serving others during this time of pandemic and social unrest, and to prepare us for the election in November, the Social Action Commission has assembled some reflection points on the seven themes of Catholic Social Teaching.

These teachings come from a rich treasure of wisdom about building a just society and living lives of holiness amidst the challenges of the modern world – something that is certainly timely! The teachings are great for personal reflection and for family discussion.

More information about the seven themes of Catholic social teaching can be found on the website for United States Conference of Catholic Bishops at the following link:

USCCB.ORG  >  ISSUES & ACTION >  TOPICS  > Catholic Social Teachings   >  Resources on Catholic Social Teaching > Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teachings


2020 Social Action at St. Francis

Even though 2020 has looked different than we anticipated, the Social Action Commission is excited to share some of the many ways our parishioners have been working to serve others in the past several months:

  • Six parishioners attended the Global Solidarity Conference in February
  • Parishioners purchased more than 25 supporting memberships for the Gem City Market
  • Parishioners donated to provide 20 crockpots to Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley for their cooking classes
  • About 30 parishioners attended “Called to Action” at the beginning of March to talk about social action activities at the parish, what works well and what we can improve
  • The parish has participated in 3 rounds of donations for Food for the People, an ecumenical effort to feed at-risk seniors during the pandemic
  • More than 60 six-pound cans of fruits and vegetables have been donated to St. Vincent de Paul Hotel since March
  • Nearly a dozen seamstresses from the parish have made more than 300 masks for the parish, parishioners and CSSMV. At a cost of about $15/mask, this is a huge donation of time and materials!
  • Created reflections on Catholic Social Teaching principles and distributed in the bulletin. These are still available online: https://sfacc.org/social-action-commission/
  • Distributed faithful consciences voting materials via FlockNote ahead of the November election
  • Participated in race education dialogue sessions
  • Supported creation of a Dayton area Catholic Relief Services chapter
  • Supported distribution of “Hate Has No Home Here” yard signs with the Dayton Weavers of Justice

In addition, the Commission has coordinated monthly food drives with Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley. Parishioners have donated more than 2,500 pounds of food and hygiene items through our food drives on the third Sunday of the month. These efforts will continue in 2021!

THANK YOU to everyone who has supported and contributed to this work!


SOCIAL ACTION COMMISSION ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITES

Mission Statement: The St. Francis Social Action Commission inspires and mobilizes our Parish family to
promote justice and human dignity in our local and global communities through education, advocacy and service.

All Commission Members:

  • Attend a monthly Commission meeting (either virtual or in-person); the meeting is approx. an hour long with the agenda provided at least a few days before
  • Be willing to explore issues and challenges of social justice, even if it feels a little uncomfortable or requires learning
  • Have grace-filled, respectful conversations with others, especially those who may have differing viewpoints
  • Remain grounded in our Catholic faith and Catholic Social Teaching to guide our work
  • Share ideas of ways to engage our parish family on a variety of issues related to justice and human dignity
  • Attend/support Commission activities (food drives, meetings, webinars, etc.) whenever possible and encourage your communities to do the same

Additional Commission Roles:

  • Secretary

o Take notes and distribute minutes for review
o Maintain Commission Dropbox/cloud storage account
o Reserve meeting room/shelter house for Commission meetings
o Work with the Chair to draft materials for the bulletin (and potentially, newsletter)
o Weavers of Hope correspondence (potential)

  • Chair

o Collaborate with staff to set meeting agendas
o Lead Commission meetings
o Ensure communication with PAC
o Coordinate activities with Education, Service, and Advocacy Leads
o Communicate at least quarterly with parish ministry leads to gauge needs for support
o Lead development of an annual plan of Commission activities
o Attend monthly Weavers of Justice meetings
o Work with the Secretary to draft materials for the bulletin (and potentially, newsletter)

  • Education Lead

o Serve as the champion organizer for social action-related education in the parish
o Lead four education efforts (speakers, bulletin articles, etc.) per year, with the support of other Commission members, including co-leading with the Chair the discernment of issues to be addressed

      • This may include recruiting volunteers, drafting bulletin and pulpit
        announcements, etc.

o Support development of an annual plan of Commission activities, especially those related to education

  • Service Lead

o Serve as the champion organizer for social action-related service in the parish
o Lead four service efforts (food drives, CSSMV partnerships, etc.) per year, with the support of other Commission members
o Support development of an annual plan of Commission activities, especially those related to service

  • Advocacy Lead

o Serve as the champion organizer for social action-related advocacy in the parish
o Researches with diocesan help for Catholic responses to local, national and international issues
o Lead four advocacy efforts (letter writing campaigns, etc.) per year, with the support of other Commission members

    • This may include recruiting volunteers to staff tables in the gathering space,
      draft bulletin and pulpit announcements, arrange for letters to be printed, etc.

o Support development of an annual plan of Commission activities, especially those
related to advocacy

  • Liaison to Outreach Grant Committee

o Meet with Grant committee (usually during Lent) to discern distribution of funds
o Report to Commission

  • Global Mission Advocate (Mission Sunday, CRS, CCHD, twinning, etc.)

o Serve as contact for diocesan Mission office re Mission Sunday activities
o Help promote Catholic Relief Services Appeal (rice bowls during Lent and appeal after Lent)
o Help promote Campaign for Human Development (November)
o Explores possibility of twinning of some kind for parish/mission trip

Contact the Commission

Interested in learning more about Social Action Commission, or think you might be interested in joining the Commission? Contact: Skip Fromm