Action Steps

Provided by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati Catholic Social Action Office

You can also send an email prepared by Catholic Confront Global Poverty here!

1.   Support development efforts in other countries.

Parish twinning, Catholic Relief Services and other ministries organized by your local church are great opportunities to help poor and vulnerable populations in other countries find opportunities in their homeland, so they won’t need to migrate to secure their lives and dignities.  To learn more, contact:

·      Your own parish and find out what ministries it already has and how you can get involved;

·      Archdiocesan Mission Office about parish twinning: http://www.catholiccincinnati.org/ministries-offices/mission-office/parish-twinning/

·      Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. Catholic bishops’ overseas humanitarian and development organization: www.crs.org.

2.    Help migrants integrate into our parishes and communities.

The Church calls us to embrace migrants as our own countrymen and women. The Archdiocesan Hispanic Ministry Office can help: lgasparini@catholiccincinnati.org

3.    Urge Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

Call your elected representatives and encourage them to fix out broken immigration system.  Ask them for a reform that:

•  Provides a path to citizenship for undocumented persons in the country;

•  Preserves family unity as a corner-stone of our immigration system;

•  Provides legal paths for low-skilled immigrant workers to come and work in the United States;

•  Restores due process protections to our immigration enforcement policies and does not detain immigrant families, especially those with children, in substandard detention facilities;

•  Addresses the root causes (push factors) of migration, such as persecution and economic disparity.

Contacts

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown: 
(202) 224-2315

U.S. Senator Rob Portman: 
(202) 224-3353

U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot: 
(202) 225-2216

U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson: 
(202) 225-6205

U.S. Rep. Brad Wenstrup: 
(202) 225-3164

4.    Urge Administration to keep families out of long-term detention facilities.

After cancelling its child separation practices, the Administration’s “zero tolerance policy” is now resulting in costly, long-term detentions for entire families.  To do this, the Administration is proposing new rules that would make it possible to detain children longer than the current 20-day limit (established by the “Flores Settlement).  Encourage the Administration to not pursue this by submitting your comments to the proposed rule by Nov. 6.  https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/09/07/2018-19052/apprehension-processing-care-and-custody-of-alien-minors-and-unaccompanied-alien-children

5.    Urge Administration to set refugee levels at 75,000/year.

By September 30, the Administration will seek Congressional input concerning its maximum number of refugee admittances, a process called the Presidential Determination.  The Administration will seek input from the Senate Judiciary Committee.  Please contact your Senators, and urge them to raise our annual limit for refugees back up to 75,000.

6.    Catholic Charities of Southwestern Ohio – Immigrant-related services
Catholic Charities of Southwestern Ohio (CCSWO) provides social, emotional, and legal support to immigrants and refugees from all over the world. Consider supporting CCSWO efforts by volunteering with the Immigration Legal Services Department, Refugee Resettlement, and/or Su Casa Hispanic Center. More information on the website:  www.ccswoh.org/volunteer. If volunteering time is not an option, we also welcome spiritual and financial support!

7.    Support Maribel Trujillo and other separated families – Immigrant Accompaniment Campaign

Locally, the Archdiocese and Catholic Charities have supported many immigrants and the families from whom they’ve been separated.   Consider writing to a detained migrant to let them know that he or she is in your prayers.  Occasionally, when a local deportation case has risen to the level of a clear injustice, we have organized protests and requests to cancel deportation.  Stay tuned for such actions, especially in the upcoming retrial of Maribel Trujillo from St. Julie Billiart Parish.

Since the food pantry opened for service not quite three years ago, renovation has continued to include six office/meeting rooms and a spacious open area that can be used for large meetings or a classroom.  St. Leo will certainly benefit from this additional space since we are growing and becoming more active. 

Our hope is to work with other agencies to provide social services such as job opportunities and aid to immigrants and refugees.  

There are a few things still needed in order to make the offices and meeting spaces ready to use:

o   2 Correll Seminar 96'' Rectangular Training Tables, Item: 1560623Model: SP1896PX-15 $272.69 Ea. Only Available Online at Staples:https://m.staples.com/-/product_1560623

o   12 8ftx30in folding tables for St. Leo’s community service building  

o   20 lightweight, stacking chairs for St. Leo's community service building  from HERE

Please give us a call at 513-921-1044 if you can help with any of these items. Thank you so much!

Plan Ahead For Any Emergency :  Give 9-1-1 the information they need to help you fast.  

Go to:  https://www.smart911.com/ 

Once you've signed up for Smart911, first responders will be aware of important information you have provided that will help Police, Fire, and EMS locate and help you in an emergency.

Happy Easter!

from all of us at St. Leo's.

4 or 5 or 6 volunteers are needed ASAP to fold, tab and label our monthly newsletter. 

Usually needed the third week of the month for 3-4 hours if 3 or 4 people help out. The more hands, the faster the job gets done! Call Casey at 513-921-1044 ext. 30

Romans 12:9-13 teaches us to show hospitality. Hospitality is measured by the degree of kindness we show others, including strangers. 

Volunteers are needed to help us show kindness to persons in need at the St. Leo Food Pantry: 

Coordinator for Fridays, noon-4/4:30, to act as point person for other volunteers.  

Assistant Administrator about 9-12 hours a week, to tend to ordering, organizing the inventory, and conveying to coordinators/volunteers what’s up. If you feel called to either of these volunteer settings, or to participate in any of our other volunteer opportunities, please call at 513-921-1044!

St. Leo's was featured in a story about our North Fairmount neighborhood on WCPO.  Check it out at: http://www.wcpo.com/longform/our-forgotten-neighborhoods-north-fairmount

URGENT!

VOLUNTEER ASSOCIATE FOOD PANTRY DIRECTOR NEEDED

Responsible for evaluating inventory and managing weekly orders with the Freestore Foodbank and other food resources. Updates and works with volunteers regarding availability of items and various food pantry matters. Approx. 15 hours/week. Please call Stephanie at 513-921-1044 X 20.

Many, many thanks to all of you who supported our Stained Glass Window Appeal.  We simply can’t thank you enough! 

We are thrilled to announce that as of September 1st, we have reached our goal of $25,000 to restore our stained glass windows that were in most need of repair. 

Due to your overwhelming generosity, we have received enough funds to make additional fixes to all of the windows in order to prevent further decline and to keep them all in good condition for years to come. 

All of us at St. Leo’s are 
truly, deeply grateful!

VOLUNTEER PANTRY INVENTORY CONTROL ASSOCIATE NEEDED

Responsible for the purchased and donated acquisition of food, evaluate weekly inventory, and manage weekly orders with the Freestore Foodbank and other food resources, for pantry needs, parish needs, and neighborhood functions as needed. Approx. 20-25 hours a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Please call Stephanie at 513-921-1044 ext. 20.

FOOD PANTRY SHOPPING ESCORTS NEEDED

Volunteers Needed

Since our maintenance man, Rick, is still limited with his back injury, a morning or afternoon here and there is being planned to do "project" work.

We’d like to finish sanding and painting the three arches at the front doors of church along with one inside trim before the cooler weather sets in.

Two to three people with some experience in sanding and painting the intricate doorframe and one person for the side that needs to be scraped down to the wood and polyurethanes would be a huge help.

If you might be interested in helping, please call the parish office at 513-921-1044. Thank you!

English as a Second Language Volunteers Needed.

Classes are held on Saturdays, from 10:00 until Noon, in the rectory at St. Leos.

We currently teach English to Spanish and Burundi speaking students, but welcome all interested in learning English. We can always use English speakers to help students practice.

St. Leo's welcomed members of the Archdiocesan Offices who joined us on Sunday, June 5, 2016,  to present St. Leo's parishioner, Dr. Jonathan Trauth, with The Spirit of Sr. Dorothy Stang Award. 

Sr. Dorothy Stang was a Sister of Notre dame de Namur and native of Dayton, Ohio. She was murdered in Anapu, in the State of Para, in the Amazon Basin of Brazil in February 2005. She was very outspoken in her efforts on behalf of the poor and the environment and an advocate for the rights of poor farmers to farm land in a sustainable way in the Amazon region of Brazil. Her dream was to have some of the land designated as a federal reserve where the poor farmers would always be safe; where they could till the soil and establish their own income-producing businesses through sound development; and where the farmers and their families could always live in peace and with dignity. However, some wanted her work stopped and she received threats upon her life. Such resistance eventually led to her assassination. 

The Spirit of Sister Dorothy Stang Award is granted by the Sisters of Notre dame de Namur and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati Offices of Mission, Catholic Social Action, Youth and Young Adult Ministry, and Evangelization and Catechesis. The Award is granted to someone who has demonstrated Christ-like solidarity with the poor, shows care for the Earth, and applies Catholic Social Teaching in cross cultural service. With these criteria, Jon Trauth helps keep the Spirit of Sr. Dorothy Stang alive in Cincinnati and right here in North Fairmount at St. Leo. Congratulations, Jon! Many thanks to the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and the Archdiocesan Offices for making this award possible and for encouraging all of us to care for the needs and rights of others and to give witness with Christ-like example to our faith.

Click here for more information about the Sr. Dorothy Stang Award.

• Civilize It: Dignity beyond the Debate. www.civilizeit.us 
  What does mercy look like during Election Season? “Civilize It” is a campaign to promote civility, clarity and compassion in electoral politics and among ourselves. 
• Take the pledge at www.civilizeit.us!

Click here to take a quick tour of St. Leo's new "choice" food pantry.

St. Leo's is one of several churches throughout the Archdiocese that have been named as pilgrim sites for the Holy Year of Mercy.

This means that we are open to visitors throughout the year who may want to make a pilgrimage to our church for prayer and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. 

During the Holy Year there will be opportunities for Exposition and Sacrament of the Sick, TBA; Pilgrims are encouraged to add petitions to our Book of Prayers for the Faithful, add names to our Book of the Faithful Departed, and place petitions in our prayer wall (in our parking lot).  Pilgrims may also bring canned goods for our food pantry.

Click here for more information.

St. Leo's was mentioned Monday, November 9th, in a story by Rich Jaffe on Channel 12 News about the non-profit, Childhood Food Solutions.

Click here to see the story.

photo by Kevin Eigelbach

St. Leo's was recently featured in a story by Kevin Eigelbach of the Channel 9 Insider.  Read the entire story at:  http://www.wcpo.com/news/insider/immigrants-are-revitalizing-st-leos-in-north-fairmount

“DROP AND ROLL”

The great quote for fires, falling from tall buildings, and sky-diving landings.

For St. Leo, a reminder to please DROP what you’re doing and re-enROLL if you haven’t yet done so. We have been able to supplement projects and outreach programs with the donations from Kroger from the percentage of your purchases! Thank you!  Your involvement is very much appreciated!

Re-Enroll or Become a member online at www.krogercommunityrewards.com with your Kroger Plus card. Select St. Leo from the list or enter our ID#28680 and click confirm.  You still benefit from the coupons and special deals provided through the Kroger Plus card.

St. Leo the Great Catholic Church in North Fairmount has become a haven for a diverse population of refugees, immigrants and native Cincinnatians. Read more about the church and its Burundian refugee parishioners at CityBeat.com

St. Leo the Great Catholic Church in North Fairmount has become a haven for a diverse population of refugees, immigrants and native Cincinnatians. Read more about the church and its Burundian refugee parishioners at CityBeat.com

St. Leo's presence in the North Fairmount neighborhood of Cincinnati was featured on the front page of the City Beat newspaper.  Click here to read the article:  Seeking Refuge

Michelangelo sculpted the Pietà in 1498–1499,    taking less than two years to complete. His depiction of the body of Jesus on the lap of his mother Mary after the Crucifixion on the rock of Golgatha is one of the most famous pieces of sculpture known by so many across the world.

Showing the "religious vision of abandonment and a serene face of the Son", Michelangelo did not want his version of the Pietà to represent death, but rather a representation of the communion between man and God through Christ’s gift of life.

For the 1964 New York World’s Fair, the Vatican loaned the Pietà for installation in the Vatican pavilion. A conveyor belt moved people, who stood in line for hours, past the sculpture. It is housed in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City and is the only piece Michelangelo ever signed.

Several decades ago, St. Leo was gifted with a beautiful representation of the Pietà in memory of the Schuchart Family. Over the years, the wear and tear, fragments of the more fragile areas of the statue cracked or missing, and chipping paint called a friend of the parish to totally refurbish our Pietà. To repaint it with its former colors would have shown the flaws; it was decided to paint it all one color, especially in keeping with the make-up of our parish—all one people. After months and months of prayerful restoration, our Pietà finally came home, quite appropriately, the day before Ash Wednesday.

As we celebrate Holy Week and Easter, we are grateful for Michelangelo’s reminder of the ultimate gift in our midst. The St. Leo Pietà has been given a new life; let us all celebrate a season of renewal in our own lives as Lent ends and as we rejoice in the hope and joy of Easter’s Alleluias!

- Stephanie Sepate

Help support our many spiritual and corporal acts of mercy by shopping at Kroger's. 

All you have to do is shop at Kroger and swipe your Plus Card. 

You will still receive your mileage points and other customer rewards, while you support St. Leo's!

Register online at:  

Everybody Loves a Picnic

All of us at St. Leo’s are truly, deeply grateful to our Covenant Parish, Our Lady of the Visitation, for inviting us to join them at their annual parish picnic.  Not only did they include St. Leo’s in the food, fun and fellowship, they sent a bus to transport St. Leo’s parishioners so that they would be able to attend. 

St. Leo’s filled the bus as well as both of our passenger vans and a couple of more carloads to boot!  Everyone who attended felt so very welcome.  We were delighted to be a part of God’s Universal Church with our partner parish at this end-of-summer social event.

Kids will be kids!  And all of the kids, the big kids, the little kids, and the kids-at-heart, had a really great time!  The younger ones especially enjoyed riding the rides.  What could be more exhilarating than the thrill of the ride, the wind in your hair, and not a care in the world other than to decide which ride to try next? 

Of course, it just wouldn’t be a picnic without the traditional picnic fare including burgers, brats, metts, and hot dogs.  Even though St. Leo’s is a very diverse, multicultural community, we do appreciate good old-fashioned American picnic cuisine!  We are especially thankful for the bountiful supply of left-overs given to our St. Leo Food Pantry.  Your gift provides the immeasurable gift of dignity for our guests.  Truly a gift of indescribable value! 

Your warm welcome and widespread friendliness made us “feel at home, part of the family, well in.”  We are inspired by your kind embrace and committed to expanding our faithfilled partnership with you, our family at Our Lady of Visitation, in building the Kingdom of God together.

Wording based on lyrics from “Consider Yourself” by Lionel Bart

-Casey Betz

Thank you again and again to the many donors and volunteers who made our St. Leo Children's Event a huge success!  We could not have done it without your bountiful generosity!

SIGN UP TODAY!

Help support St. Leo's many spiritual and corporal acts of mercy by shopping at Kroger's. All you have to do is shop at Kroger and swipe your Plus Card. You will still receive your mileage points and other customer rewards, while you support St. Leo's!

Many, many thanks to the Social Justice Committee at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish for organizing their School House collection to benefit the children at St. Leo's parish.  St. Leo's is truly, deeply grateful for the bountiful collection of school supplies.  Each and every one of our students received an abundant supply of school items to begin the school year.  

Many, many thanks for the energetic, enthusiastic, high quality service work done by the Alive In You volunteers visiting us this week (July 23-25). We are especially pleased to be able to include our parish youth along with the Alive In You campers in the fun, games and service work.

St. Leo the Great Parish is most grateful to UnitedHealthcare Community Plan for donating 5 laptop computers to provide access to computers and the internet for community members.

These computers will allow us to include computer/internet access for our English as a Second Language Classes, and for our Tuesday Night Tutoring Classes, as well as for our neighbors in our North Fairmount and surrounding communities. 

In addition, some of our students are spending time during summer break learning not only how to use the computers, but also, about how computers actually work.

St. Leo the Great Parish is Happy to Announce that as of Tuesday, April 1, 2014,  the St. Leo Food Pantry has expanded our service area to include the Millvalle Neighborhood.

Requirements for Service: Guests may visit once every 30 days.
The following documents MUST be presented at EACH visit to determine eligibility using Federal guidelines:
1. Current proof of residence dated within 30 days (gas & electric or telephone bill)
2. Photo ID
3. Social Security Cards for all members of household.

Click here for more information about St. Leo's Food Pantry

Ohio Department of Job & Family Services (ODJFS) appoints Global Music & Wellness (GMW) administrator and fiscal agent of the older refugee program in Hamilton County

Effective October 2013, Global Music & Wellness (GMW) was designated to serve older refugees aged 60 and over living in Hamilton County. Through a strong community partnership we are able to provide: meals, wellness programming, arts, culture and music programs, English as a Second Language Classes (ESL), seminars on healthy eating, educational sessions on legal matters, care management, supportive services, and transportation.
 
The goals of the program are:

To develop a comprehensive set of services to support a program for older refugees
Assist older refugees in obtaining citizenship and naturalization services
Help older refugees access community resources and enrich their lives with health & wellness activities

The following organizations work closely with GMW to improve the lives of older Bhutanese and Burundi refugees:

Great Oaks Career Campuses                        Cincinnati Recreation Commission
TriHealth                                                       Cincinnati Art Museum
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra                      Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra
Cincinnati Area Senior Services                      Sycamore Senior Center/Maple Knoll
Pro Seniors                                                   Asian Community Alliance
St. Leo Church                                              UC College-Conservatory of Music –Prep Dept.

Many, many thanks to St. James the Greater Parish, White Oak for the beautiful crucifix, baptistry and ambo.  St. Leo's is truly, deeply grateful.

Congratulates to Ernestine, member of St. Leo the Great Parish, whose beautiful photo is shown in one of Cincinnati State's downtown billboards. 

S'no School?

On days with inclement weather, check out the following stations for St. Leo event cancellations:

WCPO - Channel 9
WKRC - Channel 12
WXIX   - Channel 19

-Stephanie Sepate

Click here for more information about our prayer wall, or to submit a prayer request.

Our entire St. Leo the Great parish congregation attended Mass at Holy Family Church in Price Hill to pray for immigration reform in solidarity with churches throughout the nation:  http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20130908/NEWS/309080085/Local-Catholics-pray-immigration-law-changes

The immigration reform mass was also mentioned in the  September 9th issue of the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/09/us/politics/immigration-reform-falls-to-the-back-of-the-line.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=1&

You can tell by our children's smiling faces that Ice Cream Sundae Sunday, sponsored by St. Leo's Children's Liturgy of the Word teachers, was a big success!

Two of our young parishioners, Alexandre Marembo and Gilbert Nzoyisaba, visited Washington DC in late spring as part of one of six Red Cross groups from around the US honored for their work on a video titled "Innocence to Evil." Alexandre was the editor and Gilbert did the camera work on this 14 minute film portraying the use of child soldiers in war-torn countries. If you would like to view their film, go to YouTube and in “innocencetoevil” (no spaces) with “gilbert nzoyisaba” as the person posting the YouTube. While the content can be disturbing, it will also enlighten viewers on the reality of a child’s life in war-torn countries.

Several of our Withrow students received monetary awards from the Cincinnati Scholarship Foundation for excellence in academics: Alexandre and Charlotte (Anastasia and Renovat's children); Alex (Minani and Rebeka's son); Gerald (Venancia's son); and Janvier (Simeon and Melanie's grandson). Alex (Minani and Rebeka) has been accepted into DePaul Cristo Rey High School.

St. Boniface presented “Annie” in which several of our students participated at the close of the school year. We were lucky to have someone provide a photo of Pascascia (daughter of Maria and Joseph) who was part of the chorus. She will be starting 7th grade in the fall.

This summer Bob Englert channeled the creative talents of some of our youth through a Computer/Video workshop over the course of several weeks. Gerald, Gilbert, Alexandre, Evelyn, Alex, Charlotte, and Pasquel learned the tricks of video editing, how to conduct and film an interview, and how to provide on-screen translations. The goal of the workshop was to learn the ins and outs of creating a finished documentary.

If you asked any of our children how their summer was going, you’d probably hear “it’s boring—there’s nothing to do.” A reading award program was designed so that one-day pool passes were provided for reading books and providing “reports” which the children thoroughly enjoyed! No more being bored!

The Cincinnati Red Cross is one of eight chapters that participated in the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Action Campaign Pilot Program. Students near participating chapters could create IHL teams to teach their peers about humanitarian law. Two Cincinnati teams won the competition for projects they created and traveled to Washington May 31-June 2 to collect their awards and participate in the first National IHL Youth Symposium. The Cincinnati chapter will participate in the competition again next year.

[Read More...]

From Our Friends in New Zealand:

Hello Stephanie,

Thank you so much for the copies of your newsletter with the articles on the jerseys and hats we sent over from New Zealand.  It was really lovely to hear from you and to see your newsletters. 

Winter is starting to settle over here – and while nowhere near as cold as you get – we are starting to feel the effects of cold winds and rain! 

Caprice is going to share the newsletters and the story of your Parish with her class and school – It is amazing how far and wide the love of God can stretch and continue to spread! 

Many joys and lots of blessings to you all.

Kind Regards, Janice Basile 

There’s more than meets the eye on the scene of a fire.  Obviously, the overwhelming flames, smoke, and evacuation of the family involved is more than anyone should ever bear.  The presence of a chaplain somehow brings a grace to the cacophony of the painful moments evolving before everyone’s eyes.

Several years ago, a friend of mine underwent the horrific experience of a fire at her home. Faces of firefighters who walked up and provided guidance, kind words, and reaffirming hope with a gentleness in total contrast to the scene of the blazing house brought some consolation. Neighbors and friends provided support, extra blankets, a porch upon which to sit while watching the view unfold as opposed to standing in the middle of the street.  These were all touchstones of compassion and sup-port much valued during such a tragedy.

Recently, Father Jim joined the ranks of the Fire Department Chaplains.  He is one of three chaplains working with the Cincinnati Fire Department.  He will be one of those “faces” present at the scene, ready to be a presence to those both watching on, as well as to those fighting the fire.

“I’m happy to be asked because I think it’s a good part of what urban ministry is about.  Also this work is supported by our mission statement that calls us to reach out to our neighborhoods with the love of Christ. Firefighters are certainly our neighbors.  Being a chaplain for the Fire Department fits in well with the spiritual and corporal works of mercy which is a big part of what we believe God wants us to be doing at St. Leo’s.

Right now my main responsibility is to provide the Sacrament of the Sick for any Catholic Firefighter that may request it.  But I can do more if my time allows such as providing spiritual support and presence at any three alarm fire or responding to any major tragedy and helping the Firefighters process their grief and deal with the losses that they have encountered.  The Cincinnati Fire Department has welcomed me with open arms and I am blessed that they consider all of their chaplains to be an integral part of their Department. Besides, I get to wear cool gear and a badge and impress my nieces and nephews.  However, our pastoral staff at St. Leo’s now refers to me as the ‘Barnie Fife’ of the Fire Department!”

May our own dear ‘Barney Fife’ provide the hope, comfort and solace with the compassion and grace a chaplain of the Fire Department is called upon to bestow.