systemic change

The Sisters Sent a Message… Prayer: Part 3

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Two remarkable women have taught us the power of perseverance, presence, and prayer. Feeling the pain that detention and deportation inflict not only on those caught within the system, but also upon their families, friends, and communities, Sisters Pat Murphy, RSM, and JoAnn Persch, RSM, have combined a compassionate spirit with a passionate advocacy for immigrant rights as human rights. Through decades of involvement in healing ministries for those experiencing persecution, pastoral care for the detained, prayer vigils for the deported, and providing faithful education to politicians and government officials, they have modeled engaged, faithful living for generations of DePaul University students and other students and seminarians throughout the nation. We celebrate this link between generations strengthened by a common love for the dignity of each person through this three part documentary, “The Sisters Sent a Message…Perseverance, Presence and Prayer.” We invite you to join their call for compassion and care.

If you would like more information or if you would like to volunteer with the Interfaith Community for Detained Immigrants, see: www.icdichicago.org. We also give thanks to the staff and volunteers of the other organizations that helped us to produce this video: DePaul University Office of Mission and Values: https://offices.depaul.edu/mission-an… El Refugio, Lumpkin, Georgia: http://elrefugiostewart.org/; the National Immigrant Justice Center: www.immigrantjustice.org; and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights: http://www.icirr.org/. [ICIRR Is incorrectly identified in the credits under it’s old name Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Protection, we apologize for the error]

The Sisters Sent a Message…Part 2: Presence

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Two remarkable women have taught us the power of perseverance, presence, and prayer. Feeling the pain that detention and deportation inflict not only on those caught within the system, but also upon their families, friends, and communities, Sisters Pat Murphy, RSM, and JoAnn Persch, RSM, have combined a compassionate spirit with a passionate advocacy for immigrant rights as human rights. Through decades of involvement in healing ministries for those experiencing persecution, pastoral care for the detained, prayer vigils for the deported, and providing faithful education to politicians and government officials, they have modeled engaged, faithful living for generations of DePaul University students and other students and seminarians throughout the nation. We celebrate this link between generations strengthened by a common love for the dignity of each person through this three part documentary, “The Sisters Sent a Message…Perseverance, Presence and Prayer.” We invite you to join their call for compassion and care.

If you would like more information or if you would like to volunteer with the Interfaith Community for Detained Immigrants, see: www.icdichicago.org. We also give thanks to the staff and volunteers of the other organizations that helped us to produce this video: DePaul University Office of Mission and Values: https://offices.depaul.edu/mission-an… El Refugio, Lumpkin, Georgia: http://elrefugiostewart.org/; the National Immigrant Justice Center: www.immigrantjustice.org; and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights: http://www.icirr.org/.

The Sisters Sent a Message…Part 1: Perseverance

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Two remarkable women have taught us the power of perseverance, presence, and prayer. Feeling the pain that detention and deportation inflict not only on those caught within the system, but also upon their families, friends, and communities, Sisters Pat Murphy, RSM, and JoAnn Persch, RSM, have combined a compassionate spirit with a passionate advocacy for immigrant rights as human rights. Through decades of involvement in healing ministries for those experiencing persecution, pastoral care for the detained, prayer vigils for the deported, and providing faithful education to politicians and government officials, they have modeled engaged, faithful living for generations of DePaul University students and other students and seminarians throughout the nation. We celebrate this link between generations strengthened by a common love for the dignity of each person through this three part documentary, “The Sisters Sent a Message…Perseverance, Presence and Prayer.” We invite you to join their call for compassion and care.

If you would like more information or if you would like to volunteer with the Interfaith Community for Detained Immigrants, see: www.icdichicago.org. We also give thanks to the staff and volunteers of the other organizations that helped us to produce this video: DePaul University Office of Mission and Values: https://offices.depaul.edu/mission-an… El Refugio, Lumpkin, Georgia: http://elrefugiostewart.org/; the National Immigrant Justice Center: www.immigrantjustice.org; and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights: http://www.icirr.org/.

Vincentian Pragmatism: Toward a Method for Systemic Change

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Scott Kelley creates the term Vincentian Pragmatism and defines it as “Vincent [de Paul]’s way of proceeding . . . [it is] an integrated and holistic way of knowing that is capable of systemic change.” He writes, “Vincentian Pragmatism must also inform the way we engage, identify, explore, interpret, and decide in response to the complex systems that exacerbate poverty. It must unite action and contemplation.” Kelley identifies questions we must ask to pursue Vincentian epistemology and explains how Vincent developed it from his own experience. The process of overcoming our biases and forming a Vincentian worldview is also examined. Vincentian Pragmatism has five components of action: “begin attentively, explore openly, interpret imaginatively, decide responsibly, and act courageously.” These are discussed in detail. Together, they are a way of truly understanding the causes and nature of poverty and strategizing for effective solutions. Different aspects of strategy are described.

“Vincentian Pragmatism: Toward a Method for Systemic Change” is an article by Scott Kelley, Ph.D., published in 2012 in the Vincentian Heritage Journal, Volume 31, Issue 2, Article 2, pp. 41-63, and it is available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol31/iss2/2

Frédéric Ozanam: Systemic Thinking, and Systemic Change

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The terms “systemic thinking” and “systemic change” were not used in Frederic Ozanam’s day, but aspects of his perspective and some of his methods for combating poverty fall under those categories. Peter Senge’s framework for systemic thinking is applied to Ozanam’s work. This article also describes how Ozanam’s efforts correspond to strategies identified in the Vincentian publication Seeds of Hope: Stories of Systemic Change. In Ozanam’s view, poor persons should be treated with dignity, and he had a practical understanding of how poverty could be alleviated. The organizational model and processes of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul are explained. It was important to Ozanam to create a flexible worldwide network that could use experience to form sustainable solutions to poverty. There was reciprocity to the Society’s charity. Poor persons were empowered, and the Society’s members were transformed in their attitudes and grew in holiness through service and theological reflection. To bring about a fairer and more charitable world, both individuals and society had to be transformed.

“Frederic Ozanam: Systemic Thinking, and Systemic Change” is an article published in the Vincentian Heritage Journal, Volume 32, Issue 1, Article 4 (2014) and is available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol32/iss1/4

 

Our good will and honest efforts. Vincentian Perspectives on Poverty Reduction Efforts

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Vincent de Paul believed it was God’s will to serve poor persons as Christ would serve them. Edward Udovic translates the traditional five Vincentian virtues that are necessary to perform this service into modern terms. He discusses the discernment that must be done when considering actions to reduce poverty. Following Vincent’s example, poverty reduction efforts must provide triage services to alleviate the poor’s most urgent problems. Such efforts must be planned carefully so they can respond to continuous need. They should also be conducted with an understanding of the new forms and causes of poverty to bring about long-term, effective change. These efforts are not aimed at creating a utopia. They are instead “grace-assisted . . . reasonable attempts to live in the kingdom of God that exists here and now within the ultimate mystery of the ‘already but not yet.’”

“‘Our good will and honest efforts.’ Vincentian Perspectives on Poverty Reduction Efforts” is an article that appeared in the Vincentian Heritage Journal, Volume 28, Issue 2, Article 5 (2010) and is available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol28/iss2/5/

 

Care for our Common Home – A Vincentian Response to Laudato Si’

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In June 2015 Pope Francis released Laudato Si’, a papal response to the global environmental crisis that outlines a vision for our common home. DePaul University offers an urban education that prepares students to address the ecological challenges we face in the 21st century.

Unaffiliated Lay Vincentians: Trends & Opportunities For The Vincentian Family

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How do young adults fit within the larger Vincentian Family? In 2013, DePaul’s Office of Mission & Values (OMV) commissioned a survey of “unaffiliated lay Vincentians,” young adults, ages 18-35, who have had a formative experience in the Vincentian mission either as a student or post-graduate volunteer at a Vincentian institution. Dr. Scott Kelley, assistant vice president for Vincentian Scholarship for OMV, shares the survey’s results & what they mean for the larger Vincentian Family.