On Thursday, March 11th, members of the Justice & Peace Committee gathered for a virtual Legislative Advocacy Workshop with Regan Vaughan, the Director of Advocacy at Catholic Charities.
Why is legislative advocacy important for Catholics? St. Ignatius of Loyola said, “Act as if everything depended on you, trust as if everything depended on God”. As Catholics who follow the Ignatian Tradition, it is important to us to have a faith that does justice, and lobbying for changes in legislative advocacy allows us to do just that.
When preparing for a meeting with your local and state representatives, Regan reiterated the importance of doing your research both on the legislator you’re meeting with, and the issue you’re preparing to speak on. This workshop came at a perfect time, as we kick off Ignatian Family Advocacy Month with the Ignatian Solidarity Network. ISN has designated Immigration Justice & Environmental Justice as their areas of focus for 2021. During the rest of March, members of the Environmental Justice Subcommittee and the Immigration Justice Subcommittee will meet with representatives of Congressman Sarbanes, Congressman Ruppersberger, Senator Van Hollen, and Senator Cardins’ offices. Please join us in praying for an increase in justice within our government, communities, and our world.
Our next Justice & Peace Committee meeting is Thursday, April 8th. To join, please email Emily at ejbruce02@gmail.com for the Zoom link.