Update

Update, the newsletter of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, is available here:

We particularly like the section Peace & Justice Initiatives. Here is a sampling from two articles. More details are included in the complete stories.

In solidarity with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Student/Farmworker Alliance (SFA) has launched a national campaign, “Dine With Dignity,” to show students across the country how to take action for the dignity of farm workers in Florida’s fields.

SFA encourages students to take action on campus by campaigning and discussing with their campus dining services directors the conditions under which the food on their campuses is produced.

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The Franciscan Action Network is designed to bring a coordinated and effective voice to matters of Justice, Peace, and Care for Creation in our world. Through education and advocacy, the Franciscan Action Network hopes to bring a spirit of healing and reconciliation for the transformation of the world, as inspired by the Spirit of God. We see that we have the power to effectively advocate for redistribution of resources, the responsible care for creation, and the healing of relationships within society.

Four broad activity areas form and grow our membership:

1) Spiritual formation and prayer—FAN provides resources for its members. For example, FAN has dedicated the month of June to prayer and action in response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Information and resources for individual and communal prayer and suggested action are available in the “Care for Creation” section of FAN’s website.

2) Capacity building— FAN helps members increase both the quantity and quality of justice, peace, and care for creation opportunities within their own ministries and institutions. In early fall, FAN will be hosting “Ours to Do” which is a workshop designed especially to meet these needs. Email Monica Herald (herald@franciscanaction.org) for more information.

3) Networking— FAN helps Franciscans and Franciscan-hearted people connect locally, regionally and nationally for social action formation, direct service, and other opportunities.

4) Effective Advocacy—FAN enables the growing network of Franciscans to share and amplify their message of change in efficient, timely, and strategic ways. We do this through action alerts (http://www.franciscanaction.org/Action/exec/alerts) that our members receive.