Prayers for Jacob 6 • Abortion ads 8 • Retirement Planning 16-21 September 22, 2016 Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
‘Agents of peace’ Parishes heed bishops’ call to step up in prayer and action to end violence
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hroughout the summer, headlines across the country announced shooting deaths of black men at the hands of police officers. Some incidents spurred peaceful protests while others incited more violence, including the killing of police officers. Many questions remain amid assertions of racism and injustice. But with encouragement from the U.S. bishops, many Catholics are starting conversations, fueled by prayer, to build their communities and seek an end to violence. By Matthew Davis and Jessica Trygstad The Catholic Spirit At St. Bridget in north Minneapolis on the afternoon of Sept. 11, a group of people circled around a table in the narthex. They were hunched over maps of northside neighborhoods, determining where they would pray in the coming weeks and months. In addition to signing up to canvass the neighborhood with prayer, people gathered in the church to hear messages of peace and calls to action from St. Bridget associate pastor Father Paul Jarvis and Pastor Paul Slack of New Creation Church, located about 2 miles south of St. Bridget. In recent weeks, the community has been rocked with shootings. Attendees lit 20 some candles to honor and remember victims of violence. Telling the crowd of approximately 100 to commit to being “agents of peace,” Father Jarvis described the event as the beginning of a movement, guided by the Holy Spirit, to encourage people to get out of their comfort zones and start conversations with others who are different from themselves. “We are not gathering as a white community, we are not gathering as a black community, we are not gathering as a Protestant community, we are not
Father Paul Jarvis, center, high fives north Minneapolis resident Awil Ismail, who is Muslim, Sept. 18 as part of an effort to pray for the neighborhoods near St. Bridget, where Father Jarvis serves as associate pastor. Members of St. Bridget joined forces with members of New Creation Church, also in north Minneapolis, to pray for peace and meet residents of the neighborhood. Dave Hrbacek/The Catholic Spirit gathering as a Catholic community ... we are gathering together as the community of the beloved God,” Father Jarvis said. The event was the first of what organizers — starting at St. Bridget — hope will be many Come Together services that include prayer, Scripture, music, reflections and conversations. Although the prayer service had been planned for weeks in response to an uptick in summer shootings, it came at a poignant time. Just three days before, on Sept. 8, stray bullets struck Sojourner Truth Academy, the K-8 charter school across the street from St. Bridget, and several cars in the church parking lot, which the school’s staff uses during the
week. No one was hurt, and law enforcement says the shootings were gang related. Doris McNeal, who attends New Creation Church, thought the gathering’s intent was to honor a specific person who was killed. Although she didn’t realize it was for the community, ultimately, she honored her son, who was killed on his way home from a friend’s house in north Minneapolis 10 years ago. She called the ecumenical prayer service inspirational and spiritual. “I thought it was something good, something we all could relate to,” said McNeal, 57. “I felt something in Please turn to PEACE on page 7
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Chaska priest Father Fernando Ortega among clergy to serve at Ryder Cup starting Sept. 27. — Page 5
Pope Francis visits the neonatal unit at a Rome hospital as part of his series performing works of mercy during the Holy Year. — Page 10
University of St. Thomas psychology professor performs spiritual work of mercy in the classroom and beyond. — Pages 12-13