Living Justice Ministries’ Advocacy Table Letter Writing

~ Some long-time parishioners would characterize St. Margaret of Scotland Parish as being justice-minded and justice-active over the past half-century.  Some might state that from our parish’s establishment – 125 years ago, during the papacy of Leo XIII – we were called to act for justice.  Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical, Rerum Novarum, opened the door to what we now call Catholic Social Teaching. This Church teaching is the foundation for all the actions of St. Margaret of Scotland parishioners under the umbrella of Living Justice Ministries.

LJM was organized in our parish in 2017 as a needed response to injustice in our community, our city, our world.  LJM is currently composed of five independent teams that act separately while supporting one another:  Racial Equity, Immigration, Care for Creation, Gun Sense: For the Common Good, and PRIDE of St. Margaret. 

The Advocacy Table had been a recurring, occasional practice until COVID shut it down. Restarted in 2022, it is now a regular weekly action.  Our space is in the church hall.  Perhaps you’ve noticed the bulletin board and wondered “what?” or “why?”  Our parish Advocacy Table offers letters to be signed every Sunday after the 8:00 and 10:00 Masses.  Letters are never the same, although they often deal with the same persistent issues, such as food insecurity, accessibility of healthcare, and the need for commonsense gun regulations.

From the start of Advent throughout the Christmas season, our letters were focused on present day immigration issues, mirroring Jesus’s own experience as a refugee.  Each letter called upon federal, state, and/or local leaders to recognize the inherent value in immigrants and their sacredness as human beings created by God in God’s own image.

Over the course of the last 12 months, we have signed, stamped, and mailed individually approximately 1000 letters.  

Some to no avail.  We borrow from Mother Theresa: “Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.”

And some letters (and the efforts of many) have been very successful.  Two years in a row, our Missouri lawmakers have attempted to expand gun rights across Missouri; most notably, the right to carry firearms into our churches and onto our buses.  From our Advocacy Table, we mailed countless letters in these legislative years, adding our voices to those of many others, including our Missouri bishops.

All are invited to join the work of Living Justice Ministries! Consider: signing letters promoting a more just society; Standing Up for Justice every first Friday from 5:00 – 6:30 on Grand Ave. between Flora and Flad. Name your passion for justice, and bring your sign!

During the Summer months, this column will be highlighting the good work and parishioners involved in one of our various Social Justice Ministries.  Each week, we will feature an article from a different ministry, written by one if its members, as a reflection on the calling to Catholic Social Teaching at St. Margaret of Scotland.