Anti-Trafficking YouTube & Soundings Update

 

Anti-Trafficking Prayer Vigil -- January 6, 2013

Anti-Trafficking Coalition -- Boston Unit -- LCWR

at Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston Motherhouse



Please watch a new video on our Boston CSJ YouTube page. It's a short 3-minute summary of the January 6, 2013, Prayer Vigil in commemoration of National Human Trafficking Awareness Day [Jan. 11]. Since President Obama has proclaimed January "Human Trafficking Awareness Month" this still has a lot of relevance.

In addition, the January 23, 2013 issue of Soundings Update is available at:
http://www.csjboston.org/su-Jan-1-23-13.pdf

Human Trafficking Awareness Day & Polaris Project



We commemorated Human Trafficking Awareness Day
earlier this week with over 125 sisters, associates, friends, and neighbors

Today is Human Trafficking Awareness Day and The Polaris Project is  launching a new petition to help protect and support young victims of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation.

When minors are involved in commercial sex, they are kids, not criminals. When a boy is sold for sex by a family member, he needs services, not a prison sentence. When a girl is trapped by a pimp who sells her for sex online, she needs protection, not prosecution. Yet, all too often, these children are still arrested and treated like criminals.

They are fighting to pass Safe Harbor laws in 2013 to protect these vulnerable kids. These laws define child victims of sexual exploitation as kids, not criminals, and provide funding for the services they so desperately need.

Sign the petition and in honor of National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, forward this email to 5 friends who don’t know about Safe Harbor laws.

http://www.change.org/petitions/state-lawmakers-kids-not-criminals-pass-safe-harbor-laws

You're Invited to a Prayer Vigil for Human Trafficking Awareness Day

I was just about to post this when I heard the news of the shootings in CT. May we pray for all  affected by this unthinkable event.

Our Latest issue of Soundings Update is attached. Read about our recent day with Lynn Levo, CSJ. Her topic:

Who Are We Called to Be Now?

Authentic, Transforming, Evolutionary

 http://www.csjboston.org/su-Dec-2012.pdf

 

Mark you calendar and join with us in 

Prayer Vigil

at 1:00pm on Sunday, January 6, 2013 

to commemorate

National Human Trafficking Awareness Day

sponsored by the Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition

of the Boston Unit of LCWR

and hosted at the Sisters of St. Joseph Motherhouse.

Human Trafficking Awareness Day & Soundings Update 1/11/12

Participants process outside Sisters of St. Joseph Motherhouse during prayer vigil and public witness in observance of National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. 

participants held signs on Cambridge Street in Brighton, MA

More participants hold signs on Cambridge Street as the legendary 57 bus passes by. Follow link to Soundings Update to read more.

It seems as if I've been talking about National Human Trafficking Awareness for weeks...well today is the day. Please read our January 11, 2012, Soundings Update which has an article about the Prayer and Public Witness sponsored by the Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition of the Boston Unit of LCWR. It was last Sunday in anticipation of the actual day.

There has already been coverage of how NIX Comference and Meeting Management will sign the ECPAT code today in an effort to stop human trafficking. Our CSSJ Federation July, 2011 Event is mentioned in this article.  I suspect more coverage will come.

3rd Anniversary of this Blog...and more

I can hardly believe that it was three years ago this week that I began this blog -- January 7, 2009, to be exact. In the beginning I wondered if I'd be able to keep it going and soon discovered that the is no lack of news and/or information to share about the world of the Sisters of St. Joseph. This week alone seems to hold so many events:

• Vocation Awareness Week -- see USCCB website and previous post on this blog
• National Human Trafficking Awareness Day -- 5th Anniversary
• National Migration Week -- see USCCB website

This afternoon we will gather with sisters, associates, friends, and neighbors from around the Boston area for a prayer vigil in observance of the 5th Annual National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. There's an article in the "Your Town" section of the Boston Globe titled Brighton vigil Sunday to pray for end to human trafficking  about this event. Hopefully there will be more articles to follow-up on the event.

The Superbowl is happening in a few weeks and Sisters of St. Joseph in the Indianapolis area are working to address the issue of human trafficking that all too often happens during big events like that. You can read about this in a letter to the editor of the St. Louis Post Dispatch [scroll down to the last letter on the list].

It may sound as if this post is all over the map and not just about the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston. I think this just emphasizes how connected we as congregations across the U.S. -- and across the world for that matter. CSSJs are always trying to keep in mind how we can be and act more as one. Our advocacy and action on behalf of the issue of human trafficking is just one example.in the "Your Town" section of the Boston Globe

Congratulations NIX on National Human Trafficking Awareness Day

As New Year's Eve approaches, so does the 5th Annual National Human Trafficking Awareness Day [January 11, 2012]. Many readers of this blog will recall the collaborative efforts of the U.S. Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, NIX Converence and Meeting Management Company, The Millennium Hotel, ECPAT, and Covering House in St. Louis. Over two years ago none of us could have dreamed of the impact of our actions.

S. Joyce, Kim from NIX, S. Kathy, and Dominic
at the Millennium Hotel in July 2011

Many hotels have signed the EPCAT Code of Conduct but few have done it so publically. The Federation Event 2011 website has all the news coverage that surrounded this event.

The ripple effect of this action has been a true expression of connecting neighbor with neighbor and neighbor with God. On January 11, 2012, NIX will be the first meeting planning company in the U.S. to sign a Meeting Planner’s Code of Conduct. The impact of this is huge. Read the press release on the NIX website: http://www.nixassoc.com/more-about-nix/

Recently I received an email from Kim, the Senior Account Manager and coorinator of Nix, inviting us to this event. In the note she describes the impact of the Sisters of St. Joseph on her life and work.

The Federation has made such an immense impact on our company and our city! We thank you and as promised, once the event was over your mission has carried on. Personally, you have created a fire in me that cannot be extinguished, and I love and thank you all for that. One of the most memorable parts of the my year after the Federation event is that everywhere there was a CSJ, they would take my hand and tell me that I too was a CSJ at heart…and I believe that to be true. Because I knew you, I have been changed for good…

You may also want to check out the Healing Action Network that was founded in 2011 in response to the growing need of person-centered awareness, advocacy, and action on behalf of sexually exploited individuals. NIX, ECPAT, and Covering House are part of this network.

Soundings Update & Human Trafficking Awareness Day

The latest edition of Soundings Update is now available on our website at:
http://www.csjboston.org/su-Jan-19-2011.pdf . This issue has two articles about our of observance of National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. I realize this was covered in the previous post however the article on page 2 focuses on the work the contribution of students at Fontbonne Academy toward this prayer vigil.

Human Trafficking Prayer Vigil at Sisters of St. Joseph Motherhouse

Participants on Cambridge Street during vigil

The vigil began inside and many processed outside

Reporter from Tab speaks with participants

Last week I posted info about our upcoming observance of Human Trafficking Awareness Day.

The Allston-Brighton Tab, a local newspaper came to the event and did a great first page article. The title in the online version is Sisters of St. Joseph's vigil in Brighton raises awareness about human trafficking . It was actually coordinated by the Anti-Trafficking Coalition of the Boston Unit of LCWR. The article explains that.

A highlight of the day for me was the presence of students from Fontbonne Academy. They are interviewed in the article. They are studying Human Trafficking in one of their classes. But their passion for this issue is taking them far beyond any course requirement.

Sisters of St. Joseph: The Literacy Connection

The latest issue of Soundings Update is now available

at http://www.csjboston.org/su-March-10-2010.pdf

This issue has an article about a day of prayer, reflection, and sharing with Sister Simone Campbell, SSJ, that was offered by our Initial Formation Team last weekend.

In this issue you are invited not only to read the article on page 2 about Pat Andrews, CSJ, and The Literacy Connection but also to view the video prepared for the Pulitzer Center's Project: Report 2010. What this is about is explained in the article titled, "A smile is a smile...in any language." You are invited to participate in the "Community Award" part of this project by viewing the video and voting for the video. You can also leave comments, read posted comments, and rate the posted comments. Just follow this link to "A smile is a smile...in any language." and enjoy a short video about a day in the life of Sister Pat Andrews, the Director of The Literacy Connection.

In addition please note the times of our Paschal Triduum Liturgies and the upcoming Symposium on Human Trafficking offered by the Anti-Trafficking Coalition of the Boston Unit of LCWR. If you are in the area, you are most welcome at the Triduum Liturgies and the Anti-Trafficking Symposium. Visit our website for a downloadable brochure and registration information.

Human Trafficking Awareness Prayer Vigil Hosted by Boston Area Women Religious

This a reminder to join in the prayer vigil for Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Scroll down to the December 18 post for all the details. If you're not in the Boston area perhaps you can participate in an event in your area. If you are part of another event to commemorate Human Trafficking Awareness Day, please let us know by posting a comment on this blog.

As we prepare for the prayer vigil in the Boston area, some of our sisters and associates are creating signs to hold as we pray outside the Sisters of St. Joseph Motherhouse. The words on the signs are sort of like "sound bites" to raise awareness of human trafficking. Here's what they say:

• Stop modern-day slavery
• Human Trafficking = Modern-day slavery
• Slavery violates basic human dignity
• Human Trafficking happens in our own neighborhoods
• 2010: 12 million slaves in our world
• Slavery happens today
• Human Trafficking happens in our backyard
• Human Trafficking: Here – Now

Boston Area Religious Women Host Prayer Vigil in Commemoration of Human Trafficking Awareness Day

Boston Area Religious Women
Host Prayer Vigil in Commemoration of

Human Trafficking Awareness Day

Boston, MA:

Local Catholic Sisters representing sixteen congregations in the Greater Boston area will gather on

Sunday, January 10, 2010, from 1:00-1:30pm

at 637 Cambridge St. Brighton, MA,

to commemorate

the third annual Human Trafficking Awareness Day.

A resolution passed by the US Senate on June 22, 2007 has forever marked January 11th as a day of awareness and vigilance for the countless victims of Human Trafficking across the globe.

Participants are invited to gather outside the Motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Joseph, for a prayer vigil to raise awareness and pray for an end to human trafficking. All who are concerned about human trafficking are invited to join in this prayer vigil which is coordinated by the Anti-Trafficking Coalition of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious [LCWR] – Boston Unit.
Human Trafficking is modern-day slavery. While many call it a hidden crime, it exits right here, right now in the Boston area. The goal of the Anti-Trafficking Coalition [ATC] is to raise awareness of the reality of human trafficking both locally and globally and to alert concerned people of good will about how individuals can make a difference in eradicating human trafficking.

Roman Catholic women religious have been key leaders in the national and international movement to stop human trafficking. In the past two years the Boston area ATC has sponsored two symposia attended by well over 200 participants who want to be part of the initiative to end this crime against humanity. Another symposium addressing the issue of Human Trafficking is planned for April, 2010.

The prayer vigil is free and open to the public.

When:

Sunday, January 10, 2010 1:00-1:30pm

Where:

637 Cambridge Street, Brighton, MA,
We will gather in the Chapel of the Sisters of St. Joseph Motherhouse

and proceed outside for the vigil.

###
The Boston Unit of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious includes sixteen Congregations representing over a thousand women religious in the greater Boston area. Members of LCWR are Catholic women religious who are leaders of their orders in the United States. The conference has approximately 1500 members, who represent about 95 percent of the 67,000 women religious in the United States. The conference develops leadership, promotes collaboration within church and society, and serves as a voice for systemic change. Visit their website at http://www.lcwr.org/.