St. Bede the Venerable Catholic Church, La Cañada Flintridge, California

St. Bede Justice and Peace Ministry sponsored an evening of interfaith exchange on November 27, 2006 in the Parish Center. The speakers, Fr. Jim Fredericks and Amir Hussein,Ph.D. both professors at LMU, were asked to respond to the theme of the evening, Understanding Today's World: The Role of Religion in Promoting Global Peace. Each spoke from their faith perspective about the necessity of dialoguing with one another in order to understand and appreciate the rich cultural and religious perspective of each other. True global peace can only be enhanced by such an exchange. A question and answer session followed.

Listen to the audio file here (mp3 format, 1:42:07).

Mission

To explore the principles of Catholic social teaching and their application to issues of justice and peace today.We work to encourage and empower our faith community to Christian action.

Justice and Peace Ministry

A monthly planning meeting is held at 10:15 a.m. on the second Sunday of the month in the Parish Center. Details are available at the address and phone number listed below.

Special Events and Programs

From time to time, the Justice & Peace Ministry has held special events. Some have been:

Forum on the Patriot Act
Evening on the Spirituality of Non-Violence: A Call to Peace
Seminar on Just War & First Strike
Candlelight Vigil for Peace
Congressional Candidates Forum
Legislative Advocacy

Bread and Books

On the third Sunday of every other month from September to June, we sell bread, cookies and pastries to benefit the Homeboy Industries, a non-profit organization that gives employment to inner-city youth. We also sell a variety of justice and peace related books from a local religious bookstore, The Flowering Tree.

Direct Outreach

Outreach Programs, held eight times during the year, afford parishioners the opportunity to give of their time and talents to help others in need and to experience a deeper sense of community with other parishioners. Work sites have included:

Union Station
The Sycamores
Catholic Worker
Habitat for Humanity
Tree People
Missionaries of Brothers of Charity
Lanterman House

Speakers and Forums

Two or three forums are held yearly to discuss present justice and peace issues and to familiarize ourselves with people responding to these issues. Recent speakers include:

Allan P. Ides, A.M., J.D., Professor, Loyola Law School
Stephen F. Rohde, Esq., President, Beverly Hills Bar Association
Rev. James Fredericks, Professor, Loyola Marymount University
Sr. Judy Rinek, Mater Dolorosa Retreat House
Eisha Mason, Center for the Advancement of Nonviolence
Joseph B. Hudson, Jr., Esq.
Fr. Robert Scholla, S.J., Chaplain, Loyola Law School

Flyers Justice & Peace Ministry produced describing recent statements to American Catholics from the U.S. Catholic Bishops' entitled "Faithful Citizenship: A Catholic Call to Political Responsibility".

Justice & Peace Ministry,
St. Bede Parish Center
215 Foothill Blvd., La Canada, CA 91011
818.790.2324

Alternative Holiday Mart

The Alternative Holiday Mart affords parishioners an alternative to traditional gift shopping. During the month before Christmas people are able to buy worthwhile and needed gifts in the names of their families and friends and in so doing, help others locally and across the world. These gifts range from shoes for needy children in Los Angeles to penicillin for children in Africa. Gifts are available for purchase at any time during the year through the Justice and Peace Ministry.