Ever since I was 6, I remember telling my mum that one day I would like to go to South Africa and help the children there. Over the years, I have come to realise that my purpose in life was to help people, mostly children and that is why I took up the role as Social Justice Coordinator last year. My goal was to educate cosduan’s on the importance of Social Justice in our Catholic Faith.
What is Social Justice
In order to define social justice, let us begin, by taking a look at what social ministry is: Social Ministry has two main aspects: Social Service (parish outreach) and social action.
SOCIAL SERVICE is giving direct aid to someone in need. It usually involves performing one or more of the corporal works of mercy. That is, giving alms to the poor, feeding the hungry, clothe the naked, visiting the sick etc. Another name for it is CHARITY. This is the typed of activities that has been organized by Social Justice Coordinators in the past.
SOCIAL SERVICE is giving direct aid to someone in need. It usually involves performing one or more of the corporal works of mercy. That is, giving alms to the poor, feeding the hungry, clothe the naked, visiting the sick etc. Another name for it is CHARITY. This is the typed of activities that has been organized by Social Justice Coordinators in the past.
However, there is another side of Social Justice and that is SOCIAL ACTION which is correcting the structures that perpetuate the need. With social action, we began to look at the problems and issues facing our own communities, the nation and finally the world, and we begin to ask questions such as “Why is there so much unemployment in our area?" "Why are there so many poor in our community?" "How will the deforestation of our rain forests affect our global climate?" Very often when you are performing social service, you also become involved in solving the problem which created the need in the first place, and the two are closely related and often blend together.
Where we get our identity
- We are all One Body in Christ -1Cor 12:12
- Together we are Christ's Body, each of us a different part -1Cor 12:27
- All are one in Christ -Gal 3:28
- "I am the Vine, you are the branches...” -John 15:1-5
- You are God's temple. -1Cor 3:16
- To follow the command to “love one another as I have loved you”
- To enable everyone to enter into a relationship with Christ in such a way, so that everyone can come to know Christ in the same way that the Father knows the Son.
Therefore, what makes us Catholic?
- Celebrate the Eucharist
- Proclaim the Good News of the Gospel
- ACT FOR JUSTICE
He said, I give you a new commandment:
(What) – To love one another
(How)- As I have loved you
As a Social Justice Coordinator, the most important thing is to have the passion to help people, passion to better the environment and most important to love one another as god has loved us.
A few things that the S.J. Coordinator does:
- Have a Social Justice Session every semester
- Organise Volunteering Activities
- Update the Notice Board or Social Justice Blog
- Organize Documentary Nights
Becoming an SJ coordinator will also help you grow and mature as a person in terms of one’s self-awareness as well as being enlightened by the diverse social issues that are present in our current societies. The role will challenge you to question what is right or wrong. We live in a world where individualism has taken over, what we need to do is work together to make the world a better place.
Ultimately the role is flexible, but as mention before, as long as you are passionate about helping others and you want to make the world a better place. It’s never too late to take the first step. I want to encourage those who are sincere in helping others to run for this position. I challenge them to view the world through the lens of those suffering from indignity. There is no right or wrong in how to be a SJ coordinator. As long as the person is willing, that is all that matters. So step right up and make a difference in the world.
Ultimately the role is flexible, but as mention before, as long as you are passionate about helping others and you want to make the world a better place. It’s never too late to take the first step. I want to encourage those who are sincere in helping others to run for this position. I challenge them to view the world through the lens of those suffering from indignity. There is no right or wrong in how to be a SJ coordinator. As long as the person is willing, that is all that matters. So step right up and make a difference in the world.
Love
Jess
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