The Social Concerns Ministry is rooted in the Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching.

Our primary ministry objectives are:

• Prayer

  • Leverage current ministries to engage in prayers that lift up the Seven Key Themes of Catholic Social Teachings, the Prayers of the Faithful at the weekly liturgies, notices in the bulletin, and via the STA social media channels.

• Outreach and Learning

  • Engage in understanding core issues of justice that are appropriate to the context and timely. This could include a purposeful parish reflection on Gaudium et Spes, Open Wide Our Hearts, Evangelii Gaudium, Laudato Si, Fratelli Tutti, and other pastorals that will guide us in our journey toward understanding systemic and social challenges that will lead toward action.

  • Offer a morning and/or evening of Reflection during Advent and Lent that focuses on a principle of Catholic Social Teaching and social analysis.

  • Develop and publish a quarterly social justice newsletter to be included as part of the parish bulletin and promote the offering of a series of reflections as part of the pastor’s letter to the parish community that highlight an area of Catholic Social Teaching.

  • Connect with other parishes in our deanery to bring collective learning opportunities together, as appropriate.

• Action:

  • Engage in legislative advocacy that uplifts core Catholic Social Teaching principles in collaboration with efforts aligned with Catholics Confront Global Poverty, and issues of concern in our local community as promoted by the Archdiocese of Newark’s Social Concerns Office, the Archdiocesan Commission on Peace and Justice, and efforts at the deanery level.

  • Align charitable activity that already occurs through the parish (e.g., the Beyond Cornerstone Ministry, Advent Giving Tree, and food pantry efforts) with a legislative action around homelessness, housing, or hunger.

Please see this list of resources for service and healing in solidarity with all those who are vulnerable. Visit the USCCB website to learn more about Catholic Social Teaching.

Anyone interested should contact us at the email address below. We welcome those prayerfully concerned about God’s merciful love being part of their life’s journey and who are open to sharing reflections on and evangelizing with, other STA parishioners about Scripture’s call to mercy and justice and the Catholic Church’s Seven Key Themes of Catholic Social Teaching (CST).

Contact Us
Barbara Albert
socialconcerns@stachurchbloomfield.org / (201) 247-2798

Catholic Social Teachings