Three ways to link liturgy and justice

Gregory R. Kepferle, the CEO of Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County in San José, California, wrote a splendid article about liturgy and justice in the November/December issue of Today's Parish Minister. Below are three more ideas he has for linking liturgy and justice.

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Three ways to link liturgy and justice in your parish

1. Cross train your liturgy team and your social justice team. Help folks that are liturgically-oriented see the justice themes in Scripture and the church year. Help social justice-oriented folks appreciate the richness of the liturgy. Participate in an immersion action-reflection experience together and ritualize what you learn.
2. Celebrate your social justice and outreach ministries. Institute a commissioning ceremony for your parish volunteers engaged in social concerns. Invite the liturgy team to work on it in collaboration with the social concerns team.
3. Plan ahead and calendar special occasions that can link liturgy and justice through Scripture, music, prayers of the faithful, the choice of eucharistic prayers, and psalms.
   
   Some examples include:

• the Feast of Christ the King, which is often the Sunday for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development’s anti-poverty collection;
• a Sunday when Catholic Charities has a special collection for the needs of the poor;
• January, when the USCCB Migration and Refugee Services celebrates immigrant and refugee awareness.