Date/Time
Date(s) - 10/14/2019 - 10/18/2019
7:00 am - 5:00 pm
Location
Life, Justice & Peace / Vida, Justicia y Paz / Diocese of Orange
Categories
respectlifeweek.com/orange
With a particular focus on Catholic schools, as well as age-appropriate resources for faith formation, and educators anywhere, Respect Life Week is an amazing week-long celebration of what makes us Catholic; a total appreciation for Life from conception to natural death.
Respect Life Week consists of presenting difficult topics in a truthful, balanced way that incorporates our faith and invites people to service to make a difference.
This year, bringing our faith into difficult conversations is more important than ever. Mass shootings, deportations and increased threats against our immigrant communities, aggressive abortion expansion, and renewed federal death penalty are just a few of the topics in the news that our students and families are struggling to understand in light of our faith.
RLW 2019 focuses on the theme, Agents of Mercy. As Christians, we are called to do more than be tolerant—we are called to love even those with whom we disagree with the merciful love of Jesus. We are called to bring mercy to the world—to be agents of mercy! We know this will bring communities together and create peace.
RLW offers a K-12 curriculum with age-appropriate lesson plans with one topic per day for one week. Everything you need is available online. Teachers, parents, and students can access resources directly with iPads or Chrome books too!
• Day 1—Oct 14—Mercy Trumps Polarization: We are called to bring love to a hurting world. Pope Francis calls us to a culture of encounter, to recognize the dignity in the person in front of us. This encounter leads us to act on their behalf by serving others through works of mercy.
• Day 2—Oct 15—A World Without Abortion: It takes far more to build a culture that welcomes and respects every human life than just talking about it or creating laws. To truly create a world where every person is loved, each individual has to do his or her share to spread kindness and mercy.
• Day 3—Oct 16—Solutions to Crime and Conflict: Solutions to skyrocketing incarceration rates and use of the death penalty must take into account the dignity of every person and the myriad societal factors of economic injustice, endemic racism, and intergenerational poverty.
• Day 4—Oct 17—Salvaging a Throw-away Culture: Building on the call of Pope Francis to encounter those on the margins, and the witness of Mother Teresa to love the poorest of the poor, we work toward solutions and walk with those in greatest need in our neighborhoods.
• Day 5—Oct 18 –Made in God’s Likeness: God makes each person special—a unique creation whom he planned from the beginning of time. God does not make mistakes! Persons with special needs teach us to see the world differently and understand how to love people in the way they need to be loved.
• Extra Topic—Combatting Racism: Whatever the causes, Christians in a particular way are called upon to combat racism in every form and work toward harmony among peoples. We join the US Bishops’ call to a renewed focus on love and understanding between people of different backgrounds.
RLW Curriculum can be used at any time of the year. If Oct 14-18 does not work for you, consider another week that might.
All curricular resources from last year are also available online. In particular, we kept the Immigration resources again this year.
As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or recommendations, please do not hesitate to get in touch and let us know how we can better serve you and your school community.
More at: respectlifeweek.com/orange
