FAST, HOPE and Catholic Political Activism in St. Petersburg Diocese
FAST and HOPE http://hillshope.com/about_hope/ http://fast-pinellas.org/
FAST Mission Faith and Action for Strength Together (FAST) is a justice ministry organization made up of 38 religious congregations throughout Pinellas County who band together to create positive change in our community. FAST is a congregation-based 501(c)3 non-profit whose purpose is to train low- to moderate-income residents from diverse congregations to work together to identify root causes of community problems and take action on these problems. Through FAST, diverse people come together to powerfully address the needs in their own communities.
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Nehemiah Action Assembly How do we "do justice"? We learn from Nehemiah s calling of a great assembly of people to bring charges against the unfair money-lenders, how we can do justice successfully. (Nehemiah 5:1-13) While in Jerusalem, Nehemiah hears of the economic exploitation of the people by public officials who charged unfair interest rates to make money off of the poor and vulnerable people of the land. Nehemiah is a powerful man in his own right a cupbearer to the King, but doesn't have enough power to confront the unjust economic system that is displacing people from their properties. Nehemiah could have set up some mercy ministries, like clothes closets or food pantries, but decides instead to do justice by getting the money lenders to act fairly. Nehemiah calls a great assembly and the whole community came out to ask the public officials that the land, children, crops, and interest (money), be returned to the people immediately. The nobles and officials agreed, and did what they promised.
FAST at Tropicana Field
Group Meetings/Nehemiah Action Assembly
FAST members (39-11 Catholic Parishes) Allendale United Methodist Church Bayview Baptist Bethel A.M.E Bethel Community Baptist Blessed Trinity Catholic Church of the Isles United Church of Christ Episcopal Church of the Ascension Espiritu Santo Catholic Faith Memorial Missionary Baptist Faith United Church of Christ Good Samaritan Pinellas Park Greater Mt. Zion A.M.E. Holy Cross Catholic Church Holy Family Catholic Church Holy Trinity Episcopal Lakeview Presbyterian Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Mt. Carmel Baptist Mt. Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Mt. Zion United Methodist New Faith Free Methodist New Hope Missionary Baptist Oakhurst United Methodist Church Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Rock of Jesus Missionary Baptist Church Shiloh Missionary Baptist St. Cecelia Catholic St. John's Episcopal Church St. John Missionary Baptist Church St. Joseph Catholic Church, St. Justin Martyr Catholic Church St. Mary Missionary Baptist Church St. Matthew Catholic Church St. Michael Catholic Church St. Petersburg Islamic Center Temple Beth-El Transfiguration Catholic Church Trinity Lutheran Unitarian Universalists of Clearwater
Hope (21-4 Catholic Parishes) Likely to grow! Corpus Christi Catholic Church Nativity Catholic Church (Father John Tapp- Fast organizer in Pinellas) New Smyrna Full Gospel Cathedral St. Andrew s United Methodist Church St. Catherine of Alexandria Episcopal Church St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church St. James House of Prayer Episcopal Church St. Paul Lutheran Church St. Peter Claver Catholic Church St. Stephen Catholic Church Tampa First Seventh-Day Adventist Church Trinity Christian Methodist Episcopal Church Unitarian Universalists Church of Tampa
FAST, HOPE Political Organizations
FAST Political Bragging from a non-political organization WE got that bill passed it was your phone calls, your letters, your visits with elected officials in Tallahassee. https://youtu.be/bbgyrwbwpi8
Hiring Ordinance
Other FAST Issues for the nonpolitical organization.
Claims Reduced Recidivism from 70 to 40% - FALSE! Violates 9 th commandment- bearing false witness.
FAST False Witness Example (#3) Early Learning Coalition
Civil Citation/Diversion Programs
FAST, HOPE Roots in Alinsky Community Organizing.
FAST, HOPE Roots in Alinsky Community Organizing.
DART 2010 IRS Form 990 In 2010, receive >$113K in Consulting fees possibly >$600K Staff salary/benefits (of a >$7ooK budget)
The Roots of FAST/HOPE Social Justice Community Organizing Saul Alinsky FAST/HOPE DART ORGANIZERS FORUM* Tides Foundation George Soros Gamaliel (Obama) Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) Catholic Alliance for The Common Good *Now defunct, but instrumental for years.
ORGANIZERS FORUM Board of Directors Deepak Bhargava, Executive Director, Center for Community Change John Calkins, Director, Direct Action and Research Training Center Tho Thi Do, Secretary-Treasurer, Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union Mary Gonzales, Associate Director, Gamaliel Foundation Ken Johnson, Southern Regional Director, AFL-CIO Michael Kieschnick, President, Working Assets Funding Service Drummond Pike, President, Tides Foundation Wade Rathke, Chief Organizer, ACORN & Local #100 SEIU Mark Splain, Special Assistant, Department of Organizing, AFL-CIO Andy Stern, President, Service Employees International Union Pat Sweeney, Regional Director, Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) Staff and other Personnel Barbara Bowen, National Coordinator, The Organizers Forum Miguel Contreras, President, Los Angeles County AFL-CIO Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, Executive Officer, South Bay Central Labor Council & Executive Director, Working Partnerships Jim Sessions, East Tennessee Workers Rights Board and Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice Mark Splain, Special Assistant, Department of Organizing, AFL-CIO
Podesta/Dems Conspiracy for a Catholic Spring
Saul Alinsky
Social Justice FAST s Claim to fame. 1928
Social Justice Often politicized and falsified.
The Common Good - What the Catechism says
Common Good Requirement 1.
CCC: RESPONSIBILITY AND PARTICIPATION
What the Catechism says about (Hiring Ordinance? Direct Instruction? Recidivism Programs? Civil Citations/Drug Court violations of due process?)
Subsidiarity
Collectivism the Church REJECTS. Marketplace the Church Embraces, Cautiously
Solidarity - CCC
Solidarity
Churches Social Doctrine/Teachings
On Collectivism
FAST Finances (Form 990 guidestar) (501c3) Year Revenue Member Dues OTHER Revenue FROM WHERE? Salary Compensation, Benefits. Other Expenses Total Expense Cash/assets at End of year 2015 $300,677 $64,123 $236,554 $193,940 $103,511 $297,451 $224,582 2014 $293,316 $59,190 $234,126 $166,524 $93,289 $259,813 $221,233 2013 $294,515 $61,082 $233,433 $212,506 $83052 $295,558 $187,557 2012 $262,715 unavailable unavailable $200,465 $81,060 $281,525 $188,462
Staff
Revenue
Most Money on training organizers 260 in 2014.
Fast IS DEFINITELY Political! $432 total on Lobbying and only 32 hours a year on staff lobbying time? False Witness and misleading. This threatens Dioceses IRS status.
FAST does NOT PERMIT -
CCC, Pastors and Politics 2442 It is not the role of the Pastors of the Church to intervene directly in the political structuring and organization of social life. This task is part of the vocation of the lay faithful, acting on their own initiative with their fellow citizens. Social action can assume various concrete forms. It should always have the common good in view and be in conformity with the message of the Gospel and the teaching of the Church. It is the role of the laity "to animate temporal realities with Christian commitment, by which they show that they are witnesses and agents of peace and justice."
FAST Antidemocratic and Misleading Father Tapp to me- This is NOT a democratic process (for elections, leaders, issues). He decides because he is the Pastor.
Group Decision Making by FAST
Sun Beam Times Blog By Dr. David McKalip (yours truly) Search FAST or click FAST on subjects. SunBeamTimes.com Subscribe by email (free)
Real Social Justice REAL Solidarity. Help People Directly Tutor Feed Counsel Help with addiction Visit in prison Evangelize Catechize Salvation Stop Physician Assisted Suicide & POLST.
Conclusion