Social Outreach Ministries

Saturday, January 18th at 11 a.m. 

The Diocese of Austin will host its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration on Saturday, January 18, 2025, at 11 a.m. at St. Thomas More Parish in Austin. Honoring MLK Jr.'s legacy, this event promotes social justice, civil rights, diversity, and freedom. The commemoration also promotes the goal of building peaceful communities with non-violence as a means to defeat injustice.

This year, the diocese is highlighting a 'Beloved Community,' based on MLK's sermon 'Birth of a New Nation'.   The Keynote speaker for the event is Dr. Christopher Pichon, Supreme Knight and CEO of the Knights of Peter Claver, Inc. and St. Thomas More's very own Jennifer Bibbo, Director of Outreach & Pastoral Care will be receiving the "Drum Major for Justice." She will be presented this honor by Most Reverend Bishop Joe S. Vazquez. 

Join us for a day of prayer in the church and a light reception in Holtman Hall.

The Church's social teaching is a rich treasure of wisdom about building a just society and living lives of holiness amidst the challenges of modern society. Modern Catholic social teaching has been articulated through a tradition of papal, conciliar, and episcopal documents. The depth and richness of this tradition can be understood best through a direct reading of these documents. In these brief reflections, we highlight several of the key themes that are at the heart of our Catholic social tradition and the basis for outreach ministries at St Thomas More.

“Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades.”
Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium

“The theological dimension is needed both for interpreting and for solving present day problems in human society”
Saint John Paul II, Centesimus Annus

“The common good is the sum of those conditions of social life which allow social groups and their individual members relatively thorough and ready access to their own fulfillment”
Vatican II