The Diocesan Social Action Office and the Catholic Commission of Lake and Geauga Counties annually host a Peace and Justice Awards Dinner at which the Bishop Pevec Sower of Justice Award is presented. It recognizes students, individuals and organizations for their commitment to social justice, peace and human dignity.
“Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, the annual Peace and Justice Awards Dinner is canceled for 2020. The plan is to have it in 2021 and honor the 2020 awardees at that time,” said Kelly Ann Davis, director of the Catholic Commission of Lake and Geauga Counties. Originally scheduled for April 24, the 30th annual dinner was postponed until Sept.18 before being canceled this year.
Davis said two people were selected for the 2020 Bishop Pevec award: Barbara Strittmatter of St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Mentor, and Sister Rita Mary Harwood, secretary for parish life and development for the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland.
Strittmatter is being recognized for more than two decades of feeding the hungry as a volunteer with her parish’s Helping Hands program. She came to the church nearly every day to sort donations and assemble bags of food and household necessities for clients, in addition to many other duties. She was called “a very fruitful branch, devotionally and solidly connected to the vine of Christ,” in the nomination letter.
Sister is being recognized for her concern and many years in service to those on the margins of the district and diocese. She established the L.E.A.F. Ministry, which supports family and friends of incarcerated people, a ministry to the LGBTQ community and she continues to work on immigration reform, often devoting long hours to these and other causes as well as advocating for and educating people about the underserved who live on the margins.
“While the focus of the dinner is on the awards and recognition of those who are leaders and working for justice in Lake and Geauga counties, it is also an opportunity for us to raise funds for programming and advocacy,” Davis said. Because of the pandemic, those efforts have shifted. She said the commission is using new technology to create virtual programming to address racial justice and suicide prevention during the health crisis. The letter nominating her said: “We believe that our lives as well as the lives of hundreds of people re richer because of the seeds of justice she has sown.”
The award is named in memory of Bishop Edward Pevec, an auxiliary bishop of Cleveland, who died Dec. 14, 2014 at age 89. A Cleveland native, he was a priest for 64 years and a bishop for 20 years. He joined with other Ohio bishops in issuing statements on various issues including eradicating the sin of racism, fostering a welcoming attitude toward migrant workers, rejecting moves toward euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, calling for a just agricultural system to promote food security and food safety, reiterating the Church’s opposition to the death penalty, supporting and preserving Catholic schools and objecting to gambling.
The Catholic Commission of Lake and Geauga Counties sponsors community presentations, forums and provides in-service programs and resources for schools on a variety of issues. The commission also works to fight opioid addiction, presented refugee simulations, mailed thousands of Christmas cards to neglected people, worked on ecumenical programs with the Jewish community and provided access to reports on legislation, e-news and information on social justice issues.
For more information on how to sponsor the commission for its 30thanniversary, email Davis at kdavis@ccdocle.org.