Shabbat Service, Guest Speaker Father Eddie Samaniego

The 13th annual Labor in the Pulpit (also known as Labor on the Bimah and Labor in the Minbar) comes to Shir Hadash on Friday, August 31, as we join with others in over 120 religious services in Silicon Valley and more in over 130 cities across the nation.

This year our speaker will be Father Eddie Samaniego. Fr. Eddie was born on June 5, 1950 to Eduardo José Samaniego and Enriqueta ("Chata") Revilla de Samaniego. After 30 years of school and work, he entered the Jesuit Order on September 1, 1980. In 1990, he was ordained to the priesthood and spent many years as an associate pastor at Dolores Mission parish in East Los Angeles, and then at Christ the King parish in San Diego. He is known for his liturgical skills, preaching, and a commitment to Social Justice and to Catholic Education.

Father Eddie was our partner for three years when we held the Healthy Living Fair at Most Holy Trinity Church in San Jose and has worked together with our Shir Hadash Organizing Committee on PACT related issues. It is wonderful to welcome this friend of our congregation and community to our service.

Did you know that Santa Clara County has the lowest percentage of registered voters in the Bay Area? Only 64.8% of those eligible to vote have registered. Our faith traditions exhort us to engage, as good citizens, in our world; in the Jewish tradition our vote is an expression of thanks for all America has given us. We fulfill that duty to our country through civic engagement, as voters, and as advocates for those unable to advocate for themselves.

Labor in the Pulpit will also focus attention this year on the needs of the working poor. One item on the ballot this year is raising the minimum wage in San Jose from $8 to $10 an hour. Minimum wage workers in California must survive on $16,640 a year. There are thousands of workers who work two or three jobs and still can’t make ends meet. Our faith traditions teach us not to exploit the worker and to protect and support those in need; support of a more livable minimum wage is therefore, also an expression of our faith.

Voter registration information will be available as well as information on raising the minimum wage in San Jose.