On Faith, Community Organizing and Belonging with Fr. Jon Pedigo

In this episode of Educating to be Human, Lisa is joined by Jon Pedigo, known by some as Father Jon. He is a longtime social justice advocate and activist, faith leader within the Catholic diocese of San Jose, and the new executive director of People Acting in Community Together, or PACT. In conversation, they explore what it means to rebuild connection in a time of deep division, how faith communities can act as ancient technologies for compassion and healing, and the power of grassroots organizing to help people claim their own agency and voice, particularly in difficult times.

Fr. Jon Pedigo, a Bay Area native, has been active in civic affairs and social justice causes for over 35 years in the Bay Area.

Working with the interfaith community of Silicon Valley, labor, community organizers, and civil rights activists, Fr. Jon was just named the Executive Director for PACT, People Acting In Community Together. In his previous position as the Director of Advocacy and Community Engagement for Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, he developed a methodology of trauma-informed community organizing for people living in chronic poverty, refugees, and immigrant families. Fr. Jon has been acknowledged as a social justice advocate for immigrants and social change by many local organizations and received commendations from various public officials.

Resources:

https://www.cliniclegal.org/stories/grupo-de-solidaridad-brings-community-together

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/06/11/what-church-san-jose-doing-prepare-post-covid-future

https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/socal-connected/how-california-went-from-anti-immigration-to-sanctuary-state

Transcript:

00:00:06 - 00:33:16

Jon Pedigo:

The core of our humanity and what defines us isn't these separations, but it's our ability to care and heal. And through that kind of impulse religions kind of evolved as a technology to pull out of the best of humanity, our ability to connect to each other and to connect to the divine.

00:33:18 - 01:04:06

Lisa Petrides

This is Educating to be Human. And I'm your host, Lisa Petridis, founder of the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education. In each episode, I sit down with ordinary people, creating extraordinary impact people who are challenging notions of how we learn, why we learn, and who controls what we learn. Thank you very much for listening.

01:04:08 - 01:45:23

Lisa Petrides

I'm so delighted to be speaking with Jon Pedigo today. Also known by some as Father Jon and he is a longtime social justice advocate and faith leader within the Catholic Diocese of San Jose, California, and the new executive Director of People Acting in Community Together or PACT. Pact. And in our conversation, we explore what it means to rebuild connection in a time of deep division and how faith communities can act as ancient technologies for compassion and healing.

01:46:00 - 01:56:00

Lisa Petrides

And the power of grassroots organizing to help people claim their own agency and voice. So welcome, Jon and thank you for being with us here today.

01:56:01 - 01:58:01

Jon Pedigo:

Thanks, Lisa.

01:58:03 - 02:17:24

Lisa Petrides

So we're living in a time of fragmentation, right? Deep polarization, ICE raids in cities, authoritarian impulses on the rise. I mean, even technology is threatening to replace human connection. What do you see as the defining challenges of this moment?

02:18:01 - 02:51:22

Jon Pedigo:

What are defining challenges of this moment really are in just the profound loss of relationships that are in our community, the sort still profound separation, the divorce that happens in families because of ideology and politics. And in many cases, for good reason that people just simply aren't safe in their homes or in their families. They're not feeling safe in their churches and not feeling safe in their w