DECATUR - Catholic parishes from Decatur and Mt. Zion who participated in the JustFaith program have established an interdenominational Social Justice Committee to address the poverty issues in the Decatur area.

The committee will host a "Poverty Summit" on Sunday, Nov. 23, at 2 p.m., at St. Thomas Church for the community to hear from various speakers about the poverty situation in the community.

"Our goal is to bring awareness to the community of the poverty situation in our area, then to get people involved in order to help alleviate the situation in the lives of so many people," said Father Rick Weltin, pastor at Our Lady of Lourdes and at St. Thomas.

The five speakers at the Poverty Summit who will address the issue from different perspectives are: Nancy Rude from Oasis Day Care Center, Kathleen Taylor from Good Samaritan Inn, Rev. Wayne Dunning from Faith Fellowship Christian Church, Ardena Hunter from God's Shelter of Love, and George Batson from Habitat for Humanity.

"By working together as a group, we can make a difference in many various factors that lead to the poverty dilemma," said Father Weltin.  "The key element is how we as a community can get involved with alleviating the poverty situation and what we can do to help.

"Everyone is invited to attend, since all of us are called to serve the needs of the poor," said Father Weltin.