By Barb Arland-Fye The Catholic Messenger DAVENPORT — Dan Ebener was a college sophomore when he witnessed Catholic Worker co-founder Dorothy Day, now on the path toward sainthood, accept the Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award in 1972 in Davenport. On Sept. 13, Ebener emceed the ceremony during which Atiya Aftab and Sheryl Olitzky, co-founders of the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom, an international movement that builds relationships between Muslim and Jewish women, received the Pacem in Terris award. Gail Karp and Lisa Killinger, who co-founded a local chapter of Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom, received the One Among Us Justice Award. The event took place at St. Ambrose University.

Gail Karp, who is Jewish, called her longtime friend Lisa Killinger, who is Muslim, to talk about the possibility of forming a local chapter of Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom, which builds relationships between Muslim and Jewish women. Lisa loved the idea. “Salaam” is the Arabic word for peace and “Shalom” is the Hebrew word for peace.

OTTUMWA — Choosing life can be a difficult decision for women experiencing an unplanned pregnancy. Heartland Pregnancy Center hopes to ease the decision by providing services and resources during pregnancy and afterwards, accompanying mothers as their children grow. “We want to walk through this with them,” said Becky Dalyrmple, the center’s longtime director. “None of these choices are easy.”

From hosting Eco­logical Way of the Cross liturgies to raising money for clean water projects overseas, Catholics in the Diocese of Davenport are finding ways to observe the upcoming Season of Creation. “We are all called to care for creation and also be courageous and creative,” said Deacon Kent Ferris, diocesan director of Social Action.

On Sept. 4, the U.S. will celebrate Labor Day, a 129-year-old federal holiday that pays tribute to the American worker. How are workers faring in 2023, as the nation moves toward a renewable energy economy? The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops believes that “the most effective way to build a just economy is to make decent work at decent wages available for those capable of working …” (https://tinyurl. com/2ytxu7em). The Catholic Messenger interviewed the director of the University of Iowa Labor Center and two labor leaders in southeast Iowa for their perspective on the well-being of Iowa workers.

By Barb Arland-Fye Editorial: Lorri Walker laughs when a journalist suggests that work has changed quite a bit at the rubber-manufacturing plant where she began work 35 years ago. The plant, which opened in 1915 to produce tires for the Ford Model T, changed hands over the years and in 2007 became Henniges Automotive, which supplies weather-strips for the automotive industry.