“Enter [God’s] gates with thanksgiving, and [God’s] courts with praise. Give thanks to [God], bless [God’s] name. Psalms 100: 4 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! 

The month of November always blesses us with the opportunity to focus our attention on a spirit of gratitude and thanksgiving. I personally wanted to thank all of you for your support in helping us rebuild our “Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation” (JPIC) ministries here at Immaculate Conception. Our recent “Annual Stewardship Renewal” video highlighted so much of the loving generosity, service, and commitment to justice and charity shown by our parishioners working through our JPIC ministries.  

We are so grateful for the ways you have helped our JPIC ministries promote the Gospel and Catholic Social Teaching in our community and the world. Together, we have worked for systematic justice through organizations such as Durham CAN and our prison ministries. Programs like our Furniture Ministry, Families Moving Forward, Meals for the Hungry, and our parish food drives, provided direct service for those in need. Your work through the JPIC has allowed us to be advocates for countless local and global solidarity initiatives, proclaiming the Gospel on behalf of immigrants and refugees, those suffering from racial injustice, care for creation, workers’ rights, pregnancy support services, and countless others, ensuring that we protect the dignity and sanctity of the human person and the created world. To complement these advocacy and global solidarity initiatives, we also have provided formation and education opportunities, such as “JustFaith.” Unquestionably, your charitable giving through the Love Fund, in support of various relief efforts, holiday giving, and other initiatives helps us embody God’s love in the world. 

Called, gifted, and sent! You have made this mission a reality as you continue to be a witness to God’s love in action! Thank you for bearing witness to God’s love in the world. We praise God for making all this possible.  

Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC)

is proud to sponsor: 

 PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD  

19th Annual Advent Alternative Gift Fair  

December 3-4, 2022  

Our 2022 Advent Alternative Gift Fair provides an opportunity to: 

1. Support the work of talented artisans in dozens of countries through Bull City Fair Trade. 
2. Strengthen immigrant families in Durham by providing comprehensive mental health and emotional wellness services through a local non-profit, El Futuro. 
3. Help individuals and families in our local communities move from homelessness to housing by providing them with gently used, donated furniture, free of charge, through The IC Furniture Project of Durham. 
4. Support La 72 Migrant Center, a Franciscan-run migrant and refugee shelter in Tenosique, Mexico. 
5. Protect biodiversity in the Amazon rainforest at Serere Eco-Reserve through Franciscan Missionary Union. 
6. Provide shelter and comprehensive wrap-around services to families experiencing homelessness, through Families Moving Forward. 
7. Provide emergency food, shelter, clothing, and supportive services to homeless and hungry people in need through Urban Ministries of Durham. 

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS: If you would be willing to volunteer to stay 30 minutes after your usual Mass, please contact Ken. We need several more people to help with various roles – assisting at the Bull City Fair Trade table, working at the check-out table, or staffing the displays. We will give you a brief overview ahead of time. 

JustFaith 

Part I of our JPIC JustFaith program, “Faith and Poverty: A Biblical Response,” concluded on Saturday, November 12, with an "immersion experience" at Urban Ministries of Durham. Participants helped to prepare and serve breakfast to over 150 homeless persons and others in need. They also helped prepare lunches, concluding the day with a theological reflection and discussion about the experience. Grounded in Catholic Social Teaching, the JustFaith program seeks to guide parishioners in exploring the Gospel’s call to respond to poverty in our communities, nation, and world, equipping participants with practical tools to take action in effective and sustainable ways. We hope you will consider joining us for Part II of this program next year. Thanks to our co-facilitators and everyone who participated in this Fall's program. 

PROMOTING HUMAN DIGNITY (PHD Team) 

 Lenten Book Study

Yes, I know we are just about to start Advent, but our PHD team likes to plan ahead! This year’s Lenten Book will be “Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion,” by Gregory Boyle. “For over twenty years, Gregory Boyle has run Homeboy Industries, a gang-intervention program located in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, the gang capital of the world. In Tattoos on the Heart, he distills his experience working in the ghetto into a breathtaking series of parables inspired by faith... Arranged by theme and filled with sparkling humor and glowing generosity, these essays offer a stirring look at how full our lives could be if we could find the joy in loving others and in being loved unconditionally.” 

The PHD team is looking for facilitators to help lead this year’s Lenten book study discussions. If you are interested, please contact Catherine Pleil.  

Catholics for Abolition in North Carolina (CANC)

Catholics for Abolition in North Carolina (CANC) is pleased to announce their new website catholicsforabolitionnc.org. Please share it with others. Read about their mission, find out about CANC’s ongoing/upcoming events, and read blog posts from the co-founders, a core team member, and a prolific writer and speaker from Death Row in Raleigh. You can arrange to have a death penalty book group led at your parish or order a tee-shirt that tells the world that you are Catholic and pro-life for ALL of life.  

2022 Advent Reflection Series

Sign up to receive Catholic Mobilizing Network’s annual series of Advent Reflections, available via the Hope Over Death Blog. For each Sunday of Advent (along with some special Holy Days), subscribers receive a short emailed reflection on the day's Gospel readings. Each one has been written by a fellow person of faith working to transform the broken criminal legal system. Subscribe today to join us on this Advent journey. 

Social Justice Knitting Group

Some parishioners have expressed interest in forming a social justice ministry gathered around creating knitted/crochet goods for those in need. Possible items could include scarves for the homeless, newborn baby hats, or prayer shawls for cancer patients. The group could also discuss various social justice issues during their time together. Currently, they are just accessing interest in this type of ministry. If you would like to be a part of this group, please contact Isabel.

CARE FOR CREATION (Green Team) 

Advent “Daring to Hope” Calendar

Members of the JPIC “Care for Creation” team revised last year’s Advent “Daring to Hope” calendar. This “Care for Creation” calendar offers spiritual reflections and actions that everyone can consider during Advent. They are a way to help you grow in your commitment to care for the poor and for our common home and thus become a sign of hope for future generations. We invite you to use this Advent calendar creatively in preparations for Christmas. Limited paper copies will be available on the gathering space table after Masses.

Climate Provisions Calculator

Below is a calculator you can use to show the federal tax credits/discounts available starting this January under the climate provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act.

Responding to Pope Francis's Call: Building a New Economy Rooted in Care for Creation

A panel discussion focused on building a new economy rooted in care for creation. The panelists presented about the “Economy of Francesco”, “a global gathering of young people determined to make the economy fair, sustainable, and inclusive.” The Vatican describes the Economy of Francesco as “a different economy, one that helps people live and does not kill, that includes and does not exclude, that humanizes rather than dehumanizes, that takes care of creation and does not plunder it.” Featuring Catholic entrepreneurs, activists, and movement leaders who are answering Pope Francis' call to build a new, moral economy -- one that centers on the vulnerable and most marginalized and cares for creation. Panelists shared their takeaways from the recent Economy of Francesco Conference in Assisi and discussed how they are putting Laudato Si' principles into practice. Includes reflections and discernment on pathways for future action. 

Presenters: 

• Colin Gilbert, (USA) Partner, Francesco Collaborative (confirmed) 
• Merci Chelangat (Kenya) Business and Fund Development Director at IEEE Smart Village (confirmed) 
• Lucas Torres de Jesus (Brazil) Founder of Nave a Vela (confirmed) 
• Marta Avesani (Italy) Consultant at Economy for Good (pending confirmation) 
• Kelli Reagan Hickey, Francesco Collaborative

Dismantling Environmental Racism

One of Franciscan Action Network’s Board Members, Sr. Damien Marie Savino, F.S.E., Ph.D., gave a recent talk on Dismantling Environmental Racism. Sr. Damien Marie serves as Dean of Science and Sustainability at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, MI. In this “Gallagher Talk,” Sr. Damien Marie shows scientific proof of environmental racism, using examples from the state of Michigan. She discusses the principle of integral ecology from Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’ and offers practical suggestions for what can be done at the local level, rooted in the Catholic Social Teaching principle of subsidiarity. 

Franciscan Action Network offers it as a resource to complement their ongoing series on Confronting Environmental Racism, which will conclude on December 8. 

IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES 

Franciscan Action Network (FAN) - Judicial Decision Ends Title 42 Border Policy

Last week, a U.S. District Court judge issued a decision ending the use of the Title 42 health policy to expel migrants rapidly at the U.S. border, deeming it a violation of U.S. asylum law with no basis in public health. While the ruling won't have an immediate impact, we welcome this news. Franciscan Action Network has joined many other faith communities across the nation in our steadfast commitment to welcoming migrants. 

The Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC), of which FAN is an active member, issued a statement. Sr. Marie Lucey is quoted, as saying, “Franciscans welcome this ruling and urge the Biden Administration and Congress to begin work immediately to restore asylum protections and create a safe, humane and workable system that acknowledges the dignity and rights of sisters and brothers who seek safety in this country from harmful situations in their home countries.” Read the whole statement here. 

COMMUNITY ORGANIZING 

Durham CAN

The Annual Turkey Trot Fundraiser and Competition ends November 30th! Remember every mile walked/ran gets you one point while every dollar donated gets you two points. You can earn two points for a relational meeting with someone within your institution and four points for a relational meeting with someone outside your institution. To earn points: For your mileage or relational meetings, please fill out our Turkey Trot Google Survey, found here. Please only submit activity for one day at a time. If you have multiple days to record, please fill out the form a separate time. By donating, please visit our Turkey Trot Donation Page, found here. Via social media, please share your photos and/or favorite CAN memories and tag us at @DurhamCAN on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. For social media posts, you can earn up to five points per day. On bonus point days, you can receive: Ten points for a photo at a CAN win site on Monday, November 28. Triple donation points by donating on our last "Giving Wednesday" on November 30. For more information, you can visit our Turkey Trot event page.

DIRECT SERVICE

Saint Vincent de Paul Society/Love Fund

We wanted to thank all our parishioners who helped us with the discernment process regarding joining the Saint Vincent de Paul Society. Following the two separate information sessions and the first conference/training meeting, the decision was made to take another year to evaluate the possibility of forming a conference. In 2023, Immaculate Conception volunteers will provide intakes, and home visits, and implement many of the strategies learned from Saint Vincent de Paul program as they design their ministry to expand and support our current LOVE fund program. If you wish to join this ministry, please contact Barbara or Margie. 

Giving Tree

This weekend the Giving Tree with tags on it will be in the gathering space. The gifts can be returned either to the gathering space (under the tree) or the parish office by December 11. Thank you so much for your participation in this project! 

Christmas Ornament Making

Please join us on Saturday, December 3rd from 9:00 am to 12 Noon. The Knights of Columbus will be providing breakfast and then we will be making Christmas Ornaments (one to bring home and another to donate to Meals on Wheels). Sign up below so we will be sure to have enough food and supplies.  

Children Coat Donations

We also want to thank the Knights of Columbus, Council 3390, for sponsoring this year’s children’s coat collection. 

Thanksgiving Baskets

Thanks so much for your generosity in the food and gift cards you contributed to all those in need. Thanks to your support, we were able to provide Thanksgiving baskets for 18 families! We gave each family a turkey, a ham, enough food for a week, and a grocery card. All remaining food donations were delivered to Catholic Charities. They were glad to receive it and they said they would use it in their Thanksgiving Food Baskets for families who come in for help. Thank you so much for your generosity! Your support was greatly appreciated.