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FEBRUARY/LENTEN NEWSLETTER
Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC)
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Only a month into the new year, but our JPIC community has been extremely active thanks to the deep commitment so many of our parishioners share in living out their faith through charity and justice. Our JPIC continues to seek ways to allow you to lead our parish forward in service to God and one another.
February marks the beginning of African American history month, where people of all races and faiths across our nation celebrate black Americans and their stories. Many of you have participated in our JPIC racial justice formation programs and advocacy initiatives. Our parishioners have helped one another to learn to internalize our country’s 400-year history of systemic injustice in Durham and throughout our country so we can better advocate for change. More importantly, together, we must work side by side with those attempting to correct this history of systematic injustice.
This month we will also be beginning the Season of Lent. Lent is a 40-day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, beginning on Ash Wednesday. Our works of justice and charity are deeply rooted in our sacramental, liturgical, and prayer life. The JPIC joins our entire Immaculate Conception community as we prepare to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection at Easter.
Over the coming months, the JPIC will also continue to "prepare" new ways to provide opportunities for you to serve your parish and community. As we prepare next year's JPIC budget, reassess our use of newsletter and website announcements, and review our new and ongoing JPIC ministries, we will continue to ensure our mission is firmly rooted in Catholic Social Teaching.
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GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Valentine's Day Fair Trade Chocolate Sale
- The Letter/Laudato Si' (Thank You)
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Advent Alternative Gift Fair Donation Totals (Thank You)
PROMOTING HUMAN DIGNITY (PHD)
- Lenten Book Club
- Saint Francis Builds
- Habitat for Humanity
- 2023 Durham Point-In-Time Count
- Pregnancy/Infant Loss Support Ministry
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CARE FOR CREATION
- Greener Lent
- Spring Community-Supported Agriculture Shares (CSA)
- 2023 IC Lenten “Carbon Fast” Calendar
- Stations of the Cross/Ecological Conversion
- The Earth Bill
- Common Home Corps
IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES
- LA 72 Trip/JPIC Article
- Haiti Webinar
COMMUNITY ORGANIZING
- Durham CAN: Action Team Training
- Durham Congregations in Action (DCIA)
DIRECT SERVICE
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VALENTINE'S DAY FAIR TRADE CHOCOLATE SALE | | |
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Immaculate Conception JPIC ministry is teaming up with Bull City Fair Trade again this year for Valentine’s Day to sell Fair Trade Chocolate the weekend of February 11-12 after every Mass.
Please join us in our continuing parish-wide commitment to supporting “Fair Trade” by purchasing delicious chocolate for yourself, your friends, and your loved ones.
We look forward to seeing you in the gathering space after mass!
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THE LETTER/LAUDATO SI': THANK YOU!
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The “Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation” (JPIC) ministry would like to thank all our parishioners that joined us on Saturday, February 4, for our screening, reflection, and discussion of The Letter and our Laudato Si’ Action Platform. It was a wonderful opportunity for us to come together as a Franciscan Catholic community and learn more from one another about how we hope to embody our mission as a Laudato Si’ parish. Thank you to everyone who helped to make this event possible. We look forward to continuing this conversation throughout our many ministries. | |
Please enjoy this short video, prepared by Father Jacek, featuring excerpts from the English and Spanish presentations of the event. | |
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT - THANKS AGAIN!
DONATIONS TOTALS: ADVENT ALTERNATIVE GIFT FAIR
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In case you missed our January announcement in the parish e-newsletter, thank you again for your support of Immaculate Conception’s JPIC “19th Annual Advent Alternative Gift Fair.” Your purchases and donations set a new record, totaling $19,715.68!!! Your acts of charity and justice helped us make God's love known to all those in need! All proceeds were directly distributed to each organization noted below. On behalf of the JPIC, the entire parish, and all our organizations... thank you again for your support!
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PROMOTING HUMAN DIGNITY (PHD) | |
Click for more information or to register. | |
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Our JPIC’s “Promoting Human Dignity” team is sponsoring a Lenten book study again this year. Two books by Father Greg Boyle will be discussed.
Participations will have the option of registering either in a Tuesday night group which will meet over Zoom (02/28-03/28, 7-8:30 pm), or attending a Friday morning group which will meet at the Parish Center (03/3-03/31, 10-11:30 am).
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Please purchase your books ahead of time. | |
SAINT FRANCIS BUILDS: HOUSING REPAIR MINISTRY IN THE EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA | |
Saint Francis Builds (SFB) works with underserved communities, repairing homes while building community for participants. These trips are an opportunity to renovate homes, restore hope and reimagine the church. SFB invites parishioners to a May 23-28 trip in Plymouth, NC. Renovation experience is not required. For information on SFB and past trips, click below or contact Kevin Concannon. | |
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On the morning of January 28, Mariza Mandujano-Ortiz, the Director of Immaculate Conception’s Youth Ministry, joined several young people from our community in another volunteer event with “Habitat for Humanity.” Both our JPIC and Youth Ministry have found volunteering with “Habitat” to be a popular and extremely rewarding experience.
Bob Wiethe, the parishioner leading this JPIC ministry at Immaculate Conception, recently reported some exciting news! In addition to planning some quarterly IC “Habitat” work dates sometime soon, Bob shared that “Habitat” received a grant from Mackenzie Scott for several million dollars. This will allow them to continue work on a large site in northeast Durham off Cheek and Junction Road (likely beginning sometime in 2024). Building dozens of homes in this one location will require more volunteers (and sponsors) once it starts. In addition to local repairs, the work sites for this year will most likely be several large groups of homes in downtown Durham. Remember, if you cannot make an ICC team date, you can always sign up individually via www.durhamhabitat.org as well.
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2023 DURHAM POINT-IN-TIME
HOMELESSNESS COUNT
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Members of our JPIC “Promoting Human Dignity” (PHD) team, along with other Immaculate Conception parishioners, took part in Durham’s annual “Point in Time” count of the unhoused on January 25 from 7:30 pm to 11:30 pm. Once per year, Durham County seeks to capture the number of individuals experiencing homelessness in the area, along with conducting interviews with the unsheltered people met. This year, “Housing for New Hope” was named the lead agency for this effort. This data is critical for us to assess our program reach for the year and communicate Durham’s need to grant organizations. The JPIC is very grateful to all those who participated in the necessary training sessions and the event itself. We specifically would like to thank Theresa Hoke for promoting and helping to organize this effort.
If you would like to get involved to help address the issue of homelessness, food insecurity, or any related issues, there are a number of JPIC ministries that work to address these issues as matters of justice and charity. Please contact Ken for further information.
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PREGNANCY/INFANT LOSS SUPPORT MINISTRY | |
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Our parish is exploring starting a new ministry focused on pregnancy and infant loss. Parishioner Christina Gebel, a birth doula, childbirth educator, and someone who has experienced loss, is gathering interested families to talk about this new ministry. Anyone who has had a loss in pregnancy and/or of an infant is welcome to join, whether recently or years prior. Please email Christina to express interest and receive more information.
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Greener Lent is a diocesan initiative inviting us to enter into a season of fasting and prayer, repentance, and conversion, with a deeper awareness of how our eating patterns have ecological and social impacts. It allows us to see the collective impact of refraining from meat where we would have consumed it. On a larger level, it seeks to provoke ecological conversion – helping us in our own individual prayers and practices to deepen our commitment to act for the earth’s healing and justice for all.
Immaculate Conception has been a Greener Lent leader in participation and impact over the last two years and we would love to continue to show a strong commitment to this effort. Please explore the new website, its resources and consider signing up!
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SPRING COMMUNITY-SUPPORTED
AGRICULTURE SHARES (CSA)
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Get a steady supply of fresh vegetables & support Black farmers. IC’s Green Team is in partnership with other churches to support Kamal Bell/Sankofa Farms, in Efland. On Wednesday, February 15th (6 pm), join us for a virtual info session to learn about the history of black farmers, veggies you can expect, and more! | |
2023 IC LENTEN “CARBON FAST” CALENDAR | |
Our JPIC “Care for Creation” green team is happy to share this year’s 2023 IC Lenten “Carbon Fast” Calendar with our parish community. In the spirit of Laudato Si’, alongside other parish-wide initiatives like Greener Lent and Stations of the Cross with Saint John Paul II on the Path of Ecological Conversion, we hope this calendar will help make “caring for our common home” a central part of our Lenten journeys. Created by the Environment Ministry of St. Francis Xavier Church, NYC, this calendar can be downloaded in English and Spanish on our IC website. Limited paper copies also will be available on our Lenten table after Masses.
| STATIONS OF THE CROSS WITH SAINT JOHN PAUL II: ON THE PATH OF ECOLOGICAL CONVERSION | |
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The urgent need to protect and care for God's creation has never been more evident than in recent years, as we have witnessed the devastating consequences of neglect and abuse. We must take immediate action to change our ways and recognize the inherent value of God's planet and people.
The Earth Act to Stop Climate Pollution By 2030, also referred to as The Earth Bill, is slated to be introduced in this Congress. The bill aims to get us on track to mitigate the impacts of climate change by focusing on three main areas of importance: Electricity, Zero-Emission Vehicles, and Regenerative Agriculture Production. Click here and ask your representative to cosponsor this bill.
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COMMON HOME CORPS:
ATTENTION YOUNG CATHOLICS!
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Are you a young Catholic interested in doing something about the climate crisis?
Catholic Climate Covenant, in collaboration with faculty from Creighton University and Loyola University Chicago, is launching Common Home Corps, a new year-long leadership and spiritual formation program for young adults ages 18-35 looking to mobilize around climate action in their local communities.
The new program empowers young adults to catalyze climate action in their diocese by building on Pope Francis’s “culture of encounter.” Participants will learn to organize local Catholics, meet with their bishop and other Catholic leaders, and advocate for climate action that helps us live the Church’s mission: caring for our common home by enacting the Vatican’s Laudato Si’ Action Platform with a focus on real, measurable climate progress.
Interested but have questions?
U.S.-based young adults (18-35) and those who work with young adults are invited to learn more about the Common Home Corps program by attending an info session on:
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Wednesday, February 15 at 2 pm Sign Up
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Thursday, February 16 at 7 pm Sign Up
For more information, please click below.
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LA 72 TRIP – INTERNATIONAL JPIC –
AND GLOBAL SOLIDARITY
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Many of you know that in January, several members of our Immaculate Conception community traveled to Mexico. They included our pastor Father Jacek, our Latino Pastoral Associate, Katushka Olave, and two extremely devoted young adult parishioners, Osely Vasquez, and Isaac Martinez. They visited and brought medication/supplies to LA 72, a Franciscan-run migrant and refugee shelter dedicated to the comprehensive care for those fleeing abject poverty, hunger, violence, and the powerful environmental and political forces affecting the most vulnerable. You may recall the JPIC’s most recent support of LA 72 during our parish’s “Advent Alternative Gift Fair.” We are truly grateful for their dedication and all those who helped make this trip possible.
Although the linked article could have been included under our "Care for Creation" or any other sections of our JPIC newsletter, it was placed here in connection with the LA 72 trip to emphasize the need for global solidarity. It discusses a recent gathering of the Franciscan Order’s “International Council for Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation.” We hope it provides some insight into the ways Father Jacek’s service as a member of the Franciscan “JPIC Animation Committee” helps inform our global outreach efforts as a parish community.
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HAITI WEBINAR
FRANCISCAN ACTION NETWORK (FAN)
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On February 16, 12 pm, Faith in Action International will host a conversation with Haitian diaspora leaders about changing U.S. policy to support a transition to democracy and development led by local Haitian organizations and farmers. | |
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DURHAM CAN: ACTION TEAM TRAINING EVENT
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 6-8 PM
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Durham CAN will be hosting an Action Team Training on Thursday, February 16, from 6-8 PM at ERUUF (4907 Garrett Road). Immaculate Conception parishioners can join any of the four Action Teams:
- Affordable Housing
- Poverty
- Gun Violence, and
- Public Transportation.
At the training, we will discuss how each team should develop an actionable issue, conduct a power analysis, run a research action, and more.
For more information and to register for the meeting, please click on the button.
Durham CAN's next "Internal Action" meeting will be on March 16 from 6-7:30 PM. Location and details about this gathering will be coming shortly.
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DURHAM CONGREGATIONS IN ACTION (DCIA) | |
As our world very much needs prayer this week, please keep Turkey and Syria in your prayers, the victims of the earthquakes, and all those who are facing war and hunger far from our shores. If you care to donate, you may do so here. As our Durham community is grieving the loss of two youth, as we grieve the four people who were killed by gun violence in January, as we grieve all those who are victims of hate crimes and violence across the U.S., I encourage us all to pray, and pray with our actions. I encourage us to attend the events below, to attend vigils, to volunteer, and to call elected officials. We can, each one of us, write a letter to a prisoner, stand with a grieving mother at a vigil, and use our voices with power.
Please save the dates for our gatherings and events as you plan your weeks. We have much to plan and act on:
- February 21, 11:45 am: DCIA Monthly Assembly, Beth-El Synagogue
Voting on the budget and board, discussing gun violence, and making plans together.
- March 16, time TBD, Confronting Anti-Semitism, St. Joseph AME Church
Connect and learn about anti-Semitism and its impact in our city: A collaboration between DCIA, St. Joseph AME, Beth-El Synagogue, and Judea Reform.
- March 21, 11:45 am: DCIA Monthly Assembly, Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
We will hear a presentation on the Immigrant Solidarity Fund, discuss housing, and its impact on the immigrant community, violence, and Durham’s residents.
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MEALS FOR THE HUNGRY
FEBRUARY 18
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Help us prepare meals! As a parish, we serve dinner to approximately 150-200 people on the third Saturday of every month. Donations can be dropped off at the Immaculata kitchen (attached to the school) between 4 and 4:30 pm on Saturday.
Individual meals will be packaged and transported to Urban Ministries on Liberty Street.
Please sign up and tell us what you can bring!
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Kennith M. Chiha
Director of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC)
Immaculate Conception
Catholic Church
901-A West Chapel Hill Street
Durham, NC 27701
(919) 682-3449 Ext. 293
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