"Our relationship with the environment can never be isolated from our relationship with others and with God."
Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, 199

CARE FOR CREATION
JUSTICE, PEACE, AND INTEGRITY OF CREATION (JPIC)

Please join your fellow parishioners in our Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) Care for Creation ministry at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church! Caring for our common home remains integral to Catholic Social Teaching, our Tradition, Scripture, and our parish’s Franciscan Catholic Church’s identity and mission of being “called, gifted, and sent to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.” 
Established in 2008, parishioners like you have helped our Care for Creation ministry pursue a God-centered response to countless environmental challenges. Come join in our shared efforts, as we work together to:
  • Reduce the environmental footprint of the IC campus.
  • Provide learning opportunities, educational resources, and other materials on caring for our planet.
  • Support legislative action, advocacy, action alerts, petitions, pledges, and other initiatives to protect the environment and address climate change.
As a Laudato Si’ parish, we know that the way we treat the Earth, our common home, reflects how we treat each other. We hope you will join our Care for Creation ministry as we work together to respond to “the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.”

CARE FOR CREATION MINISTRY PROJECTS​

EDUCATION
  • An annual Earth Day Fair has been held in the Gathering Space for over 15 years. At the fair, parish groups and ministries showcase their activities in support of Our Common Home.​​
​
  • Educational events such as our parish-wide screening of the Pope’s documentary “The Letter” on Laudato Si’ and Catholic social teaching presentations on topics such as the Biblical meaning of Creation Care and the life of St. Francis. Seminars have been given on climate change, solar energy, water conservation and native plants.
  • Our annual JPIC Valentine’s Day Fair Trade Chocolate Sale promotes environmentally friendly practices and workers’ rights.
  • Many of the organizations supported during our annual JPIC Advent Alternative Gift Fair offered opportunities for parishioners to Care for Creation globally, such as protecting biodiversity in the Serere Reserve in the Bolivian Rainforest and Laudato Si' Philippines.
  • Partnerships/work with Duke University and other national organizations that work to protect our environment, including the Half-Earth Project through the E.O. Wilson Foundation which informs collective action to save the biosphere.
ADVOCACY
  • Every year, parishioners participate in Greener Lent to reduce our impact on climate change through fasting from meat and a 40-day commitment to earth’s healing and justice for all, calling us to deepen our awareness of the ecological and social impacts of our patterns of eating.​
  • During the Season of Creation and the Earth Day Fair, parishioners are offered the opportunity to address climate change by signing a petition for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.​
  • Advocacy opportunities through Letters to Congress on renewable energy and clean water and air offered at the city, state, and national levels.
INTEGRATION
  • A 100kW array of solar panels was installed on campus in 2022 using a Duke Energy rebate program. In one year, the panels produce enough electricity to power 10 North Carolina homes.
  • Virtually all lighting on campus was replaced by energy-saving LED bulbs saving more than $3,000/month on electricity.
  • A 1000-gallon water cistern system was placed by the entrance to the church to decrease fertilizer runoff and irrigate plants.
  • Green Faith Certification was achieved under Fr. Charley. The program is based on the belief that protecting the earth is a religious value and that caring for creation is a moral responsibility.
  • Through the Mass, we engage in seasonal prayers, special liturgies, and hymns to deepen and transform our engagement with God’s creation. 
  • Immaculata School’s strong focus on caring for the environment is shared with students through prayer, academic study, and action. The Assisi Preserve was created as a nature-based playground renovation inspired by St. Francis and his love of nature. Both Immaculate Conception and Immaculata support recycling and composting initiatives.
  • Our parish and school's community garden provides homegrown food to those in need, builds community through gardening, and provides education on sustainable practices. Through the years, more than 5000 pounds of food have been harvested and distributed. In addition, Immaculate Conception is in partnership with several local churches to promote a local CSA (community supported agriculture) owned by black farmers.
  • Immaculate Conception's Youth Ministry partnered with Trees Durham for a tree planting day. Immaculate Conception's Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program for children has God’s creation at the core of its religious formation.

 JPIC PARISH-WIDE CARE FOR CREATION EVENTS
​VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

Listed below are several video highlights from some of our parish-wide events illustrating our parish's commitment to caring for creation. Additional videos from our Earth Day Fair and the Community Garden and Assisi Preserve are featured on separate JPIC Care for Creation web pages.
JPIC Screening of "The Letter" and Discussion of the Laudato Si' Action Platform
Celebrating the Installation of our Solar Panels at IC!
JPIC Panel Discussion on the “The War Against Ukraine and the Climate Crisis.”
Franciscan Support for Youth-Led Climate Justice at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church

JPIC CARE FOR CREATION AND
​IMMACULATE CONCEPTION'S LAUDATO SI' ACTION PLAN

In October 2021, Immaculate Conception signed on to the Laudato Si' Action Platform. Developed from Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’ (“On Caring for Our Common Home”), our commitment to an “integral ecology” calls us to explore the teachings of our faith in discerning a response to today’s ecological crisis.
Rooted in the strengths and realities of communities around the world, the universal Catholic Church and all people of good will (LS 3) are empowered to take “decisive action, here and now” as we journey towards a “path of renewal” and a better future together (LS 161). Laudato Si’ teaches us that “everything is connected” (LS 91). Action is urgently needed as we respond to the call for healing in “three fundamental and closely intertwined relationships: with God, with our neighbor [especially the poorest and most vulnerable], and with the Earth itself” (LS 66, 202).
As part of our parish-wide commitment, our JPIC has been exploring the ways our ministries have been embodying Laudato Si’ and how we can further implement this vision in our parish. We were blessed to learn from so many of our parishioners during our parish wide JPIC screening, reflection, and discussion of “The Letter” and the Laudato Sí Action Platform. We also had several reflection and listening sessions with our JPIC and Care for Creation ministry leaders exploring key themes and goals in the Laudato Si' Action Platform., discussing the ways the work we are already doing relates to these ideas. I have included a few resources below to help us as we continue on this journey together.

JPIC CARE FOR CREATION MINISTRY - JOIN US!

We would love to hear from you! Our parish is always in need of new parishioner leaders for our Care for Creation ministry!

To answer the call of discipleship/service, learn more, or join the email list, please contact:
​Ken Chiha, Director of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC)
© All rights reserved.
​If you have questions regarding our various JPIC ministries, please contact me directly.
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 - [email protected]
​
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CATHOLIC CHURCH   |  810 W CHAPEL HILL STREET, DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA 27701  |  919-682-3449


​Contact the Webmaster to report a problem.