“Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.”
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
COMMUNITY ORGANIZING
JUSTICE, PEACE, AND INTEGRITY OF CREATION (JPIC)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
JPIC COMMUNITY ORGANIZING AND DURHAM CAN
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I. New to Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) "Community Organizing"?
II. What is Durham CAN? III. How Do I Get Involved? IV. JPIC Community Organizing Core Team V. Durham CAN Metro Council and Internal Action Meetings VI. Durham CAN Research Action Teams
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VII. Durham CAN Public Action Meetings
VIII. Additional Durham CAN Teams
IX. Previous Durham CAN Events
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NEW TO JUSTICE, PEACE, AND INTEGRITY OF CREATION (JPIC)
“COMMUNITY ORGANIZING”?
If you are new to Durham or Immaculate Conception, or just to our Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) social justice and charity work, you may not be familiar with our parish’s relationships with numerous “community organizing” nonprofits. Although our parishioners and staff promote the Gospel’s call for solidarity and social justice through a number of local community action organizations, Immaculate Conception has a particularly long history of supporting Durham CAN. In the section below, "What is Durham CAN?," you can read my more detailed description of the organization. Simply put, Durham CAN is a nonprofit organization uniting "Congregations, Associations, and Neighborhoods" to help promote the common good within our shared community. Our church was a founding member of the organization. In addition to providing financial support over the years, our parishioners have continued to work for justice on countless issues alongside other Durham CAN member institutions.
If you would like to join our JPIC Community Organizing Team's efforts in our parish and our community through organizations like Durham CAN, or if you have any questions about the information explained below, please contact me directly:
Ken Chiha, (919) 682-3449 Ext. 293
Director of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC)
Ken Chiha, (919) 682-3449 Ext. 293
Director of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC)
WHAT IS DURHAM CAN?
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Durham CAN (Congregation, Associations, Neighborhoods) is based in institutions: congregations, associations, schools (both private and public), nonprofits, community health centers, and neighborhood organizations that share a concern for families and a tradition of faith and democracy. Durham CAN strengthens these institutions by developing the skills and capacity of their leaders to be change agents in the public process. Durham CAN creates a vehicle for ordinary people to have a powerful voice in community decisions that affect their lives, instead of leaving decision-making in the hands of a select few.
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Durham CAN (Direct Link)
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Durham CAN builds relationships of trust among people and institutions across Durham County, intentionally crossing boundaries that divide our communities. It supports member churches, synagogues, even dioceses, synods, and conferences as they seek to address problems that impact families and communities. Issue-driven and politically non-partisan, CAN puts forth an “issues agenda” as a platform for constructive change.
HOW DO I GET INVOLVED?
Many parishioners are familiar with or have already participated in supporting larger Durham CAN events, particularly around elections or specific social justice issues in Durham. Every CAN campaign begins with listening. People come together to share stories about the issues that affect their lives, families, and communities, then choose issues all can support. Durham CAN acts strategically, holding government and corporate power players accountable to create change for the common good. Durham CAN only moves forward on projects you have the energy and commitment to address. They remain driven by the testimony of concrete experience, not pre-conceived ideology. Once potential issues are identified, community leaders like you do research to develop practical, achievable solutions on concrete issues we can do something about in our community. I have listed below several ways IC parishioners can get involved.
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JPIC COMMUNITY ORGANIZING CORE TEAM
TIME COMMITMENT
Meetings approximately once per month + regular parish/community "relational meetings"
JPIC CORE TEAM COMMUNITY ORGANIZING MEETINGS
2nd Monday each month, 6-7:30 pm, Parish Office Conference Room
Meetings approximately once per month + regular parish/community "relational meetings"
JPIC CORE TEAM COMMUNITY ORGANIZING MEETINGS
2nd Monday each month, 6-7:30 pm, Parish Office Conference Room
Our JPIC Community Organizing Core Team organizes and strengthens our church's ability to work for social justice in our parish and throughout our community. Our Core Team also works directly with Durham CAN as our JPIC volunteer parish representatives responsible for disseminating important updates, organizing turnout for public action, and building an institutional culture of trust through relational practices.
The JPIC Community Organizing Core Team is a small group of parishioners trained in the art of grassroots community organizing. The Core Team identifies our church's priorities and organizes/mobilizes our parishioners in an effort to address community issues through public action. Parishioners who volunteer to be a part of our JPIC Community Organizing Core Team organize our parish collectively to take action on a variety of social justice initiatives. They also are Immaculate Conceptions main JPIC parishioner representatives in Durham CAN (i.e. they present our parish’s concerns and questions, while maintaining a constant flow of communication, action, and evaluation about all Durham CAN-related issues). The Core Team keeps the parish aware of all Durham CAN activities and keep our parishioners actively involved in helping to address the root causes of inequality and injustice. Hence, this role is much broader/expansive than volunteering to temporarily work on a Durham CAN Research Action Team, which focuses on a specific social justice issue/goal.
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Our JPIC Community Organizing Core Team's efforts to organize our parish’s involvement with Durham CAN is part of the JPIC Core Team's larger mission to develop leadership and strengthen community within Immaculate Conception and between other institutions, building bridges across longstanding divisions that isolate communities from each other. Its goal is to help identify leaders in our parish to participate in training, initiate local action, and take part in major social justice community organizing and Durham CAN actions/campaigns.
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The Core Team also may periodically gather together all parishioners involved with JPIC Community Organizing for coffee/dinner or other social events that may include faith sharing, synodal listening, and community building.
DURHAM CAN METRO COUNCIL AND INTERNAL ACTION MEETINGS
TIME COMMITMENT
DURHAM CAN METRO COUNCIL (CORE TEAM) MEETINGS
3rd Thursday each month, 6-8 pm, Location Announced Monthly
DURHAM CAN METRO COUNCIL (CORE TEAM) MEETINGS
3rd Thursday each month, 6-8 pm, Location Announced Monthly
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Our JPIC Community Organizing Core Team members serve as Immaculate Conception's parish representatives at Durham CAN's Metro Action and Internal Action meetings. In addition to sharing the perspectives of our parishioners (noted above), the Core Team makes important decisions on behalf our church community at these meetings. They also serve as liaisons, communicating/receiving important updates and new resource materials, ensuring our parish commitments to Durham CAN are fulfilled in our efforts to make our city a better place for all!
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DURHAM CAN RESEARCH ACTION TEAMS
TIME COMMITMENT
Meetings 1-2 times per month
Meetings 1-2 times per month
Parishioners may join a Durham CAN Research Action Team, empowering them to work alongside leaders of other Durham CAN member institutions. Research Action Teams temporarily work on a partial solution to a larger collective problem through research, relational meetings, listening sessions, power analyses, and action campaign recommendations.
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Durham CAN Research Action Teams often are the most direct way to help others and have your voice heard when wanting to address a particular issue. Durham CAN’s agenda emerges from small-group gatherings. People like you share your stories about issues you would like to see changed. They are responsible for the refining work of turning larger, abstract problems into specific, tangible issues they have identified as negatively affecting our constituency. Ultimately, Research Action Teams help provide Durham CAN institutions, like Immaculate Conception, clarity and specificity around our common issues, enabling Durham CAN effectively to address and transform those issues by organizing and mobilizing our collective power.
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Our JPIC invited all IC parishioners to participate in the process of setting Durham CAN’s agenda for this current organizing cycle/year. We also invited our parishioners to attend the Research Action Team Training meeting to prepare to be a part of these teams. If you missed this training session, please review the helpful resources below.
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In Durham CAN's current organizing cycle, the four Research Action Teams include:
If you would like to join other Immaculate Conception parishioners in one of Durham CAN’s Research Action Teams, please sign up on the Durham CAN link below.
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Please remember to keep your current status and contact information updated with Ken Chiha, Director of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC).
DURHAM CAN PUBLIC ACTION MEETINGS
TIME COMMITMENT
2-4 gatherings per year
2-4 gatherings per year
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All parishioners can come together to support Durham CAN by showing up and participating in larger Public Actions they sponsor. Many of these events are designed to bring our community together and allow the people to express shared needs or concerns.
Often, public or political leaders are invited to respond to Durham CAN's broad-based, achievable requests for action on behalf of the common good. These public figures may be asked to change a particular policy or practice that Durham CAN's institutions have identified as negatively affecting our community. |
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ADDITIONAL DURHAM CAN TEAMS
DURHAM CAN STRATEGY TEAMThe Strategy Team is responsible for setting the direction of Durham CAN, based on issues raised and ratified by the membership. The Strategy Team authorizes new issue campaigns, reviews the progress of current campaigns, attends to financial and structural aspects of the organization, and oversees the hiring of a Lead Organizer. It is my understanding that the members of this team are appointed/invited.
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DURHAM CAN CLERGY CAUCUSDurham CAN's Clergy Caucus is composed of clergy leaders of member institutions who work with Durham CAN organizers to act on proposed strategy and guide Durham CAN's campaigns. The Clergy Caucus provides a regular space for philosophical, theological, and practical reflection. Our Parochial Vicar, Father Hugh Macsherry, OFM, is a member of the Durham CAN Clergy Caucus.
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PREVIOUS DURHAM CAN EVENTS
Calendar - Durham Congregations, Associations and Neighborhoods (durhamcan.org)
Please Note: Information regarding Durham CAN Research Action Team meetings can be found in a separate section below.
Please Note: Information regarding Durham CAN Research Action Team meetings can be found in a separate section below.
DURHAM CAN CANDIDATES ASSEMBLY
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On Sunday, October 15, approximately 50 Immaculate Conception parishioners, led by our JPIC's Community Organizing Core Team, joined over 460-member organization delegates to hear from all eight candidates for Durham Mayor and City Council at the Durham CAN and the Congress of Latino Organizations “Candidates Assembly.” Delegates heard stories from people directly impacted by issues such as gun violence and the lack of affordable housing in our community. We procured commitments from all the candidates to support specific initiatives proposed by the CAN Gun Violence Action Team, Affordable Housing Action Team, and other commitments made at the Durham CAN meeting at Immaculate Conception last year. . We are truly grateful for your support.
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CORE TEAM TRAINING
Thank you to all our parishioners who attended this training session to become part of Immaculate Conception's JPIC Community Organizing Core team. If you missed this Core team training but would still like to be a part of our JPIC Core team, please contact Ken Chiha, Director of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC).
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Core Teams are the central building block on which Durham CAN is enabled to organize collective power. They are a vital part of the health of broad-based organization and all our institutions. As such, it is imperative that each member institution have a Core Team that is organized and trained.
The training session helped teach members from all Durham CAN institutions what a Core Team is and how this team functions within each institution, like Immaculate Conception. We discussed how Core Teams build collective power, organize within institutions, increase energy and participation from our members, and mobilize institutions into public action. Please click on the included PowerPoint presentation slides to learn more. |
COUNTY COMMISSION A.R.P.A.
(AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT) FUNDING ACTION
Postponed - TBD
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The County Commission A.R.P.A. (American Rescue Plan Act) Funding Action is an opportunity to ask our County officials to allocate $3 million in ARPA funding to bolster infrastructure and assist Urban Ministries of Durham (UMD) in planning and launching a public-private partnership aimed at the construction of a downtown day shelter for our unsheltered neighbors. This would be a transformational investment in the lives of our unsheltered neighbors downtown.
The downtown day shelter would:
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Durham CAN institutions pledged to bring 202 people!
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CITY COUNCIL ACTION:
BILINGUAL INSPECTOR AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING
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On Monday evening, May 15, over 65+ English and Spanish-speaking parishioners joined our Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) Community Organizing advocacy efforts with Durham CAN at City Hall to convince the City Council to prioritize budget funding for two important housing issues discussed below. We are so thankful to all our parishioners who together with other Durham CAN institutions had approximately 150 advocates at the meeting to support those in our community most in need.
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1) Funding for a Bilingual Housing Code Inspector for Neighborhood Improvement Services
The addition of this bilingual position will:
Two Durham CAN leaders, including Immaculate Conception's Pastor Father Jacek Orzechowski O.F.M., spoke clearly and powerfully about the need for increased accessibility to be provided to our Spanish-speaking families. Although Neighborhood Improvement Services does have bilingual staff members, these staff members currently fulfill multiple roles within the department so they cannot be moved to inspect dwellings without leaving a gap in other essential services. This leaves our Spanish-speaking families with a second-class service or even no service at all. Our collective efforts are already having an impact, as City Council members are reaching out to the City Manager to find ways to address CAN's concerns. CAN leaders will be meeting with the Durham City Manager to discuss solutions to this issue. |
2) The Purchasing of Carver Creek Apartments for Permanent Affordable Housing
The purchasing of the property would:
If you would like to offer additional support for Housing for New Hope in preserving the Carver Creek Apartments as affordable housing, please attend the "City Council Work Session" on May 18 at 1 pm. Housing for New Hope will be offering a presentation to City Council members during the public hearing section of the agenda. |
UPDATES!!!
CITY COUNCIL ACTION: BILINGUAL INSPECTOR AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING
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BILINGUAL CODE ENFORCEMENT INSPECTOR
Durham CAN also went to the City Council Meeting on May 15 to request funding in this year's budget for a Bilingual Code Enforcement Inspector for Neighborhood Improvement Services. Following the City Council Action, we had a team of leaders from CAN, Immaculate Conception, and the Latino Congress meet with Durham's City Manager to discuss possible solutions to our issue. Our work on this issue is ongoing, and we hope to have more good news to share soon. 
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CARVER CREEK APARTMENTS
Durham CAN stood with Housing for New Hope on May 15 asking the city to commit $3 million to save the affordable housing units at the Carver Creek Apartments. We are happy to announce that the city granted the request, which will also be matched by $3 million from Durham County that had already been committed. In total, Durham CAN was able to help secure $6 million in funding that saves existing units of affordable housing and creates additional opportunities for more affordable housing units to be constructed later by Housing for New Hope. |
DURHAM CAN REFOUNDING DAY
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Thank you to all our Immaculate Conception parishioners who helped our Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) Community Organizing efforts to support the Durham CAN Refounding Day on Sunday, April 30, 6-7:30 pm at Duke Memorial UMC. 105+ English and Spanish-speaking, new and long-time, and younger and older parishioners across all cultural and economic backgrounds took part in the gathering. Our parishioners joined 641 people from 30+ Durham churches and organizations.
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Together, we listened to powerful testimonies, some from our own parishioners, that shed light on how our community is increasingly burdened by the crises of unaffordable housing, low wages, gun violence, poverty/homelessness, and other issues such as education, public transportation, racism, and lack of accessible care for our most vulnerable neighbors.
Although we celebrate this success, we know that much work needs to be done. We remain energized, focused, and ready to organize more people, build more power, and see more change in Durham. |
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© 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 - chihak@icdurham.org
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 - chihak@icdurham.org