GREENER LENT
JUSTICE, PEACE, AND INTEGRITY OF CREATION (JPIC) 

​”Not to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life. The goods we possess are not ours, but theirs."
​— St. John Chrysostom

GREENER LENT
February 18 - April 02, 2026

If you are looking for a meaningful, impactful focus during Lent, please consider joining your fellow Immaculate Conception parishioners as we participate in the diocesan program Greener Lent. It is easy to sign up at greenerlent.org!

What is Greener Lent?

Greener Lent is a 40-day program rooted in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving to prepare for Easter, with special concern for the poor, most vulnerable, and the environment. Just as we affirm life for the unborn and the elderly, we are called to choose life for communities harmed by the unintended consequences of global power generation and industrialized agriculture.

In keeping with Catholic Lenten tradition, participants reduce consumption of meat, pray, and give alms. Each year, Greener Lent saves the carbon equivalent of a tanker of gasoline, inspires thousands of prayers, and has helped provide clean water to 1,300 Catholics in sub-Saharan Africa over the past two years.
If you have any questions, please contact:
Ken Chiha, Director of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC)
Immaculate Conception has been a Greener Lent leader in participation and impact over the last few years, and we would love to continue to show a strong commitment to this effort.

​Once you join the IC Durham team, you will receive weekly updates on the real world impacts our parish efforts have as we prepare our hearts to celebrate Easter.

Interested? How To Sign-Up!

Below are links to the Greener Lent diocese websites in English and Spanish. Please explore their resources and sign up! Join Us & Arrive at Ash Wednesday with a plan.
Questions? Contact: [email protected]​
  • Follow Christ’s example of fasting to grow spiritually, help avoid temptation and place reliance on God.
  • Recognize the poor in our Lenten practices.
  • Strengthen your relationship with God through prayer.

How Can We Care for Creation and the Poor this Lent?

Answer: By joining Greener Lent, a Lenten program through the Lens of Laudato Sí.

During Lent, Catholics pray, give alms and fast, and abstain from meat on set days. Greener Lent builds on these practices to benefit the earth and the poor who are living in the hottest parts of the world, where the impact of the climate crisis is felt the most.

Fast and Abstinence

Dovetailing on existing Catholic tradition, participants choose to abstain additional days from beef, other white meat or cheese and the carbon equivalents saved by their abstinence are calculated and reported back to participants throughout Lent.

Prayer

Fasting without prayer is just a diet. Greener Lent helps participants develop a 40-day habit of prayer with the goal of praying for a lifetime.

Alms

Reducing the consumption of meat saves a small amount of money (average $82). It is suggested that this money be given to our partner, Cross Catholic Outreach, Water for Life Project, to dig wells in some of the hottest and poorest areas in Africa.

Results

  • Every year, Greener Lent participants save the carbon equivalent of a medium-size tanker of gas.
  • Over the past two years, Greener Lent participants have contributed $28,067 to Cross Catholic Outreach and provided an estimated 1300 people with water, changing lives forever.​
  • A significant percent of Greener Lent participants commit to daily prayer. Thousands of prayers of unmeasurable value are lifted to heaven.

GREENER LENT: A CALL TO ECOLOGICAL CONVERSION
Prayer, Fasting, & Giving Alms

“Nothing is to be done out of jealousy or vanity; instead, out of humility of mind everyone should give preference to others, everyone pursuing not selfish interests but those of others.” - Philippians 2:3-4
Lent is designed to prepare our hearts to celebrate the Lord’s resurrection. Greener Lent is based on the Lenten Tradition of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “We are called not only to abstain from luxuries during Lent, but to a true inner conversion of heart as we seek to follow Christ's will more faithfully.” Through 40 days of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, our Laudato Si' inspired Greener Lenten Program calls us to put love into action in caring for our earth and the poor.
On a deeper level, Greener Lent seeks to provoke ecological conversion – helping us in our own individual prayers and practices, increase our commitment to act for the earth’s healing and justice for all. Greener Lent invites our parishioners to enter into the season of repentance and conversion with a greater awareness of how our patterns of eating have ecological and social impacts, particularly on the poor throughout the world who are being disproportionally affected by the climate crisis. 
Prayer opportunities, almsgiving opportunities, and resources that relate directly to creation care and support those who suffer most from climate degradation are routinely provided to participants. Greener Lent encourages participants to:

I. PRAY

​“The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.” - Proverbs 29:7
  • Intensify PRAYERS, especially for the poor whose livelihoods are being destroyed by the climate crisis and that we may follow Christ more closely.​

II. FAST

Lord, teach us to mourn our sins
"In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia . . . I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over."
- Dan. 10:1-3​
  • Sacrificially reduce the amount of meat eaten by choosing a FASTING level which expands the established days of abstinence for Catholics during Lent and provides a Biblically based penance for all Christians. The Greener Lent initiative asks that we pledge each week to minimize our consumption of meat, allowing us to see the collective impact this has on the environment. There are different abstinence levels so you can participate as much or as little as you feel able. Reducing or eliminating meat significantly impacts the participants carbon footprint during Lent.

III. ALMS TO THE POOR

“If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” - 1 John 3:17-18
  • Give ALMS TO THE POOR who have suffered the worst effects of the climate crisis. The poor, our least brothers and sisters, are suffering from a climate crisis that they did little to create and have few resources to combat. Yet, they are bearing the brunt of the effects which are devastating and unrecoverable in many circumstances. The carbon equivalents that are avoided from our community fast by faith communities and other organizations are tracked and reported each week by participating communities. The money donated to the poor as a result of eating less expensive meals is reported in total for all participants each week.​

​HELPFUL & FUN JPIC PARISH RESOURCES

GREENER LENT COOKBOOK
​(Click Image Below for PDF)

GREENER LENT RECIPES

Thank you to all who participated in previous years! IC helped to make a difference in our movement toward ecological conversion and justice as a faith community.
© All rights reserved.
If you have questions regarding our various JPIC ministries, please contact:
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]
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IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CATHOLIC CHURCH   |  810 W CHAPEL HILL STREET, DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA 27701  |  919-682-3449


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