JPIC Book Studies

BOOK STUDIES
JUSTICE, PEACE, AND INTEGRITY OF CREATION (JPIC)

Our Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation Promoting Human Dignity team sponsor a variety of book studies specifically focusing on social justice issues. Our JPIC book studies are an essential part of faith formation and our commitment to justice. We usually offer our book studies during the summer and during Lent as an additional faith formation opportunity to complement our JPIC JustFaith program offered each fall.
If you have any questions, please contact:

JPIC PROMOTING HUMAN DIGNITY (PHD)
VOLUNTEER PARISHIONER TEAM LEADER
Catherine Pleil

DIRECTOR OF JUSTICE, PEACE, AND INTEGRITY OF CREATION (JPIC)
Ken Chiha

PREVIOUS JPIC BOOK STUDIES

SUMMER 2023

LEFT TO TELL:
DISCOVERING GOD AMIDST THE RWANDAN HOLOCAUST

Immaculee Ilibagiza grew up in a country she loved, surrounded by a family she cherished. But in 1994 her idyllic world was ripped apart as Rwanda descended into a bloody genocide. Immaculee’s family was brutally murdered during a killing spree that lasted three months and claimed the lives of nearly a million Rwandans.

Incredibly, Immaculee survived the slaughter. For 91 days, she and seven other women huddled silently together in the cramped bathroom of a local pastor while hundreds of machete-wielding killers hunted for them.

It was during those endless hours of unspeakable terror that Immaculee discovered the power of prayer, eventually shedding her fear of death and forging a profound and lasting relationship with God. She emerged from her bathroom hideout having discovered the meaning of truly unconditional love—a love so strong she was able seek out and forgive her family’s killers.

The triumphant story of this remarkable young woman’s journey through the darkness of genocide will inspire anyone whose life has been touched by fear, suffering, and loss.

WEDNESDAY MORNING SESSIONS 
June 14 (Part 1), June 21 (Part 2), June 28 (Part 3)
“Adult Faith Formation Room,” Parish Office
(901 West Chapel Hill Street)
Time: 10:30-11:45 am
(Noon Mass optional after meeting)

CO-FACILITATORS
Lauren Lee P. Schewel  and Olga Rodriguez

PROGRAM DIRECTOR/STAFF LIAISON
Ken Chiha
Director of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC)

LENT 2023

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 or attending a Friday morning group which will meet at the Parish Center. Participants should purchase their books ahead of time. Please click on the link below to register.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfvkRS4EH7jb9T1DZv5EoMB_OVTfYfUjK0k4_KvrU6_-kebpg/viewform?usp=sharing

TUESDAY NIGHT “ZOOM” SESSIONS 
Tuesdays, 02/28-03/28, 7-8:30 pm (via zoom) 

CO-FACILITATORS
Maryann Crea and Patricia Basta    

PROGRAM DIRECTOR/STAFF LIAISON
Ken Chiha
Director of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC)

FRIDAY MORNING “IN-PERSON” SESSIONS 
Fridays, 03/3-03/31, 10-11:30 am
“Adult Faith Formation Room,” Parish Office
(901 West Chapel Hill Street)

CO-FACILITATORS
Catherine Pleil  and Olga Rodriguez

PROGRAM DIRECTOR/STAFF LIAISON
Ken Chiha
Director of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC)

TATTOOS ON THE HEART:
THE POWER OF BOUNDLESS COMPASSION

A memoir recommended for those interested in putting a human face on those experiencing homelessness, participating in gangs, and the disenfranchised - by trusting in the slow work of God and seeking the spirit of kinship with others in community.

Tattoos on the Heart is a breathtaking series of parables distilled from Father Greg’s twenty years in the barrio. Down-to-earth and utterly heartening, these essays about universal kinship and redemption are moving examples of the power of unconditional love in difficult times and the importance of fighting despair.

BARKING TO THE CHOIR:
THE POWER OF RADICAL KINSHIP

In a nation deeply divided and plagued by poverty and violence, BARKING TO THE CHOIR offers a snapshot into the challenges and joys of life on the margins. The stories of former gang members uplift the soul and reveal how bright life can be when filled with unconditional love and kindness.

This book is guaranteed to shake up our ideas about God and about humanity with a glimpse at a world defined by more compassion and fewer barriers. Gently and humorously, Barking to the Choir invites us to find kinship with one another and reconvinces us all of our own goodness.

LENT 2022

CRIMSON LETTERS:
VOICES FROM DEATH ROW

Through thirty compelling essays written in the prisoners’ own words, Crimson Letters: Voices from Death Row offers stories of brutal beatings inside juvenile hall, botched suicide attempts, the terror of the first night on Death Row, the pain of goodbye as a friend is led to execution, and the small acts of humanity that keep hope alive for men living in the shadow of death.

Each carefully crafted personal essay illuminates the complex stew of choice and circumstance that brought four men to Death Row and the cycle of dehumanization and brutality that continues inside prison. At times the men write with humor, at times with despair, at times with deep sensitivity, but always with keen insight and understanding of the common human experience that binds us.

LENT 2021

THE CROSS AND THE LYNCHING TREE

The cross and the lynching tree are the two most emotionally charged symbols in the history of the African American community. In this powerful new work, theologian James H. Cone explores these symbols and their interconnection in the history and souls of black folk. Both the cross and the lynching tree represent the worst in human beings and at the same time a thirst for life that refuses to let the worst determine our final meaning. While the lynching tree symbolized white power and black death, the cross symbolizes divine power and black life God overcoming the power of sin and death. For African Americans, the image of Jesus, hung on a tree to die, powerfully grounded their faith that God was with them, even in the suffering of the lynching era.