PRISON MINISTRIES
JUSTICE, PEACE, AND INTEGRITY OF CREATION (JPIC)
PEN PAL PRISON MINISTRY
- Write letters to a prisoner serving a life-sentence
Co-Facilitators: Drew Doll and Erin Parish
RETURNING CITIZENS
(Sponsored by the Religious Coalition for a Non-Violent Durham)
Support Circles
Food Box Deliveries
- Join a small faith circle of support for individuals coming out of prison
Food Box Deliveries
- Tuesdays, 3-4:30 pm
- Adult parishioners deliver boxes of food (picked up from Iglesia Emanuel Church [2504 North Roxboro Street, Durham]) and deliver them to the homes of returning citizens in our Durham community.
VISITING THE IMPRISONED
- Visit prisoners monthly
Butner Federal Facilities
*Through the Regional Coordinator for the Prison Visitation and Support [PVS] out of Philadelphia, PA.
*Through the Regional Coordinator for the Prison Visitation and Support [PVS] out of Philadelphia, PA.
- Communion service for Catholic men
- “Low Facility” one-on-one monthly visitations
Durham County Detention Facility
- Church Services (TBD)
Women’s Prison in Raleigh
*Training must be obtained directly through the facility.
*Training must be obtained directly through the facility.
- Weekly visitation/Communion service
- Monthly Mass on site
- Sacrament of Reconciliation quarterly
JPIC Women's Prison Ministry and Diocese of Ralegh Team
DEATH PENALTY ABOLITION ADVOCACY
- Advocacy/education to bring an end to the death penalty.
OTHER EVENTS INCLUDE
Advocacy, marches, "Voices from Death Row" (discussion with man on death row), etc.
PRISON MINISTRY AND DEATH PENALTY ABOLITION ADVOCACY
STAND UP FOR ABOLITION
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Join Catholics for Abolition in North Carolina (CANC) as we stand in solidarity, with all men and women on Death Row in our State.
Every Monday throughout the Year 4-5 pm (November through Mid-March) 5-6 pm (rest of the year) Outside Central Prison (1300 Western Boulevard, Raleigh 27606) |
PRAYER VIGILS FOR ABOLITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY
THIRD MONDAYS VIRTUAL PRAYER VIGIL
CATHOLICS FOR ABOLITION IN NORTH CAROLINA (CANC)
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Join Catholics for Abolition in North Carolina (CANC) as we gather to pray to abolish the death penalty in NC and around the US.
Third Monday of every month Online at 7 pm for a 15-minute, non-interactive prayer vigil (Please remain muted during the vigil) You can receive the link for the vigil by signing up here |
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FIRST FRIDAYS VIRTUAL PRAYER VIGIL
CATHOLIC MOBILIZING NETWORK (CMN)
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On the First Friday of each month, Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN) holds a Virtual Prayer Vigil to lament upcoming executions and bear witness to the inviolable dignity and sanctity of all human life. These virtual spaces offer a place to pray together as a faith community in response to the injustice of the death penalty. Each vigil includes time for guided prayer, petitions, Scripture reflections, and contemplative silence.
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These monthly gatherings feature the diverse voices of Catholic bishops, Church leaders, allies across the death penalty abolition movement, and people impacted by crime, violence, or incarceration. Virtual prayer vigils are held live via Zoom conference and livestreamed on CMN's YouTube page. Please register here. The day of the vigil, all those who register will receive an email with a link and additional instructions on how to join the event. Simultaneous Spanish language interpretation will now be available. Attendees will have the option to tune in to a live interpreter joining us on the Zoom call. Further instructions will be provided at the beginning of the vigil. Please invite anyone who would benefit from this service.
La interpretación simultánea en español ahora estará disponible. Los asistentes tendrán la opción de sintonizar un intérprete en vivo que se unirá a nosotros en la llamada de Zoom. Se proporcionarán más instrucciones al comienzo de la vigilia. ¡Invite a cualquiera que se beneficie de este servicio!
La interpretación simultánea en español ahora estará disponible. Los asistentes tendrán la opción de sintonizar un intérprete en vivo que se unirá a nosotros en la llamada de Zoom. Se proporcionarán más instrucciones al comienzo de la vigilia. ¡Invite a cualquiera que se beneficie de este servicio!
DEATH PENALTY ABOLITION ADVOCACY WEBSITES
(Direct Link)
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(Direct Link)
(Direct Link)
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PREVIOUS PRISON MINISTRY AND DEATH PENALTY ABOLITION ADVOCACY
HOLIDAY FOOD PACKAGES
FOR PEOPLE LIVING ON DEATH ROW
North Carolina Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty is asking for help once again to provide holiday food packages for people living on death row. We recently invited each of the 122 people sentenced to death in North Carolina to select food items through a prison-approved vendor.
As is the case every year, the package you fund represents more than just the contents inside the box. It is a small reminder for everyone sentenced to death in our state that they have not been forgotten during the holiday season. For many, this will be the only food package they will receive all year.
Please consider making a donation so we can send a package to everyone who requests one. This year, including shipping and sales taxes, each package will cost approximately $85. You may of course donate to cover a partial package or multiple packages! Your donation is tax deductible.
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You can contribute by credit card at this link on our webpage. Or you can send a check or money order payable to NCCADP with “Holiday Package” on the memo line.
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Please mail to:
NC Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty ATTN: Holiday Package Project 3326 Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard Building D, Suite 201 Durham, NC 27707 |
Thank you. We cannot offer these gifts without your generous support!
WORLD DAY AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY
Advocates & Abolitionists once again joined Catholics for Abolition in North Carolina to observe the 23rd World Day Against the Death Penalty. This prayerful and peaceful march and protest proceeded from the Cathedral to Central Prison (1300 Western Blvd, Raleigh) where we stood in solidarity with those 121 men and women on death row in our capital city. More information can be found here.
Thank you for letting your voice be heard and expressing your opposition to the death penalty on this important day!
AN EVENING WITH SISTER HELEN PREJEAN
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Members of our JPIC Prison Ministries and Racial Justice Ministry attended "An Evening with Sister Helen Prejean" presented by "Catholics for Abolition in North Carolina (CANC)." Sr. Helen Prejean is known around the world for her tireless work against the death penalty. She has been instrumental in sparking national dialogue on capital punishment and in shaping the Catholic Church’s vigorous opposition to all executions.
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After accompanying and witnessing the executions of two men at Louisiana State Penitentiary, Patrick Sonnier and Robert Willie, Sister Helen realized that this lethal ritual would remain unchallenged unless its secrecy was stripped away. She sat down and wrote her book, Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States (1993). It ignited a national debate that continues today on capital punishment and its brutal nature. It became an Academy Award winning film, Dead Man Walking based on her #1 NY Times Bestselling book. It also has been adapted into an opera and graphic book.
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT, RACISM, AND THE LIVES IN BETWEEN
The Prison Engagement Initiative's Graduate Cohort hosted a meaningful evening focused on one of our state's ugliest practices: the death penalty. 137 individuals currently sit on NC's death row, awaiting state-sponsored execution. Ed Chapman used to be one of those individuals until he was exonerated in 2008. Ed shared his journey, from dealing with the trauma that accompanies life in a death chamber to the struggles and successes he has had since his release. The audience also heard accounts from others on death row via Lynden Harris, author of "Right Here, Right Now." The racial history of the death penalty in NC was told through a short documentary film, Racist Roots, created by NC's Center for Death Penalty Litigation. Finally, there was a panel discussion, featuring local professionals who have all intersected the horror of NC's death row from different angles, including: a defense attorney (Kailey Morgan), penal psychologist (Peter Kuhns), prison chaplain (Louis Threatt), and restorative justice practitioner (Jon Powell).
This event was co-sponsored by the Wilson Center for Science and Justice, Duke Law's Criminal Defense Clinic, and Duke Divinity's Prison Justice Action Committee.
This event was co-sponsored by the Wilson Center for Science and Justice, Duke Law's Criminal Defense Clinic, and Duke Divinity's Prison Justice Action Committee.
WALK FOR COMMUTATION: RACIST ROOTS SCREENING & PANEL @ IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) welcomes the North Carolina Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (NCCADP) to Immaculate Conception Catholic Church on Saturday, October 5th, 6:30 pm – 8 pm for the “Walk for Commutation: Racist Roots Screening & Panel” in the San Damiano 2 trailer.
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“Racist Roots” is a powerful 25-minute film that reveals North Carolina’s death penalty’s deep entanglement with slavery, lynching, and racism. Following the film, Glen Edward Chapman, who spent nearly 14 years on NC’s death row wrongfully convicted, will offer comments and respond to Q&A. National award-winning poet and NCCADP Community Engagement Coordinator Nick Courmon will also perform spoken word poetry.
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Participants will have the opportunity to write postcards to the Governor. This event is part of NCCADP’s 136-mile Walk for Commutation, calling on Governor Cooper to commute all death sentences. Find more information about the Walk for Commutation here and sign up to walk in Durham with NCCADP at this link. Special thanks to Catholic Mobilizing Network and Catholics for Abolition North Carolina (CANC) for supporting this event.
EVENT SCHEDULE
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VERSES FROM WITHIN: ARTISTIC RESILIENCE ON DEATH ROW FROM CREATIVITY TO COMMUTATION
A BENEFIT FOR THE NORTH CAROLINA COALITION FOR ALTERNATIVES TO THE DEATH PENALTY (NCCADP)
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Father Gonzalo and members of our JPIC community attended a benefit for the North Carolina Coalition for Alternatives to The Death Penalty (NCCADP). In addition to speakers and live music, the event featured the creativity of people incarcerated on North Carolina’s death row, raising needed funds to support NCCADP’s Commutation Campaign. The event was hosted by the Southern Coalition for Social Justice (5517 Durham Chapel-Hill Boulevard, Durham)
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LOCKED IN SOLIDRITY
A WEEK OF AWARENESS AND ACTION ON MASS INCARCERATION
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JPIC parishioners joined our Durham community in a week of events to remember the physical and emotional realities of mass incarceration. Father Gonzalo, Katushka Olave (our Latino Pastoral Associate), Robert Singagliese (our JPIC Core Team Community Organizing parishioner team leader), Erin Parish (our JPIC Pen Pal Prison Ministry parishioner co-leader), along with other JPIC parishioners took part in a prayer vigil and march to Durham County Jail in solidarity with those affected by incarceration led by DurhamCares and Durham Congregations in Action (DCIA).
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NOW IS THE TIME!
RALLY FOR COMMUTATION, COMMUNITY, AND COMPASSION
NORTH CAROLINA COALITION FOR ALTERNATIVES TO THE DEATH PENALTY (NCCADP)
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Father Gonzalo and Robert Singagliese (our JPIC Core Team Community Organizing parishioner team leader), along with several of our IC JPIC parishioners joined people from across North Carolina once again to rally for "commutation, community, and compassion" of our state’s 137 death sentences!
"BEYOND EXECUTIONS: REMEMBERING 43 LOST AND CREATING A FUTURE WITHOUT DEATH ROW"
NORTH CAROLINA COALITION FOR ALTERNATIVES TO THE DEATH PENALTY (NCCADP)
Immaculate Conception Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) Promoting Human Dignity Prison Ministries parishioners joined people from across our state in Raleigh to remember the 17th anniversary of North Carolina’s last execution.
Registration and Information Link
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Organized by the North Carolina Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (NCCADP), we gathered to recommit ourselves to demand a future with no more death row. The program began inside Pullen Memorial Baptist Church with a reading of the names of the 43 people executed in NC since 1984 and a one-sentence eulogy for each person, along with the premiere of a new piece entitled “Cradle to the Gurney” by award-winning spoken-word poet Nick Courman. We marched to Central Prison, where a vigil was held in protest of our state's death penalty.
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DEATH PENALTY PROTEST MARCH
NORTH CAROLINA COALITION FOR ALTERNATIVES TO THE DEATH PENALTY (NCCADP)
People from across North Carolina marched from Central Prison in Raleigh to the NC Governor’s Mansion to urge Governor Roy Cooper to commute the death sentences of the 135 people on North Carolina’s death row.
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Father Gonzalo and Catherine Pleil (our JPIC Promoting Human Dignity parishioner team leader), along with several other parishioners attended a march to tell Governor Cooper “No More Death Row!”
#NoMoreDeathRow #DecarcerateNowNC Thanks to all our parishioners who embodied Catholic social teaching by helping to bring attention to this important movement. |
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© 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]
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]