WHO WE ARE
IDENTITY - MISSION - PEOPLE
JUSTICE, PEACE, AND INTEGRITY OF CREATION (JPIC)

IDENTITY

The Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) ministries of Immaculate Conception participates in a vibrant and diverse Franciscan parish located in downtown Durham. We aspire to be servant-leaders within our parish. We are committed to live the values of Catholic Social Teaching and to being vigilant and responsive to current issues affecting our parishioners, our community, and our world.

MISSION

Our mission is to engage and empower Immaculate Conception parishioners to live lives of justice, healing, compassion, and peace, manifesting the reign of God in our parish, our community, and our world. We will do this by being attentive to the signs of the times, through dialogue, and through organized communal response to societal and individual human needs, always cognizant that all human beings are created in the image and likeness of God.

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​PEOPLE

As our parish’s newest director, my primary responsibility has been to rebuild and restructure our Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) ministries following the past few years of transitions in leadership and the difficult struggles of covid. I have included below some descriptions of the various service positions, people, and teams that are part of our Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) ministries.

DIRECTOR OF JUSTICE, PEACE, AND INTEGRITY OF CREATION (JPIC)
​KEN CHIHA
​(919) 682-3449 Ext. 293 - chihak@icdurham.org

Ken Chiha, Director of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC)

Since each JPIC director has fulfilled this role differently, for accountability and transparency, I have shared below a general overview of the ways I will be serving our parish in my role as director in the process of rebuilding/restructuring our JPIC alongside our parishioners here at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church.

• Direct, promote, and support the parish’s mission of Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation (JPIC) in the areas of education/faith formation, global solidarity and advocacy, systematic justice, community organizing, and direct service in accordance with the Gospel, Catholic Social Teachings, and Franciscan vision, values, and approach to ministry.
• Develop/communicate this theological vision, raising awareness and fostering the social mission of the Church, ensuring that Catholic principles are understood and meaningfully integrated into all JPIC ministries/actions in our parish and the wider community.
• Implement numerous JPIC administrative tasks, including budget development/planning; organization/oversight of all programming; and communications (content creation, design, maintenance, etc. [i.e. websites via Weebly; newsletters via Constant Contact; etc.]).
• Create and serve as staff liaison to the JPIC Council, JPIC parishioner volunteer teams and sub-committees, and to respective religious, political, and social justice organizations in Durham and globally.

All our JPIC ministries are led by parishioners loving faith commitment, call to discipleship, and sharing of their gifts and talents. They embody what it is to be church (ecclesia) and "a faith that does justice." In accordance with Catholic social teaching, theology of ministry, and as a servant leader, my role as director is to serve the parish community through helping to provide vision, formation/education, organization, structure, and communication, which will empower our parishioners (via subsidiarity) to come together through our many JPIC ministries to determine which specific actions (via the "signs of the times;" faith praxis: see-judge-act, etc.) to embody God's loving action in the world.

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ASSISTANT TO THE DIRECTOR OF JUSTICE, PEACE, AND INTEGRITY OF CREATION (JPIC)
​ISABEL KOVALIK
(919) 808-5379 - kovaliki@icdurham.org

Isabel Kovalik, Assistant to the Director of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC)

*Description forthcoming

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LATINO PASTORAL ASSOCIATE
​KATUSHKA OLAVE
​(919) 281-0731 - olavek@icdurham.org

Katushka Olave, Latino Pastoral Associate

The Latino ministry is an ever-growing part of Immaculate Conception. Katushka Olave, our parish's Latino Pastoral Associate, serves our church community in a multitude of ways. An essential part of the Latino Pastoral Associate's ministry is to help our Latino community play a vital part in the JPIC ministries of our parish. Katushka has been an amazing colleague and counterpart, helping to ensure that our JPIC ministries address the needs of both our English and Spanish-speaking parishioners, particularly in areas related to immigrants and refugees, poverty, homelessness, hunger/food insecurity, and health issues. Some of the groups the Latino Pastoral Associate liaisons with are the North Carolina Congress of Latino Organizations (Latino Congress), Durham Congregations in Action (DCIA), and Franciscans Network on Migration (FNM).

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JPIC COUNCIL

The JPIC council is a team of parishioner volunteers who work with the Director of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) to help keep the parish conscious of its obligation to live a faith that does justice. The JPIC council helps the director to develop and realize various strategic and budgetary goals while responding to the “signs of the times” in alignment with Catholic Social Teaching and our parish’s commitment to Laudato Si’. The council promotes and coordinates programs on behalf of justice, peace, and care for creation, locally and in the world community.

For more information about our JPIC Council, please contact:
Ken Chiha, Director of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC)
​(919) 682-3449 Ext. 293 - chihak@icdurham.org

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© 2022. 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