Seeds

Hopefully you have received, seen, or heard by now our announcement that starting on October 1^st we formed the new Congregational JPIC Office.  We are so honored to be entrusted with leading this important work for the Congregation.

We are grateful for the words of support and encouragement many of you have sent to us, as well as your prayers which have been felt during this time.  We joyfully and with an understanding of great responsibility look forward to supporting each of you in more fully in living out the Chapter commitment to taking a prophetic stance for peace, justice, and the care of creation. 

October 1, 2015 marked the start of the office, and the first week was spent in meetings together with the International JPIC Committee in Mexico City, building community and planning our future work together.  We are grateful for the support and trust of the International JPIC Committee in carrying out the day to day work that needs to be done, for the guidance of the General Leadership Team, and above all for the support and commitment of the Congregation in choosing to make justice, peace, and care of creation a more intentional focus in our daily lives and prayers.  

This first month has been full of getting systems and databases established, reaching out to build contacts and relationships with sisters, associates, CCVI institutions and ministries, and other JPIC organizations we could collaborate with.  We haven’t finished this extensive work yet, but we are pleased with the contact that has already been made and look forward to ongoing relationship building.

We have realized that everything is a learning opportunity and we walk this journey together.  We are happy that in this first month we have built up a strong following on our social media sites like our Twitter feed, Facebook page, and Blog. 

As we mentioned in the initial Office announcement, one of our tasks is to create sacred spaces in respect to the care of creation.  In that vein, we are preparing for a series of ‘Community Conversations on Laudato Si’ that will be organized over the next few months.  Some cities will begin these conversation in November, and others in the months to come.  Please stay tuned for those still in the process of being planned. 

This newsletter is also a new project of the Congregational JPIC Office.  We have chosen the name Seeds (Semillas) because through sharing articles related to our four focus areas: poverty, immigration, human rights, and ecology, as well as our corporate stance on human trafficking, we are planting seeds that will one day grow. 

We will also include reflection questions, prayer resources, and action items related to these topics.  We also would like to highlight a different sister each month in the work that she is doing related to JPIC, so if you know of a sister who’s story you would like to share, or would like to share your own, please contact us at jpic.office@amormeus.org.