The feast of St. Francis is almost here. We are proud to offer a prayer on Thursday for the healing of the earth, in honor of Francis, the patron of ecology. We also have a 1-hour documentary about Saint Francis we are showing on Sunday afternoon with the filmmaker, John Ebrahimian. May the fire of divine love that filled Saint Francis with light and warmth also enflame us with ardor for the justice and charity of Christ in our world today.
Please save the dates of
Thursday, Sept. 27, our prayer for healing of the earth.
Sunday, Sept. 30, a film on Saint Francis of Assisi.
Monday, Oct. 1, our next monthly meeting.
Tuesday, Oct. 2, a tenant rights seminar.
Here are brief updates on activities and projects. For full updates, join the working groups.
Care for Creation
The working group meets on Thursday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m. at San Damiano. Newcomers welcome. Don’t miss our prayer for the earth on Sept. 27. We will meet in the Memorial Garden and process into the church. We will have a blessing of the fruits of the earth. Please bring a plant, fruit or vegetable, seeds, soil, or water. Also, we will begin projects to promote ecological conversion, parish action, and policy advocacy. We will hold an ecology fair next spring. We want to reduce plastic use at the parish and school, recycle more, and re-use more. We will educate children and adults for ecological conversion. We will demand better protections by the government.
Homelessness
The working group meets on Wednesday, Oct. 10, at 7 p.m. in the Choir Room. Join us for our autumn street outreachon three Saturdays: October 6, November 10, and December 8. We will meet at
10 a.m. on the Isham Street church entrance. We will walk in a group around Inwood and Washington Heights to listen to our homeless neighbors. On
December 8 we will also deliver tote bags with sandwiches, water, healthy snacks, winter clothing items, and other necessities. Also: Join our project to share the stories of homeless persons, and the facts about homelessness, with our parish.
Immigration
We are looking for volunteers to organize this group. From accompaniment to ICE or immigration court, to visiting the sanctuary churches, to supporting family reunification, to helping refugees, there is much work to do. Please contact Brother Anthony if you feel called to be a driver of parish action.
Tenants
City Council approved the Inwood rezoning plan. But this fight is not over. We will resist the displacement of tenants. We are developing a relationship with the Metropolitan Council on Housing and Northern Manhattan Is Not for Sale. We will host tenant rights clinics, beginning with a seminar on Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. in the school with former Housing Court Judge Jay Dankberg. Soon we will hold information sessions about the effects of rezoning. We will support tenant associations in every building and a neighborhood association of tenants. Contact Graham Ciraulo,
gciraulo86@gmail.com, to get involved.
Please bring food and drink to our next plenary meeting on Oct. 1. Again, we need volunteers to take notes, keep time, and facilitate the meeting. I know we met only two weeks ago, but there is much to do! Those to whom much has been given, much is required.