I wish you peace and all good things. Welcome back after a summer of social action and rest in God.
 
When you proclaim the kingdom of God, time is of the essence. Now is always the time to insist on repentance and conversion of human hearts and social structures. The earth is crying out amidst fires and floods. The poor are crying out amidst poverty, hunger, homelessness, and separation from family and homeland.
 
For tenants, for immigrants, for the homeless, for the earth—let us hear their cry, for God’s sake, and dare to speak and act in the powerful name of Jesus. “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”
 
Please save the dates of 
 
Monday, Sept. 10, our next monthly meeting.
 
Thursday, Sept. 27, our prayer for healing of the earth.
 
Here are brief updates on activities and projects. For full updates, join the working groups.
 
Care for Creation
 
The working group meets on Thursday, Sept. 6, at 7 p.m. at San Damiano. Newcomers welcome.
Don’t miss our prayer for the earth on Sept. 27, in the church. 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 and Housing
 
The working group meets on Wednesday, Sept. 12, at 6:45 p.m. in the Choir Room. We will continue our street outreach and support the women’s shelter. Join our project to share the stories of homeless persons, and the facts about homelessness, with our parish. Help us plan our fall event. Join our meetings, every other Wednesday, in the Choir Room.
 
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.
 
Rezoning
 
City Council approved the Inwood rezoning plan. But this fight is not over. We will resist the displacement of tenants. We are developing a closer relationship with the Metropolitan Council on Housing and Northern Manhattan Is Not for Sale. We will host tenant rights clinics at the parish. We will bring in housing attorneys to help you know your rights. 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 come to our plenary meeting on Sept. 10 as once more we take up our work for social transformation with Christ. I will send a detailed agenda next week. We need volunteers to take notes, keep time, and facilitate the meeting. We need volunteers to bring food and drink!