February 1, 2024

Blessing of the Throats

After all Masses this weekend, Feb 3rd and 4th, we will have the Blessing of the Throats. 

Prayer:

"Through the intercession of Saint Blase, bishop, and martyr, may God deliver you from every disease of the throat and from every other illness. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

Ash Wednesday Schedule

February 14, 2024

6:15 AM - English Mass

8:15 AM - School Mass

Noon - English Mass

5:30 PM - Bilingual Mass

7:00 PM - Spanish Mass

Lenten Materials

For the next two weekends, we will have Lenten Materials available in the gathering space. We will have:

• Little Black Book ($3)
• Lenten Devotional ($3)
• Children Purple Book ($1)
• children’s activities (free)
• JPIC Eco-Lent calendars for adults and children (free)

We hope these resources will be helpful for you this Lent.

Boy Scout Troop 424

Boy Scout Troop 424 is part of IC parish and serves youth ages 11-18. Younger Scouts ages 5-10 can enter as Webelos. Scouts learn life skills, take camping trips, and advance on projects ranging from weekend hikes to pinewood derby. Scholarships are available. Parents are encouraged to be involved, and family events as a whole are typical for the younger Scouts. Scouts and Scout leaders will be available after the 11:30 Mass on Sunday, February 4th to take inquiries and meet the youth of the parish. For more information, parents can contact Martin Morgado or Peter Casarella (984-281-6181). 

Valentine's Day Fair Trade Chocolate Sale 

The weekend before Valentine's Day, February 10-11, Immaculate Conception's Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) will be teaming up again with Bull City Fair Trade for our JPIC Valentine's Day Fair Trade Chocolate Sale in the gathering space after all our masses. Our Hispanic Young Adults Ministry (PJH El Sembrador) will be helping our JPIC lead this event for our parish community!  

Please show your commitment to Catholic Social Teaching and support of “Fair Trade” by purchasing delicious chocolate for yourself, friends, and loved ones! To learn more about Fair Trade, please visit our JPIC Valentine’s Day Fair Trade Chocolate Sale web page. We look forward to seeing you! 

St. Oscar Romero Lenten Book Study

Immaculate Conception’s Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) Promoting Human Dignity (PHD) team is pleased to sponsor this year’s Lenten Book Study. We will be reading “The Violence of Love,” a compilation of writings and homilies by Saint Oscar Romero. Three short years transformed the martyred Archbishop of San Salvador from a conservative defender of the status quo into one of the church’s most outspoken voices of the oppressed. 

Our JPIC PHD team will once again be offering both “In-Person” and “Online (Zoom)” options. We hope you will join us. 

• Spanish: In-Person, Saturday Mornings, 10 am -12 pm, Immaculata School Youth Ministry Room 2222 (First session: 02/17) 
• English: In-Person, Thursday Mornings, 10-11:30 am, Adult Faith Formation Room, Parish Office (First session: 02/22) 
• Spanish: Online (Zoom), Monday Evenings, 8-9:30 pm (First session: 02/19) 
• English: Online (Zoom), Tuesday Evenings, 7-8:30 pm (First session: 02/20) 

For more information and to register for any of these sessions, please visit our JPIC PHD Book Study web page. For more information about our JPIC celebration of St. Oscar Romero throughout Lent, including a screening of the film, Romero, in English and Spanish on Friday, 02/16, 6:30-9 pm.

New Youth Small Group

Assistant to the Youth Director, Nicky Gutierrez, will be leading a High School small group starting on March 2^nd before Saturday night vigil Mass at 4:30 PM in the Youth Room. The group will meet from 4:30-5:15 pm. This small group is open to any high school-age youth. This small group will focus on building community and learning the Divine Office or the Liturgy of the Hours which are the prayers of the Church. The youth will participate in Vespers or evening prayer, and then we will have a reflection on the reading. This will be an English-speaking small group. This group will only have ten open slots, so please sign up.

Migrant Worker Hygiene Kits

Throughout Lent, Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) will be organizing our parish-wide collection of hygiene items for farmworkers in our community. Every spring an estimated 150,000 farmworkers pour into North Carolina to harvest cucumbers, tobacco, apples, sweet potatoes, green peppers, and Christmas trees. At the height of the growing season, farm workers often work 12-14 hours a day in the hot sun with few breaks, and the average farmworker earns less than $11,000 a year. Would you be able to feed and support your family for that?  

Starting on February 17, you can pick up a plastic bag and a list of items needed for each kit in the gathering space. Please return completed bags to the collection bins in the church gathering space no later than March 17, 2024. For more information, please visit our JPIC Migrant Worker Hygiene Kits web page. 

50th Annual Durham CROP Hunger Walk 

Please join Immaculate Conception’s Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) in supporting the 50th Annual Durham CROP Hunger Walk on Sunday, March 24th, at Duke Chapel (401 Chapel Drive, Durham, NC). We will have walker signups and t-shirts available for sale after Mass on March 03, 10, and 17. You can also sign up to sponsor the friars/staff or donate cookies for the rest stops. 

All funds go to Church World Services to help fight hunger both internationally and locally, with 25% of all funds going directly to Durham area food charities such as Meals on Wheels and Urban Ministries of Durham. Please help us win the Golden Sneakers at IC for another year. For more information and to register, please visit our JPIC Durham CROP Hunger Walk web page. 

Scuba Vacation Bible School

Take kids deep into an amazing undersea adventure where they’ll experience the ever-flowing, never-ending love of God. Kids will be immersed in the Word and discover what living water is all about! We are now accepting registrations for children from pre-k through 5^th grade. We also welcome adults and teen volunteers who would like to help. The camp will be held in Fellowship Hall from June 17 - 21^st from 9:00 AM - Noon. The price per participant is $50. We hope you can join us! You may sign up below:

Recovering Our Soul Connections: 

A Retreat for Women Who Have Been Sexually Abused

June 20-24, 2024 

Well of Mercy in Hamptonville, NC 

The retreat, which includes an exploration of Sacred Scripture, music, movement, expressive arts, mutual support, and liturgy, will begin at 6 PM on Thursday and end at Noon on Sunday. Over a period of two months before the retreat, you will meet with a spiritual director to build a supportive relationship.

Subsidies from the Diocese of Raleigh, the Catholic Community of Saint Thomas More in Chapel Hill, and the North Carolina Courts of the Catholic Daughters of the Americas make this retreat possible.

For more information, or to request an application, please email or visit Recovering Our Soul Connections on Facebook.

Applications will be accepted until the retreat is full. The cost to retreatants is $200.

Stewardship Pledges

Thank you to all of you who completed a Stewardship Pledge for this year. Please remember if you are changing your donation there is one more step to take. If you use envelopes or give online you can adjust yourself. If you want to change your bank auto draft, please email Margie so she can forward it to our accountant so the change can be made. Any questions, please contact Margie. Thank you for your financial support of our parish.

Love Fund Impact

The Love Fund Ministry is grateful for the generosity of our parishioners. Because of you, we can help many of our local neighbors. We are going to provide a report to you at the beginning of each month so you can see the impact your donations have had on the previous month.



December: $1,902 (includes Second Collection at Christmas)

How we have helped: We have helped 13 people with a total of $8,074 (8 people with rent of $6,524; 4 people with utility bills of $1,400 and $150 in food cards.)

Please know how much we appreciate your generosity.

Eucharistic Minister to the Sick

If you or someone in your family is ill and cannot attend Mass, we have volunteers who would be happy to bring Communion to you at your house. If you go into the hospital, they are willing to bring you Communion there too. Remember unless you let us know, we do not know you are ill. We want to be able to pray with you and bring you the Eucharist. Please contact Margie.

Safe Environment Team

We are looking for a few more people to be part of our Safe Environment Team. Our Safe Environment Team helps oversee that the Diocesan guidelines are being followed at the parish and that we are creating a Safe Haven in our parish for children and youth. The team meets quarterly on Tuesday afternoons at 4:00 PM. If you would like to help with this important work, please contact Margie.

Do you need some help?

Sometimes things happen in your life, and you find yourself needing some help. We, as your parish community, would like to provide some help for you. A few weeks ago, we asked for help for an older couple in North Durham and the response was amazing – we had more volunteers than needed. We are wondering if other people in our parish would benefit from some kind of help. Contact Margie.

Thank you!

Many thanks to the group of parishioners who volunteered to replace the floor in the sacristy and choir room.

Thank you to:

• Damian Ariza
• Axel Medina
• Javier Medina
• Franklin Calix
• Feliciano Para
• Jose Luis Castillo
• Ruben Rivera
• Jorge Martinez
• Roman Ortiz
• Ruben Villarreal

They did an awesome job! Many thanks for their hard work.

What is happening with the newly acquired Buchanan Blvd property?

On August 9th, 2023 Immaculate Conception completed its acquisition of 2 adjacent parcels on Buchanan Blvd. Immaculate Conception had tried for more than 20 years to purchase these. The property includes 2 duplexes. All tenants have successfully transitioned to new homes. We would like to preserve the housing by moving the duplexes to a new location. One duplex is expected to be moved in late February - early March.   

The former owner is willing to cover the cost of moving the second duplex to a new location. A local nonprofit Durham Homeless Care Transitions (which provides short-term housing for homeless persons who are discharged from the hospital and need medical care and support services during their recuperation) is interested in the duplex. Durham Homeless Care Transitions lacks the land and expertise to have a foundation built for the duplex. If you would like to help this nonprofit, please contact Julia Gamble (919-463-8366). Any parishioner interested in accepting the duplex on their property for their use should contact Jenny Lischer-Froehlich.     

We are still discerning the ultimate use of this adjacent property, but a generation of efforts in this endeavor has produced new relationships, a new appreciation for the lack of affordable housing, and this increase in our campus footprint. May we be led by the Holy Spirit throughout this process and in all that we do.