Justice, Peace, Ecology

MSC Irish Province Commission for

Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation (JPIC)

Join us on Facebook at "MSC Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation UK and Ireland"

Vision

Inspired by the Gospels and our MSC charism, we are called to safeguard the world as our one home, given by God; a place where all peoples are treated equally as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Mission

At the service of the Province, and seeking a more just and sustainable world, the JPIC Group seeks to inform, animate and resource the members to engage in local, national and international JPIC initiatives.

In connection with the wider Chevalier family, and with national and international networks, the Group seeks to represent the Province, share information and lend its voice to major campaigns.

The JPIC Group is an open, self-selecting group. All MSC are welcome at any time.

The JPIC Group

Handglobe The MSC Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Group (JPIC) was born following the European Assembly of 2008 which was held in Issoudun. It came from a shared belief among a number of the members that as an Irish Province we need to take more concerted action regarding issues of justice and peace in our world. This was echoed during our Provincial Assembly in Grace Dieu in Spring 2009 when we identified solidarity with the marginalised and our call to a prophetic living out of Gospel values as central to how we saw ourselves as Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. Our call to stand with the poor and dispossessed is deeply rooted in our own charism.

We will be attentive, as our Founder was, to those who suffer and are in need. We will seek to identify the causes of their suffering, and to discern what our response will be by following the light of the Gospel and by listening to the world and to the Church.

In the poor and the little ones, in all the victims of injustice and violence, we will discover the face of Christ. He asks us to bring his love into their lives. In answer to his call, we will show compassion towards them by working courageously to guarantee their human rights and to change the hearts of their oppressors.

Constitutions of the Society of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, nos. 21 & 22

Latest Campaign - Heart for the Homeless

During our final meetings of 2010 we decided that we would adopt one theme for the whole of 2011 - Heart for the Homeless.

Homelessness is something that has touched all our communities. Understood in its fullest sense it includes not only those sleeping rough, but also those in temporary emergency accommodation, refugees and asylum seekers and those living on the very fringes of our society. This coming year our challenge, our goal is to see, to live and to act in a way which reflects Christ’s challenge in Matthew 25: 35ff

‘I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

At the heart of what we are trying to do in 2011 is to see the face of Christ in those who are dispossessed and living on the edge; the young person sleeping on the street in Dublin, the refugee living in South Africa, Birmingham or Galway, or the family at risk of eviction from their home in Tamworth.

To this end we are making available a calendar of events and a variety of resources to help you in your planning this year. These include prayer services, information sheets, multimedia clips and programmes. We have linked in with homelessness networks in Ireland and England, including the National Justice and Peace Network, Crisis UK, Focus Ireland and Threshold, so as to be aware of the issues and campaigns as they happen. We will be partnering with MSC projects at home and abroad that are working at the coalface.

This coming year for our Heart for the Homelessness campaign we hope to work with our partner JPIC groups in many places of MSC ministry to:

raise awareness in our parishes and communities of the reality of homelessness.
take part in fundraising drives for projects who work with the homeless and vulnerable.
get involved in direct action with homeless charities and initiatives.

Throughout the year in our meetings and using our newly established Facebook page (just enter MSC Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation UK & Ireland on your Facebook account to join up) and this website we’ll keep you up to date on all that’s happening.

This is a wonderful opportunity to work together to make a small, but real difference in the lives of people who are homeless. As Edmund Burke once said, “Nobody makes a greater mistake than they who did nothing, because they could only do a little.”

Wishing you every blessing for our JPIC work throughout 2011.

MSC JPIC Team