WASHINGTON — The Franciscan Action Network announced this month that after a year of development its Care for Creation, or C4C, program is now available to ministries.
C4C is FAN’s adult formation program that prepares communities to live out their Franciscan ecological vocation by addressing local, national, and international issues. The six-session program includes prayer, stories, visuals, reading, discussion and a companion DVD.
Russell Testa, director of the HNP Office for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation, announced at the Province’s annual guardians meeting on Oct. 20 that C4C has launched, and a booklet and video are available to help ministries roll out the program. The program was initially demonstrated at a JPIC retreat in 2009.
C4C Resources
Content for the booklet, which helps churches with tools and resources to hold the C4C program, was provided by Rob Breen, a Siena College professor and member of Holy Name’s JPIC directorate. The facilitator’s guide may be purchased on the FAN website, found in the new product area, for a suggested donation of $100. A video is also available.
St. Francis Xavier Parish in Narrowsburg, N.Y., where William Scully, OFM, is pastor, is among the first churches planning to sponsor a C4C event next spring.
JPIC Updates
On Nov. 10, Franciscans International is sponsoring a lecture, “Islam in the 21st Century,” at San Damiano Hall, 129 W. 31st St. in New York City. The free presentation starts at 6 p.m. Contact Heather Metcalfe to RSVP. Another FI presentation will be offered on “Migration,” on Dec. 15, 6 p.m., at San Damiano Hall.
On Dec. 15, the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia offer a presentation on “Why We Return to Fr. Benning, Ga.” It takes place at 1 p.m. at Our Lady of Angels Convent, Aston, Pa.
The Ecumenical Advocacy Days are scheduled for March 25, 2011, on “Development, Security, and Economic Justice — What’s Gender Got to do with it?”
JPIC representatives from the English-speaking Conference provinces gathered Oct. 9 to 12 in St. Louis, Mo. Testa represented Holy Name Province. Information appeared in last week’s issue of St. John the Baptist Province’sSJB News Notes.
— Wendy Healy is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to HNP Today.