• supporting aid and development agencies such as CAFOD, SCIAF and Christian Aid

 

• purchasing Fairtrade products for our churches, homes and workplaces, and consuming ethically - the British Province is working towards achieving status as a Fairtrade Province

 

• praying in solidarity with the poor and marginalised, and learning about poverty issues from groups such as Caritas Social Action Network

 

• supporting the work of peace movements such as Pax Christi and the Network of Christian Peace Organisations

 

• calling for a just and peaceful solution to conflict in the Holy Land where our Order originated, supporting groups such as Friends of the Holy Land, the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel, and spreading the Taybeh Peace Lamps

 

• co-sponsoring the Ebor Lectures in Theology and Public Life, which deal with ethical and social issues

 

• recycling household and office waste, composting, etc.

 

• marking 1st September as World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and the period from then until 4th October (feast of St. Francis of Assisi) as the Season of Creation

 

• paying Province employees at least the Living Wage

 

• outreach ministry among the unchurched, and those who feel excluded from the Church

 

• monitoring and using the media to promote proper and fair reporting of JPIC issues

 

• welcoming asylum seekers and supporting the City of Sanctuary movement

 

• outreach ministry to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex (LGBTQI) community, including input and chaplaincy provision to Quest, LGCM, and LGBT Catholics Westminster, and marking LGBT History Month in February

 

• reducing energy consumption (for example through roof and window insulation in our properties where possible)

 

• distributing food to the hungry and supporting foodbanks

 

• Contacting our elected representatives on matters of concern, participating in Citizens Groups and Constituency Groups

 

• developing a Peace Garden and wooded areas at Aylesford Priory

 

• beekeeping which promotes biodiversity

 

• caring for the sick and elderly, accompanying some on the annual Carmelite Pilgrimage to Lourdes

 

• seeking to Live Simply, in the light of Catholic Social Teaching, and working together for the common good

 

• raising awareness of social justice issues, collaborating with groups such as the Catholic Association for Racial Justice, diocesan Justice & Peace Groups, the National Justice & Peace Network, and the Conference of Religious

 

• off-setting carbon emissions generated by travel for meetings of the Order

 

• collecting stamps that are sold to raise funds for a Carmelite project in Timor Leste that provides people with life-long skills and trades

 

• providing clinics, maternity units, electricity generators and houses of formation in projects run by our brothers and sisters in Africa and Asia, including the mission of the Corpus Christi Carmelite Sisters in Liberia (to read the latest Liberia Bulletin please click here)

 

• investing Province resources ethically

 

• collecting and distributing money in response to natural disasters

 

• prison chaplaincy and rehabilitation work

 

• working among the homeless

 

• organising Peace Walks (for example in London)

 

• promoting the witness of Christian martyrs who spoke out in favour of justice, including Titus Brandsma and Oscar Romero (for example through the Archbishop Romero Trust, printing reflections on Romero in Assumpta magazine, and supporting development projects in El Salvador)

 

• building peace through better understanding of our neighbours, particularly through ecumenical and interfaith encounter and dialogue

 

• political lobbying and peaceful demonstrating, for example during the Climate Wave event in December 2009, and the ENOUGH IF campaign in June 2013

 

• speaking out in defence of human rights, including religious freedom

 

• supporting Holocaust Memorial Day

 

• campaigning against human trafficking, as encouraged by the Carmelite NGO

 

• campaigning for reform in matters of welfare provision, prisons, the arms trade, etc.

 

• campaigning on issues of Climate Justice, in collaboration with groups such as Operation Noah and Christian Ecology Link (for an article on Carmelite spirituality and climate justice click here)

 

• promoting the place of women within the Church and Society, in conjunction with partners such as the National Board of Catholic Women

 

• raising awareness of JPIC issues through the Carmelite Forum and Carmelite Institute of Britain & Ireland

 

• supporting the work of the Carmelite NGO at the United Nations

 

• organising peace programmes in communities such as that held in Walworth, London, in 2012-13

 

• taking part in events that help us reflect on global issues, such as One World Week

 

How can you contribute to the Order's JPIC work?

 

• Inform yourself about JPIC issues through resources produced by the groups listed above; subscribe to the Carmelite NGO newsletter.

 

• Pray and reflect upon issues of justice, peace and the integrity of God's Creation; our apostolates and attitudes must be grounded in a living relationship with God in prayer.

 

• Support some of the activities listed above, and seek to live simply that others may simply live.

 

• Consider donating time or money to the work of the Province and its partners.

 

 

For a document summarising the Carmelite Order's interest in JPIC issues and a list of examples of JPIC ministry in the British Province, please click here.