Vatican and Ecumenical Faith leaders support the Season of Creation

This year for the first time, the Vatican called on Church leaders to participate in the Season of Creation. They included an invitation to communities highlighting the Season of Creation, the Synod on the Amazon and resources available to implement Laudato Si’ and help “protect every creature in God’s beautifully complex web of creation”.

Christian faith leaders have signed a letter in support of the Season of Creation, calling for prayer and action to protect the web of life. This is an excerpt from the letter:

“Every species, indeed every being of every species, is precious because it is made by God. All reflect an aspect of God. “How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.” (Psalm 104:24)

Photo credit:  USFWS Midwest Region from United States [CC BY 2.0]

This summer, Care for our Common Home focuses on the ecumenical Season of Creation and its 2019 theme of protecting God’s web of life. The Season of Creation runs from September 1^st to October 4^th, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, and invites Christians around the world to pray and care for creation. Resources are suggested to help with planning a Season of Creation event. They can be adapted for other times as well.

Growth in Holy Cross Garden

Light shining down from heaven on the garden at Holy Cross.

As I write this, the Holy Cross Eco Ministry nears its first anniversary, and what a blessed year it has been! Deo gratias!

Our eco team has just arrived back from watering our native pollinator garden and our vegetable gardens. Watering these gardens is often a peaceful task: admiring the growing fauna, greeting passersby, and surveying the bees and caterpillars and butterflies who have found a new happy home.

A Commitment to Sustainable Food: Islington United Church’s Giving Garden enters its 7^th year

Islington United Church has long been a “green beacon” in its Etobicoke neighbourhood, demonstrating how a faith community can operate in an environmentally responsible manner. The congregation’s work has garnered community recognition including Faith and the Common Good’s Greening Sacred Spaces Award in 2013 and has been referred to as “the greenest church in Toronto.”

As an independent K-12 school located in Richmond Hill, Holy Trinity School (HTS) proves to be an aspirational leader when it comes to educating, promoting and advocating for sustainability. After joining ClimateWise Business Network in June 2018, HTS has participated in Faith and the Common Good’s Energy Benchmarking for Faith Buildings program and they are currently in the process of creating an action plan to achieve their greenhouse gas reduction goal. In May 2019, Holy Trinity School received recognition for their commitment to sustainability as they received an award for Engaged Green Team at ClimateWise’s York Region Sustainability Awards.

With climate change growing as a moral issue, faith communities are finding their own sustainability profile as an opportunity to lead. A growing number are taking action with the support of Green Economy Hubs, benefiting from a new partnership between Green Economy Canada and Faith & the Common Good.

In Sudbury, York Region, and five other communities, these faith-based organizations are investing time in measuring their environmental footprint and working to reduce it.

GETTING TO YES: HOW TO CONVINCE OTHERS TO ‘GREEN’ YOUR FAITH BUILDING

Almost every faith community wants to improve their building, lower energy costs and be more environmentally-friendly; but there is also a shared worry that sabotages our desires- the worry we don’t know how to accomplish it all and overcome the naysayers.

You are not alone

Even some of the most successful faith communities that made big, expensive changes to their building had the same worries, but in time, got to a place of ‘yes’.

Installation of Geothermal System