After six years this program ended on December 31, 2023--with much gratitude for the generous support of Scarboro Missions and for other supporters over the years, as well as hosting provided by Faith & the Common Good. All the blogs are archived and available on this site. For Toronto Catholic parishes interested in a free presentation that I will continue to offer to help form a parish Creation Care Ministry—please see this blog for more information. To find ways to care for our common home and help bring Laudato Si’ to life alongside Catholics and others across Canada, I invite you to visit Mouvement Laudato Si’ Movement Canada (MLSM Canada), the Canadian chapter of the global Laudato Si Movement.
Our new Cultivating Care for Our Common Home program seeks to strengthen efforts to renew the sacred balance in our interrelated world. In his 2015 letter, Laudato Si’, Pope Francis addresses every person living on this planet and appeals for a new dialogue and a new solidarity that includes everyone in the work of caring for our common home. He calls the world’s attention to a growing ecological and social imbalance that results in destructive impacts felt to the greatest extent by those who are most vulnerable — people struggling with poverty, future generations, and our wider family of living beings. Pope Francis names the roots of this imbalance as a profound ethical, cultural, and spiritual crisis. In response, he invites all of us to “set out on the long path of renewal” (Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ #202, 14, 119, 161…).
The Cultivating Care for Our Common Home program offers interactive presentations, workshops, and collaboration to Catholic parishes and other interested groups in Toronto who would like to explore and respond more deeply to Pope Francis’ call that everyone living on the planet actively engage in caring for our common home.
Program activities invite participants to cultivate care for our common home by:
- preparing the ground of one’s heart in prayer;
- developing ecological awareness, practices, and spirituality;
- fostering the growth of a culture of care, especially for the vulnerable;
- seeking and deepening relationships for neighbourhood, ecumenical, and interfaith collaboration.
For program information and booking please contact the coordinator Karen Van Loon at [email protected].
“The gravity of the ecological crisis demands that we all look to the common good…”
Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ #201.
