Our Local Church is Responding to the Global Climate Crisis (and Needs Your Help!)
BY LORRAINE DELEHANTY
01/13/2022 Our parish's
Care for Creation ministry is excited to lead parishioners through a reflection series called
Exploring My Call to Care for Creation this month! This series is an opportunity to reflect on your personal call to care for creation and determine what actions you can take. Anyone can participate, as the reflections are meant to be contemplated individually in the comfort of your own home, and the weekly conversations will take place virtually.
The series will kick off a year of reflection and action in response to the
Laudato Si’ Action Platform (LSAP),
which aims to empower the universal Church to respond to Pope Francis’ encyclical on caring for our common home.
The LSAP initiative provides a framework for examining our individual and community responses to climate change. We encourage you to visit
godsplanet.us to learn the full details of this plan.
This year, our Archdiocese's
Center for Mission is working to establish Care for Creation plans in all 187 parishes in our Archdiocese to answer Pope Francis' call for parishes to act in response to the climate crisis over the next 7 years. We are implementing LSAP's 3-step plan to accomplish this goal:
REFLECT
An individual or a parish reflects on what they can do to build a better future together. STM is beginning this process with our upcoming reflection series. You can expect to hear more in 2022 as we continue our reflection!
ACT
As individuals and as a community, we will review the suggested list of actions provided by the LSAP and set objectives. The actions we choose as an individual and/or parish represent the 7 goals of Laudato Si’: cry of the earth, cry of the poor, ecological economics, sustainable lifestyles, ecological education, ecological spirituality, and community empowerment.
EVALUATE
Together, we will do an annual self-assessment to see the progress we have made. Did we meet our target outcomes? Were we successful with our individual goals? We'll celebrate our successes and make a plan for the next year.
The potential for Catholics to make a difference in caring for our common home is enormous. We are a world community of 1.3 billion Catholics that are united by our common faith. Catholic Social teaching considers human life as sacred with an option for the poor and vulnerable. We are also required, as part of Catholic Social Teaching, to care for God’s Creation, to protect people and the planet. Religion and science writers note that this work has a moral and ethical dimension as we make choices that remedy the environmental challenges.
STM is well positioned. Our Care for Creation ministry was founded in 2014, and is one of 400 Care for Creation teams in the United States. Our parish's work and your commitment to protecting our common home is a cause for joy for a better tomorrow for all. Working with Catholics in our parish, our Archdiocese, and around the world gives us hope for the future! If you haven't yet, commit to doing your part by signing up to participate in our Exploring My Call to Care for Creation reflection series!
About Lorraine Delehanty
Lorraine and her husband, Bill, have been members of STM for 52 years. While raising 3 children, she helped with Communion distribution, marriage encounter, and centering prayer. Before Laudato Si' was published in 2015, she helped form our parish's Care for Creation ministry. In 2020, she joined the Archdiocesan Center for Mission team to help bring Laudato Si’ to life in Archdiocesan parishes.
We are always looking for ways to give you, our parishioners, the opportunity to share your experiences! If you would like to submit your story, please email Anzley at aharmon@morecommunity.org.
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