STM Care for Creation

In prayer and works we reverence the precious gift of creation. Come join us and share in an ecological conversion! As a Jesuit parish we are called to prioritize the Universal Apostolic Preferences used by Jesuits to guide their mission. Caring For Our Common Home is one of those. Anchored in Laudato Si, we COLLABORATE, EDUCATE, and ADVOCATE to call our Saint Thomas More and the broader community to actively engage in all aspects of caring for our common home.

We meet virtually the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 7 pm. Please contact us at c4c@morecommunity.org for more information or to be added to our email list!

GOALS:

• Increase awareness of moral and faith issues related to environmental issues, as outlined in Pope Francis’s encyclical, Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home

• Provide information about & foster activities that address the negative effects of the climate crisis

• Encourage individuals and households to embrace sustainable living practices by highlighting practical steps

• Work toward healing environmental injustices that hurt poor and marginalized people the most so that we can be a moral/spiritual voice on issues such as alternative energy sources, natural resource management, and renewable energy standards.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

• Organize parish gatherings to screen documentaries and showcase ecological issues & solutions

• Conduct four week reflection series with weekly virtual coffee meetings to discern one’s call to care for creation
  

• Organize small groups to study Laudato Si

• Engaged with EnerChange who provided a parish wide energy audit resulting in lighting upgrades which realized approximately $10,000/year electricity cost savings per the Center for Energy and Environment (CEE) energy data analysis.

• Collaborate with organizations such as Catholic Climate Covenant and Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light (MNIPL) to leverage resources & reach out to the wider community.