Happy New Year! As your Creation Care Team makes plans for 2019, let me know if you have a particular idea or need for your community. Remember, I’m here to assist you!
We at the Covenant are busy creating this year’s Earth Day program which will focus on protecting bio-diversity. Because Earth Day falls on Easter Monday, we hope your community is able to use the educational program and celebrate Earth Day sometime during the Easter season.
Do you make New Year’s resolutions? See below for some ideas to make creation-centered resolutions.
Blessings,
Paz
How will you take action?
Reflect
Prayer of Praise by St. Gregory Nazianzen (330-389AD).
You alone are unutterable,
from the time you created all things
that can be spoken of.
You alone are unknowable,
from the time you created all things
that can be known.
All things cry out about you;
those which speak,
and those which cannot speak.
All things honor you;
those which think,
and those which cannot think.
For there is one longing, one groaning,
that all things have for you …
All things pray to you that comprehend
your plan
and offer you a silent hymn.
In you, the One, all things abide,
and all things endlessly run to you
who are the end of all.
Act Together
Ten Minutes
Catholic Perspectives on Investment in and Divestment from Fossil Fuel Interests
How do Catholic institutions with investment portfolios face the issue of whether to invest in or divest from corporations and other interests involved in fossil fuel activities? Investors from Catholic and other faith institutions have a particularly keen interest in ensuring their investments align with the demands of their faith. In this webinar we will hear from two representatives on how their Catholic and faith institutions are addressing this complex and nuanced issue.
Date/time: Thursday, January 31st 2-3 pm
Presenters:
- Fr. Séamus Finn, OMI, Chief of Faith Consistent Investing for the OIP Investment Trust and consultant to the Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation ministry of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, United States Province. and Chair of the Board of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility.
- Amy Woolam Echeverria, International Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation Coordinator. Missionary Society of St. Columban.
Half Day
2019 Earth Day Program: Pre-Register Now!
Now is the time to plan to celebrate Earth Day. Catholic Climate Covenant has chosen "All Creation Gives God Praise: Protecting Biodiversity in a Time of Climate Crisis" for the 2019 edition of our Earth Day educational program, which will complement the Earth Day Network's 2019 theme, "Protect Our Species."
You can pre-register to receive the program in early March. The program will include prayers, readings, a short video, and suggested activities.
Pre-Register to Receive Earth Day Program
Note: Earth Day 2019 falls on Easter Monday (April 22nd). Therefore, we recommend celebrating Earth Day during the Easter season or another date that suits your community's schedule.
Ongoing
Every January, many of us make resolutions. How about if we try some creation care resolutions? Here are some ideas that you can try in your own lives.
1) Read the Fourth National Climate Assessment which confirms that climate change is already impacting our lives, especially the lives of people in lower-income neighborhoods and in some communities of color and discuss the findings with your family, friends, and faith community. Check here for the Covenant’s statement of the report.
2) Pledge to use less single-use plastics in 2019. Invest in a reusable water bottle and say no to plastic straws. For more plastic reduction ideas see the Covenant’s 2018 Earth Day Program: Beyond a Throwaway Culture: Reduce Waste--Build Community.
3) Use the cold water setting when washing clothes. This practice will conserve energy AND will keep clothes from shedding microfibers into our water systems.
4) Eat less meat. Try Meatless Mondays and Fridays!
5) Reduce your food waste! Food waste, once it gets into a landfill, creates methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Instead, start composting!
Do you have creation centered resolutions for 2019? Send them to meand I will share them in an upcoming edition of the CCT email.