An Active Participant in Creation from the Illinois River Valley

An interfaith appeal being made to  2024 UN Climate Change Conference (COP 29)   includes : adopting  UN Declaration of Planetary Emergency   and convening a Planetary Emergency Platform; establishing a  UN Special Envoy for Future Generations  and similar  institutional representatives for future generations at local, national and regional levels ; supporting the  International Court of Justice case on climate change  currently before the court; adding the  crime of ecocide  to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court; establishing a dedicated  International Court for the Environment ; negotiating a  Fossil Fuel Treaty ; adopting  Earth Trusteeship  governance approaches at local, national, regional and international levels including establishing a UN cooperative trusteeship mechanism for better governance of the global commons, inspired by the  UN Secretary-General’s proposal for the UN Tr...

  At one of our Laudato Si sessions, Fr. Mike Schaab had us break into small groups to identify what we perceive as an environmental issue that we have observed around us.  The people gathered were "traditional Catholics" and were more likely drawn by the speaker than by the topic.  The topic of church social teaching and Pope Francis' presentation of our common home was new to them.  Surprisingly (to me) and definitely not prompted, multiple groups independently came up with the issue of farming practices.  One group identified the rapid growth of pattern tiling and the problems it led to water quality and quantity.  Another group identified the use of farm chemicals and specifically how it hurt neighbors who were attempting to practice organic farming. As we move forward in our farming communities, addressing more sustainable and more environmentally friendly farming practices would be great to work on.  Teaching and implementing changes in farming p...

A beginning starts with awareness.  It is an itch, a pebble in the shoe.  A good beginning is like a seed which when taken care of will grow.  The seed which is the awareness, hope and action for our common home - the earth - began for us in the Illinois River Valley with the Season of Creation 2024 - to Hope and Act for Creation. This Fall of 2024 it is truly a seed of an idea and not even a group, just a few gatherings. In Laudato Si, Our Care for our Common Home, Pope Francis states, "The urgent challenge to protect our common home includes a concern to bring the whole human family together to seek a sustainable and integral development, for we know that things can change. The Creator does not abandon us; he never forsakes his loving plan or repents of having created us. Humanity still has the ability to work together in building our common home."  LS13 Patriarch Bartholomew states, "For human beings… to destroy the biological diversity of God’s creation; f...