The Social Justice and Peace committee at St Francis of Assisi initiated a Laudato Si' subcommittee which highlights and publicizes the goals of Laudato Si', “Caring For Our Common Home”. The members of the committee have been meeting monthly since 2022. 
 
We first focused our attention on the principles of listening actively and discerning the meaning of the intent of Laudato Si’ amongst the members. We then turned our energy to sharing our experience and knowledge to educating the parish and community about environmental concerns that affect the individual and the local environment. The committee regularly provided messages based on Laudato Si’ (LS) teachings and suggestions in the weekly church bulletin. The committee’s intention was to introduce what living out our Catholic faith means by making a greater effort in protecting the resources we use for daily living. 

• These messages helped in designing and creating meditative nature walks that emphasized the connection to the earth, sky, water and atmosphere.

• We sought the parishioners’ ideas and input and included an invitation to join us or contact us with ideas or concerns.

• We initiated at St. Francis the restart of recycling at the church, collected food scraps from events, provided insulating window inserts to reduce fuel use, inserted flyers in the weekly bulletin with lists of actions we could take in our home that would decrease waste and reduce plastic and water use.

• There were many other small but meaningful steps taken to change some habits of waste.

• We joined other faiths communities to plan programs for Earth Day and the yearly September Season of Creation.

The experiences of these past two years have led us to the conclusion that we are not doing enough. Plastic Ocean, a movie that showed the impact plastic waste has on marine life and living conditions of poor people in five countries caused by plastic waste in the lakes, rivers and ocean was shocking.  Our experience now urges us to think more about the impact of our discarded trash which adversely effects all of us but especially the poor, both in distant countries and here locally.

Laudato Diem is a follow up document to LS from Pope Francis and reaffirms the need for greater action by Catholics and the community at large to greatly accelerated our efforts.

Catholic Charities Grant
Social Justice and Peace at St. Francis church applied and received a grant of $2,000 from Catholic Charities. The intent of the grant is to reach out to each church in our cluster to explore (LS) principles especially as it effects the poor. We want to have at least one representative from each church including parishioners living on the islands which are in the cluster. The gathering of representatives will focus on defining the committee, determine the best way to use the grant money, consider the options for speakers and materials for education. The goal will be to formulate an action plan.

Please give this information serious thought and let us know if you are interested in joining this important program. Help us define the best way to make a difference and in doing so, be true stewards of the earth and all God has blessed us with. 

First Planning meeting is Sept 4th at St Francis Church and on ZOOM.  Please contact one of the members listed for Info about LS . We are looking for ideas and interested participants from each church community. Sept. 4th is soon! But that is not the only time you can join in the planning. Send us ideas and how you may want to help “Care for Our Common Home”

Four contact options:  

• Dianne Smith dcrjsmith@hotmail.com or  207-322-4443 
• Barbara Edmond btedmond27@gmail.com   
• Martha Block marthamblock@gmail.com after the month of Sept.
• Michael Cyr mfcyr48@yahoo.com

Below is a round-up of resources for this year’s Earth Day, featuring videos and action guides over the years since Pope Francis penned his groundbreaking 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home. 

Laudato Si & Climate Action in High School [But it’s not just for high school students!]
Created by Brenna Davis of the Ignatian Solidarity Network or Kayla Jacobs of
Catholic Climate Covenant.

The guide is focused on the seven goals of the Vatican’s Laudato Si’ Action Platform:

1. Response to the Cry of the Earth
2. Response to the Cry of the Poor
3. Ecological Economics
4. Adoption of Sustainable Lifestyles
5. Ecological Education
6. Ecological Spirituality
7. Community Resilience and Empowerment

Download the guide here:

Laudato Si & Climate Action in High School

From: https://www.teachingcatholickids.com

We can encounter God in nature. Since ancient times, the natural world has been one of the ways that people come to know about God and experience his wisdom and glory (Catechism of the Catholic Church #32 and #299; Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church #487). Many of the saints lived in harmony with the natural world and had special friendships with animals as a consequence of their closeness to God (see the partial list above).

We still need the Church. Your older kids might ask: “If we can encounter God in nature, why do we need the Church? Why can’t nature be our church?” It is important for them to understand that the Church isn’t just another human organization; rather, it is both a sign of our communion with God and the unity of the human race, and the means by which our union with God and other people is accomplished (Catechism #775). Catholics say that the Church is the sacrament of Christ—the means by which Christ is physically manifested in the world, and by which he continues his saving work. So even though the beauty of the night sky or the mystery of life unfolding in a stream might lift our minds to God, it is only in the Church that we are saved from the power of sin and death (see Catechism #846-847).

God intends creation for our good. Our faith teaches us to treat our natural environment within the context of God’s overall plan of salvation (Compendium #451). God intends the created world to serve the good of human beings, who are the “summit” of his creation (Catechism #343). The Church rejects any view that values the environment as much as or more than human beings, or makes creation into a sort of god. We are called to care for creation in part to preserve it for the benefit of all human beings, including future generations (Catechism #2415).

God calls on us to respect creation for its own sake. The Church also rejects views that reduce the natural world to something to be manipulated and exploited (Compendium #463). Creation has its own intrinsic value, for the simple reason that God made it and called it “good” (Genesis 1); God loves and cares for each of his creatures (Catechism #342; 2416), so we should, too.

With September comes a month-long ecumenical celebration of the Season of Creation based on Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home. To that end our local area in Belfast is sponsoring a series of Wednesday Speakers (including our own Fr. Divine) and Brown Bag lunches in September. See details of luncheons and speakers below.

Save the next four Wednesdays in September-- Laudato Si’ focus is the Season of Creation for the month of September.  

Wednesday September 6, 10:30 am: Join a guided walk of Belfast Park Arboretum, with Aleta McKeage, Waldo County Water and Soil Conservation. A beautiful way to appreciate the plants gifts to us by God for healing pain, soothing our worries, and providing joy.  Meet at 10:30am at pavilion in Belfast City Park. Walk will be repeated on September 8, at 10:30am.

Wednesday September 13, 12 noon: Mike Hurley, Belfast City Councilor, speaking on Green Streets program in Belfast. Be inspired to share with your community new ideas learned during the walk. Inspiration can lead us to work together and protect our planet. Meet 12 noon Belfast City Park pavilion (in case of bad weather: Belfast Free Library Abbott Room).

Wednesday September 20, 11:30 am: Tree identification walk along the Rail Trail with Cloe Chunn, naturalist and educator. Why did God create so many kinds of plants and trees? Do we notice and appreciate the diversity? Meet at Rail Trail's Upper Bridge parking lot at 11:30, bring brown bag lunch and water for lunch at picnic area along the Trail; walk will conclude at the train station, with transport back to parking lot, but participants may elect to return to parking lot after lunch. Walk will be repeated on September 22.

Wednesday September 27, 12 noon: Fr Divine Fossoh will lead the liturgy at the opening session. Ian Stewart, executive director of Coastal Mountains Land Trust, will speak about the land trust's latest work in Waldo County, especially efforts to increase conserved land near schools. 12 noon Belfast City Park pavilion. Let’s be educated and work together to address the bigger needs to care for Our Common Home.  (in case of bad weather: Belfast Free Library, Abbott Room).

Wednesday October 4 St Francis of Assisi Feast Day 6:30 pm: The conclusion for the Season of Creation will be celebrated with a 6:30 pm Mass at St Francis of Assisi Church Belfast.

FOR MORE INFORMATION you can contact these members of the Laudato Si group at St. Francis of Assisi: Dianne Smith, dcrjsmith@hotmail.com; Martha Block, marthamblock@gmail.com; Barbara Edmond, btedmond27@gmail.com; Michael Cyre, mfcy48@yahoo.com.

June 19 ~ B. Edmond
“LAUDATO SI’, Mi Signore” – “Praise to You, my Lord.” 
 

June 26 ~ E. Koskela
How Are You Connected to God’s Creation? 
 

Many of you have heard of Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si’ (translated: “Praise Be to You” and subtitled “On Care for Our Common Home”). The 
need to address ecological concerns by all Catholics is not a new appeal from the Vatican.  Care for the world began getting modern-day attention starting with 
Pope John the XXlll. In 1964, Pacem in Terris addressed destruction of the earth from wars. 

Pope Saint Paul Vl in 1971 in an Apostolic Letter  referred to the ecological environment as “a tragic  consequence of unchecked human activity.” Saint John Paul ll in 1979 in Redemptive Hominis called for global ecology conversion and Pope Benedict XVl , appealed to us in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011 “Man does not create himself. He is spirit and will, but also nature.”

What is new? The approaches to better understanding the issues of our resources and providing paths to reach attainable goals. Laudato Si’ is a letter to Catholics and to the world! The world and Catholics are responding, and it is exciting!

Six parishioners at St Francis started meeting weekly during Lent. We followed the guideline for a retreat by studying and reading from Laudato Si’, praying 
together, learning how to be silent and listen. Our intention was to first educate ourselves and to examine individually how we treat the resources of the earth and to see all the blessings God has provided us. The question being “are we 
respecting these gifts” The focus is on Prayer and Action.

The Laudato Si’ group here at St Francis would like to begin sharing information about Laudato Si’in the bulletin and on the white board located in the Church Hall. We hope by first increasing our knowledge, praying for understanding and listening to our hearts and the spirit we will begin gathering in the Fall with more parishioners to create a plan of action.

We are already ahead of the plan! Here at St Francis we have recycle containers in the kitchen. Many parishioners here and at St. Bernard buy Fair-Trade Coffee. We have provided window inserts in all 3 churches in our parish which has reduced fuel use.

It’s a perfect time for us to find unity in a common goal of respecting the earth and recognizing that a gift from God comes with responsibility. Through prayer, listening and then acting we can make a difference plus grow spiritually!

Stay tuned for upcoming features on:

• Response to the Cry of the Earth
• Response to the Cry of the Poor
• Ecological Economics
• Adoption of Sustainable Lifestyles
• Ecological Education
• Ecological Spirituality Community Resilience & Empowerment

We welcome and encourage questions and ideas! Contact Dianne Smith at dcrjsmith@hotmail.com or any other  Social Justice and Peace members, or check in with the St. Francis Laudato Si’ group: Martha Block, Michael Cyr, Barbara Edmonds, Elissa Koskela, Tim Pritchard and Dianne Smith.