April 25, 2016

          I have chosen a very personal project, of interest primarily to me, but perhaps useful to share.

          I have examined my own life within the past ten days and what has occupied my mind(i.e., choices, activities, commitments. etc.) in the light of Pope Francis’ Encyclical, specifically in his call for “Ecological Citizenship,” caring for the Earth and honoring the interconnectedness and well-being of all life.

          Pope Francis stresses the need for education and action.  You will note in my story, as I have, thankfully, the role of the Church, the community, and educational institutions in this regard.

          A little background before the ten-day review:  I am an eighty-year-old widow (my husband died twenty-two months ago).  I live in the neighborhood of St. Anthony Park in St. Paul and have lived in my house for forty-four years.  My companions are one dog, two cats, a Chinese university student, and wonderful neighbors.  However, since I no longer need a big house and since a new apartment building is being constructed just two blocks away, I have recently sold my house to a young family and will be moving in the fall with my dog and cat into an apartment.  While this personal transition occupies my mind, so does all which follows and which is of much greater significance in the scheme of things.

          First, occupying my mind, are key current issues in my church (the United Church of Christ).  These include (1) racial injustice (our minister is very active in the Black Lives Matter movement and affords us opportunities for involvement); (2) environmental actions including divestment from fossil fuels and exploration of community solar gardens; and (3) study and action in the Israel/Palestine conflict.

          Second are current issues within my neighborhood where the Transition Town concept has been adopted and is focused on reducing our carbon footprint through a variety of actions.

          And, third, occupying my mind, is the list of events and opportunities I have chosen to participate in within the past ten days.

• There were five classes at Wisdom Ways:  two on Hedgerow’s “Conscious Living and Eating” theme, two on the meaning of “Home,” and one entitled “Breathing Into the Whole of Life:  Meditations on Body and Earth.”

• There were three lectures:   One at the Presbyterian House of Hope Church by Diana Butler Bass, a leading commentator on religion and culture.  Her latest book, Grounded, explores today’s cultural turn, in her words, from a distant, vertical God to one who resides in the world with us, in the soil, water and sky and in our homes and communities and in the global commons.

            The other two lectures were presented thru Hamline University and the United Methodist Church in collaboration with United Theological Seminary, Luther Seminary and the Interfaith Power and Light organization.  Hamline’s “Festival of God’s Creation” occurred this weekend and concludes tomorrow evening with the keynote address by eco-theologian, Timothy Eberhart.  His lecture last Friday was on “A Plain Account of Integral Ecology:  A United Methodist Affirmation of Laudato Si.”  His lecture  tomorrow at Hamline is on “Eco-Theology for the Heartland:  A Bioregional Approach.”

• Also during these ten days were two community education events, one through Minneapolis Community Education held in a nearby church in which a Muslim woman spoke about “What You Always Wanted to Know About Islam and Muslims.” The second community event was at out local elementary school. The parents‘ organization asked one of their parent members, a physicist, to speak about his specialty, Gravitational Waves, and the recent new findings in this field.  About seventy-five people from the community came, as I did, simply to learn.

- And there was one film, shown at the International film Festival:  “10 Billion --What’s on Your Plate.”  This outstanding German film shows all types of agriculture being practiced around the globe and much of the research being conducted.  It concludes that sustainable practices by those who live on and love their land is what will feed the world.

Finally, on the weekend, for fun, I went to two nearby musical events.  One was a performance by Peter Mayer whose music was focused on  Earth Day.  The second was a community chorus concert whose musical theme was “All We Need is Love.”

This review of my last ten days and the wider involvements I have referred to is evidence to me that opportunities for education and action called for by Pope Francis are available and abundant.  May each of us respond in our own way, according to our own circumstances, and inspired by the words of Ilia Delio in her book, From the Unbearable Wholeness of Being, “ The Christian (or believer) is one who is connected through the heart to the whole of life, attuned to the deeper intelligence of nature, and called forth irresistibly by the Spirit to express creatively his or her gifts in the evolution of self and the world.”