The monthly forum for the staff at the Leadership Office and Spiritual Center was held April 27 and included a discussion about the Sisters of Bon Secours Mission Focus Statement and a special ceremony honoring Earth Day. 

Sister Rose Marie Jasinski, Country Leader, reviewed the Sisters of Bon Secours’ Mission Focus Statement, which was introduced in 2009:  We, Women of Healing, commit ourselves to defend and care for all of creation; to cry out with others against injustice and all that diminishes life on Earth.
Sr. Rose Marie shared, “For me this statement that we’ve adopted broadens the scope of our healing and caring mission to all of creation.”  She emphasized the importance of carrying out this mission in day to day life and work at the Leadership Office and Spiritual Center.  The staff also had a moment to share the various ways they care for all of creation and how the work environment benefits.  Employees shared different examples of how co-workers go above and beyond … continue reading…

Mark your calendars for tomorrow, Saturday, March 26th as we celebrate Earth Hour.  Consider spending one hour from 8:30 – 9:30 PM without the lights or other electricity on in your home, office, etc.  Spend that time reflecting on just how we can care for our earth; how we can better utilize the natural resources around us – light a candle, utilize the moonlight (if it is available), sit in the dark for a while – be creative with how you spend that one short hour.  Spend this time in meditation and prayer.  Pray that this movement will motivate and inspire all of us to be more aware of our impact on the Earth.

Visit the Earth Hour web site for more suggestions.  Join together with others around the globe as we spread the message of hope and change for our planet.

8:30 pm
Saturday, March 27, 2010

Turn your lights out
for 60 minutes!!! 

As a Sister of Bon Secours and as someone who is very conscious about the consumption of our earth’s resources, I would like to ask your participation in this global effort to make a difference.  All you have to do is turn off all your lights for one hour at 8:30 pm (your local time).  Use this as a chance to be creative, and think of something fun to do…like playing board games by candlelight or take an evening walk for one hour.  Each small contribution we make adds up when it is made by the masses.

Earth hour, organized by the World Wildlife Fund, began on a “small” scale in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, with about 2.2 million homes and businesses turning off lights.  By 2009, the effort had expanded to hundreds of millions of participants in over 4,000 cities in 88 countries!  You can only imagine what kind of difference is made in energy conservation, and … continue reading…

Ecology at the Heart of Faith
by: Denis Edwards
Orbis Books. Maryknoll, NY. 2006.

An Excerpt from the Introduction

One of the gifts we have received from the twentieth century is a picture of Earth as our shared home. The human community of the twenty-first century can see Earth as a blue-green planet set against the darkness of interstellar space. We are able to think of our home planet in the context of the vast distances of the Milky Way Galaxy and of the roughly one hundred billion galaxies that make up the observable universe, and be led to a new appreciation of Earth’s beauty and hospitality to life. We can see human beings as part of a global community, interconnected with other species and with the life systems of our planet. This represents a precious new moment in human cultural history.

At the same time we are confronted by the damage human beings are doing to the atmosphere, the soil, … continue reading…