Sunday, March 16, 2025

Care for our Common Home, 10 Years On


 I've been asked to promote our upcoming study group on Laudato Si, the encyclical issued by Pope Francis ten years ago on care for our planetary home. Laudato Si is Latin for "praise be to you", the opening phrase of the Canticle of the Creatures attributed to St. Francis of Assisi and Pope Francis' document is then Praise Be To You: On Care for Our Common Home.

Here is the invitation I'll make during our morning worship service at Trenton United: 

Laudato Si Announcement – Sunday March 16 2025

 A couple of weeks ago we shared the good news of what we had observed from the natural world during the month of February. It was a lovely reminder that Creation is a world of often simple wonders that lift our hearts. 

During the next three Wednesday mornings we’ll keep our conversation going as we look at a statement called Praise Be To You: On Care for Our Common Home.

Pope Francis issued this encyclical ten years ago based on a wonderful song of praise attributed to Francis of Assisi, his namesake, call the Canticle of the Creatures

This is the tenth anniversary of the document and it is still the best reflection on how we as Christians celebrate and care for Creation.  This is also the 800th anniversary of the Canticle of the Creatures so the timing is ideal.

It doesn’t matter if you are a newby to study groups – you are welcome. I’ll do the heavy lifting in terms of preparation. This is a time of great anxiety about climate change and we can feel helpless to make a difference.

Yet we love our children and grandchildren and we love this planet and we want them to have a future– so let’s talk about this together!

Our February observations were inspired by a study done by Dr. Holli-Anne Passmore, a university psychology professor. I shared what we did in February and our service with her and she was so grateful she was moved to tears. 

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…



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