care for creation
A Franciscan Experience
Editor’s Note: Due to a change in her travel plans, lay missioner Joleen Johnson has a spontaneous and very Franciscan encounter in her home state of Minnesota. A good friend of mine got married in July, and I was honored to be able to go “home” for the wedding. It was beautiful all around. Immediately…
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Habitual Welcome Mats
Editor’s Note: Lay Missioner Nora McMahon reflects on the acts of Holy Thursday and how it can relate to our modern times. Today is Holy Thursday (though by the time you are reading this I am sure it is well past that) and the readings and focus for Holy Thursday has always been on the…
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Worlds Colliding: Catholic Social Teaching & Social Work
Editor’s note: DC Service Corps volunteer, Arianna Beitler, takes a closer look at two ideologies: Catholic Social Teaching and the ideals of Social Work. Each learned from very different points in her life, from her studies in college to the lessons of our FMS Formation sessions. She shares her experiences and their overarching similarities with…
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W.W.S.F.D? (Part One)
Editor’s note: Lay Missioner, Joleen Johnson, pauses to reflect on the many lessons she’s learned in Formation. To keep her main takeaways simple, she acts with intention, allowing the thought “What would Saint Francis do?” to translate into every facet of her life. Four weeks ago I arrived at the Casa San Salvador to begin,…
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Into the Stations
Editor’s Note: DC Service Corps member, Amy Brandt gives a behind the scenes look at the motivation and process of her interpretation of the Stations of the Cross. This Lent I had the opportunity to create a collection of visual prayers and reflections based off of the Stations of the Cross. Inspired by Scott Erickson’s…
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Developing a Relationship with My Body and the Land
Editors Note: Current DC Service Corps member Nayeli Garcia reflects on a conversation she had with her fellow community member, Kevin Ruano. The question “what matters to you and why?” gave Nayeli insight into Kevin’s deep connection with the environment. As our journey begins at the Casa San Salvador, we, as a community, are settling…
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I Whispered and He Heard Me: Notes from Valle de los Angeles
Editor’s note: missioner Misty Menis-Kyler shares several recent events from her mission experience in Guatemala. The end of the school year has come and the students are relieved to be done with their exams. It was a bitter sweet time for me personally. I did not want to say goodbye to my students whom I…
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“Praised Be to You, My Lord, For Sister Water”
Editor’s note: Missioner Aubrey Kimble reflects on how a trip to Amboró National Park gave her a chance to relax in a beautiful natural setting and reflect on care for creation. The university here in Carmen Pampa is currently on break. I decided to take advantage of the time given and went on a much-needed…
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Challenging the Kids
Editor’s Note: Missioner Brandon Newland reflects on the past summer in Jamaica and the various activities that he arranged for the kids. The summertime is a wonderful time for students to rejoice and enjoy their freedom from school and homework, but to adults it can be a time to build patience and bonds with the…
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Seeds of Progress
I did not miss clean air or water until I did not have access to them. I did not miss trees, plants, or grass until I could not see them. And I did not know that my upper class background could buy clean air, access to water, and preservation of nature. I grew up in…
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Mother Earth Teaches: The Sacred Nature of Seeds
Lay missioner Annemarie Barrett continues our series, “Mother Earth Teaches: Digging Deeper into Faith, Community and Justice.” “In the Andean cosmovision, we recognize that we are part of our environment. We are not superior to the Earth, nor owners of her, but we coexist in harmony with her, in relationship with the Pachamama, and…
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Takeaway Wednesday: National Bike Challenge!
It’s National Bike Month! Celebrate care for creation and start a new habit: bicycling! Many of our current missioners are cycling enthusiasts and eager for more people to share their joy. The League of American Bicyclists has a friendly challenge for you to get active and connect with bike-friendly or bike-curious communities: The National Bike Challenge…
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Short-Film: Reconciliation and Mother Earth
Continuing our series Sacraments and Social Mission: Living the Gospel, Being Disciples, today we share a short film titled “El litio: La Siguiente Batalla de Bolivia” or (roughly translated) “Lithium: The Next Battle of Bolivia”. “Care for Creation” is hugely important in Franciscan Spirituality. This film is about concrete political realities, but it also is…
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Travel Spot: Garden of the Gods in Colorado
While on our Returned Missioner Retreat this past weekend, a small group took the vans to a beautiful andmark. We recommend you check it out! A rusty gateway to the great Rocky Mountains, the Garden of the Gods is a registered National Natural Landmark in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is a unique public park…
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Franciscan Friday: Spring Fugue
This Friday, guest blogger and Secular Franciscan Susan Burke, facing her garden, reflects on caring–or not caring–for things we care for. This morning I made myself a pot of coffee and thought I’d settle down with Morning Prayer. That’s what I thought—until I opened the door to the back porch and remembered I hadn’t watered…
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Take the First Step and Don’t Leave a Footprint!
Earth Day is in a couple of weeks and as a Franciscan organization we are looking forward to celebrating! With a new Pope expressing the urgent need of our attention to protecting the earth, a renewed push for environmental sustainability has rattled the religious world. Search “catholic earth day” on Google and you will receive…
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Franciscan Friday: Coming Together to Be Good Stewards
We wrap up this week’s Walking in Solidarity theme of “Investing in Solidarity: Stewardship of Resources” with a reflection by Br. Hermann Borg, OFM, a German friar serving in Kenya with the Mother Earth Network. Some of Mother Earth Network’s ministries include planting trees, environmental conservation and restoration, community mobilization, education and raising awareness about…
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Franciscan Friday: Preparing for a Green Lent
As we approach the season of Lent, keep in mind these suggestions to add to your observance. It’s hard to believe that Lent is just a few weeks away. It feels like we just finished Christmas, a time of light and hope and new beginnings, and soon we’ll be immersed in a time we often…
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Franciscan Friday: Water and Advent
Kedem Waterfall, Judean Desert, Israel (Wikicommons). Those who live in the Middle East know the suffering associated with life in the desert. Their very existence depends on the oftentimes scarce supply of water. In the beginning of the second week of Advent Isaiah bases one of his lessons on this reality. In Chapter 35 he…
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Bolivia’s Pedestrian Day: Raising Awareness and Having Fun
Kitzi Hendricks, on mission in Cochabamba, shares her experiences from Bolivia’s second annual National Day of the Pedestrian, an event to raise awareness about the environment. Missioner Kitzi Hendricks enjoying a rare traffic-free bike ride on the street of Cochabamba El Día del Peatón is probably one of my favorite days in Bolivia. It is…
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Amazon Day and the Martyrom of Rainforest Protectors
Yasuní National Park As the most biodiverse place in the world, the Yasuní National Park in the Ecuadorian Amazon teems with life. Just one hectacre of of the park has as many species of tree and shrubs as all of Canada and the United States combined. In addition to plants and animals, the rainforest is…
Read MoreFranciscan Friday: In Right Relation with Creation
With spring ending and summer beginning, it’s the time of year when people start to move outdoors to take advantage of the nice weather. Whether you’re gardening, camping, going to the beach or grilling in the backyard, you’re out enjoying God’s creation. At our April Souposium, Patrick Carolan, executive director of Franciscan Action Network, led a…
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The Earth Day that Pachamama led an anti-litter campaign
Missioner Jean Lechtenberg dressed up as Pachamama for Earth Day 2008 in Carmen Pampa, Bolivia To the indigenous peoples of the Andes, everything is inhabited by spirits – rocks, trees, mountains – but Pachamama is the earth itself. She is the source of all life, fruit, grain, springs of water, and the mineral riches of…
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National Volunteer Month Profile: Nora in Bolivia
The green thumb of our missioners has to be Nora Pfeiffer. Most of Nora’s ministries in Cochabamba, Bolivia relate to the environment — from hosting radio shows, helping with retreats, composting, and tending a garden with the children at the Franciscan Social Center where she lives. The University of Richmond graduate is today’s National Volunteer…
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