Laudato Si’ circle in Geelong

The next Laudato Si’ Circle at St Mary’s is on Wednesday 27 November 2019.
Time: 6:00pm to 7:00pm
Location: St Mary’s, downstairs room


The format for this gathering will be a minute of contemplative silence, followed by the reading of a letter from Pope Francis to all Catholic priests in the world.

His main request is to celebrate the Season of Creation in all parishes.

St Mary’s will add a prayer into the General Intercessions for the 5 Sundays, and there is a notice of the theme in St Mary’s bulletin.

We are hoping this will happen in all Geelong Parishes.


Quotations from Laudato Si’ 
There will be a one page handout of quotations from Pope Francis’ encyclical letter Laudato Si’, and after reading these there will be contemplative listening.

This works best if everyone has a turn and each one speaks briefly on what has emerged for them from the quotations.

Worldwide movement
The worldwide Laudato Si’ circles are studying Laudato Si’ and spending time in prayer.

We could leave a generous five minutes for a meditation at the end.

It has been suggested that we might do a paper handout for parishioners on what is happening around Geelong already for sustainability, emissions reduction, etc.


Facilitator
The Laudato Si’ circle sessions at St Mary’s in Geelong are lead by Margie Abbott.

Margie is passionate about Care for Earth and over thirty years has been involved with Sisters of Mercy eco groups such as Environmental Sabbath and Eco Justice!

She is a trainer for Generation Waking Up and a member of the global community Pachamama Alliance.

Generation Waking Up is a global initiative working to ignite a generation of young people to bring forth a thriving, just, sustainable world.

Pachamama Alliance offers people the chance to work on creating a sustainable future.

Margie explained in more detail about the circle initiative when she was interviewed in the weekly podcast The Sustainable Hour on 94.7 The Pulse in June 2019.

 

 

Calendar – mark the dates

The circle meeting dates for the rest of 2019 are:
 

    27 November
 

23 September 2019: Pope sends U.N. a climate message

“We have caused a climate emergency that gravely threatens nature and life itself, including our own… Now is the time to abandon our dependence on fossil fuels and move, quickly and decisively, towards forms of clean energy and a sustainable and circular economy.”
~ Pope Francis

More information

Click on the image to see article with more videos

“Education is key to driving positive change.”
~ Pope Francis

“The Pope said the first step is finding “the courage to place the human person at the center.” This means recognizing the world’s interconnectedness and re-thinking economics, politics, growth, and progress, giving pride-of-place to an integral ecology that rejects the throw-away culture.

Next, Pope Francis called for summoning up “the courage to capitalize on our best energies”. The status quo should be replaced by giving education “a long-term vision”, to create a new humanism. The result, he added, will be “men and women who are open, responsible, prepared to listen, dialogue and reflect with others, and capable of weaving relationships with families, between generations, and with civil society.”

The Pope said a further step is “the courage to train individuals who are ready to offer themselves in service to the community.” Service, he said, is the “pillar of the culture of encounter”, and means helping the neediest of people and discovering that “there is more joy in giving than in receiving.”

→ Vatican News – 12 September 2019:
Pope calls for educational alliance to promote care for common home
“Pope Francis launches the Global Educational Alliance initiative to shape the future of humanity by forming mature individuals who can overcome division and care for our common home.”

Listen to audio interview with Margie Abbott – in the live radio show The Sustainable Hour on 26 June 2019

Living the Change

“Reducing the impact of our consumption is a spiritual challenge. By Living the Change, we engage this struggle with joy as part of our response to climate change.”

PLEDGE TO PROTECT THE EARTH
Start Living the Change by pledging to make your own life a blessing for the Earth and all people. You might make this your own by using ideas and language meaningful to you.

www.livingthechange.net


What is the idea with a Laudato Si’ circle?

→ Read more on www.catholicclimatemovement.global/circles

What is Pope Francis’ encyclical letter Laudato Si’?

Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home
→ Web page on www.vatican.va
→ PDF version on www.stmarysgeelong.com.au – for download or print
→ Audio version on www.soundcloud.com
→ Printed copies: St Mary’s Parish Library in Geelong has a few copies
 

One comment

  1. I am sharing this announcement by the Greens since we were talking about threats to our environment. I reflect in doing so that none of our discussion focused on a role for the Greens as change agents.

    Do we need to change our thinking on that matter?

    “Last night Legislation passed the Victorian Parliament to ban single-use plastic bags
    By November single-use plastic bags will be a thing of the past. We’ll tell our grandchildren, yes darling, it sounds crazy, but we used to throw away plastic bags after one use!

    This is just the first step in taking polluting plastic out of our waterways, wildlife and landscapes. Unfortunately, the Greens attempts to introduce a wider single use plastic ban were rejected today by the major parties, but we won’t give up.

    We’ll get back to working on a complete single-use plastic ban tomorrow but for now let’s celebrate this great achievement!

    Tackling plastic pollution has been a core goal for the Victorian Greens for many years, so seeing this legislation come into being is so exciting.

    We are so proud to be part of a huge and passionate movement of local community groups, countless individuals, and inspiring campaigners (like Plastic Bag Free Victoria), that helped make this happen.

    But the big victory is for our marine wildlife – dolphins, fish, penguins and birds – that will no longer have plastic bags polluting their nests and bellies.

    We can and will take the next step to ban many other unnecessary single use plastics that end up in our waterways and oceans. Last night was just the beginning.

    With hope and determination,

    Samantha Ratnam
    Leader of the Victorian Greens”

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