Latest OMI JPIC News
Christian Unity and JPIC Bond in the Season of Creation August 31st, 2022
(Originally published at OMIUSA.ORG)
One concern emerging for all the world’s 2.4 billion Christians is the plundering of our planet. This year’s Season of Creation, beginning September 1 and ending on the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Oct. 4, finds Christians from every denomination joining together in prayer and action to slow and eventually reverse our environmental degradation. Our Oblate Ministry of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation is working with our Ministry of Mission, Unity and Dialogue to promote the health of our planet, since the poor are the ones most affected by the abuse of our natural resources.
Begun for the Eastern Orthodox by the Patriarch of Constantinople, Demetrios I in 1989, the observance quickly caught on in the Orthodox world. Then an Australian Lutheran pastor, Norman Habel, inspired Protestants in 2005. Pope Francis asked Roman Catholics to observe it when he published his encyclical Laudato Si in 2015.
Our US Bishops have provided a bulletin insert for this year, click here. At St. Mary’s Church in Georgetown, MA and Rowley, MA, we will have the insert available at the church entrance, rather than include it in the bulletin. Sometimes people are overwhelmed by inserts.
Each year has a different theme; this year’s is Listen to the Voice of Creation. Many websites with the title Season of Creation provide aids for worship and action. Our musicians have a large choice of hymns concerning the beauty of the world around us.
The Holy Spirit is pushing Christians (joined by other faiths) to go from an attitude of plunder to an attitude of wonder regarding our environment.
Video Highlights Work of Silverlands, a Fund Oblates Invest With August 24th, 2022
The Oblate Pastoral Investment Trust (OIP) has investments with Silverlands
Silverlands MIGA from SilverStreet on Vimeo.
August 9 is the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples August 8th, 2022
August 9 is the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. The UN’s observance this year will focus on the role of indigenous women in the preservation and transmission of traditional knowledge.
Pope Francis in Canada: Walking Together August 3rd, 2022
Healing and Reconciliation: An Historic Journey
Pope Francis made a pastoral visit to Canada from July 24 to 29, 2022. The Pope’s visit provided a unique opportunity for him, once again, to listen and dialogue with Indigenous Peoples, to express his heartfelt closeness and to address the impact of colonization and the participation of the Catholic Church in the operation of residential schools throughout Canada. The papal visit also provided an opportunity for the shepherd of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics to connect with the Catholic community in Canada.
Pope Francis Visits Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples
The Catholic Church has a responsibility to take genuine and meaningful steps to journey with Indigenous Peoples of this land on the lengthy path to healing and reconciliation. Visit this site for articles, videos and speeches on the historic journey of Pope Francis to Canada, a significant step on the road to truth, understanding and healing.
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| Fr. Susai Jesu, OMI, pastor, welcomes Pope Francis to Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples in Edmonton, AB (photo via @VaticanNews broadcast) |
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| Fr. Nnaemeka Ali, OMI, a Nigerian priest working with the Innu First Nations in Canada, upholds the papal visit as an opportunity for reconciliation, and says the Church needs to listen to and work with indigenous communities. Read the article. |
This site –https://www.papalvisit.ca/– provides information on the historic journey of Pope Francis to Canada, a significant step on the road to truth, understanding and healing.
Breathing Life into Pollinator Garden @ La Vista July 25th, 2022
Master Gardener and Master Naturalist Susan Murray plus nine volunteers are in the process of renewing the La Vista Ecological Center Pollinator Garden begun in 2014. The monarda, a native plant that provides nectar for many bees, butterflies, birds, wasps, and other pollinators, is in full bloom. Our plan is to introduce more diversity so that, when the monarda has peaked, other natives will continue serving pollinators throughout the season as well as adding color and interest. This will happen over a period of years.
(Photo courtesy of MrGajowy3, Pixabay)
When some of the plants complete their blooming cycle, they die, making the garden less than attractive. However, we leave those plants because their seeds continue to serve other pollinators. In the winter they provide valuable habitat for species that overwinter here. Rather than clean them up so the garden has a tidy appearance, it is important to continue to provide for native animals.
(Animation courtesy of Matt Wasser, Lottie Files)
This garden was created in response to the disappearing monarch butterfly. It, along with many other pollinators, are endangered by use of pesticides and reduction in habitat. It is also a way to give flesh to the Missionary Oblates Land Ethic statement and the Pope’s encyclical Laudato Si.
Our brochure explains the pollinator garden and includes quotes from both documents. The garden is also an educational tool, modeling a way to create this kind of garden and encouraging others to replicate it in the back yards, on a smaller scale.
Download this brochure to learn more about Lavista’s Pollinator Garden.
