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Fr. Séamus Finn, OMI Interviewed by Berkley Center, Georgetown University June 20th, 2022
Background: Investment policies and priorities for faith communities have come to the fore in recent years, working alongside wider socially 
responsible investment policies and involving active efforts to shape directions for private sector impact. Fr. Séamus has played active roles in initiatives within his order (Oblates of Mary Immaculate), the Catholic Church, and faith communities broadly. He spoke to a group of Georgetown University students and other colleagues on April 27, presenting his work and exploring underlying issues related to investment policies and action to shape them.
Fr. Séamus brings a long history of active efforts to shape faith consistent investment policies and practice. As director of the Oblates’ United States Province Office of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation, he coordinates their advocacy work on behalf of marginalized peoples and communities living in poverty; the priorities are “accompanying those in need” and “being present where decisions affecting the lives and the futures of the poor are made”, in both the public arena and the private sector.
He served as chair of the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility’s board of directors for 5 years and is the Director of Faith Consistent Investing for the Oblate International Pastoral Investment Trust. The latter includes an active shareholder investment program both for the U.S. province and for the congregation, and a presence at different legislative arenas and at international institutions like the World Bank, IMF and the UN. He serves on the boards of several organizations focused on justice priorities in the public policy arena.
Read the full interview: https://bit.ly/3O9TzHp
Synodality and Oblates in the U.S.A., Part Two June 17th, 2022
By Jim Brobst, OMI and Paul Hughes, OMI, Introduction by Harry Winter, OMI
In our first installment, we mentioned how much St. Eugene lived synodality, even though he may not have used the word (Synodality and the Oblates: Part 1). Since the core of synodality is mission, St. Eugene looks over our shoulders as we invest in synodality.
Michael Hughes, OMI, of the Anglo-Irish Province documented this when he described St. Eugene’s 1850 visit to England. “Today, we would say that he had set the Oblate mission well and truly on the synodal pathway” (p. 14, Oblate Connections, May 2022, #54). Hughes explains how St. Eugene “rallied his men and made a striking impression of gracious nobility on the various dignitaries he has met” (p. 15).This “gracious nobility” helped him overcome clericalism, and work equally with the laity and clergy.
Washington, DC, Oblate Residence, Jim Brobst, OMI
On May 12, 8 of the 12 Oblates residing in Washington, DC, met to discuss synodality… and I guided our discussion. Although our community discussion was often rather intellectual and historical in its approach, we also had some strong moments of personal disclosure. The fact of having something other-than-business to discuss was itself the best part about the meeting! We’re often good on the administrative/necessary business side of mission, but less so on the depth of community that is a part of mission. This discussion gave us the opportunity to go deeper than we normally do.
On May 14 I took our summary to the meeting on the Archdiocesan level, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish. About sixty-five people attended, including Cardinal Gregory, laity, religious and pastors. Reporters ranged from Sr. Jeannine Gramick, long-time defender of LGBTQ within the church, to proponents of Latin Mass. There was quite a diversity in ages, ethnicity, culture and education among those present.
Visit OMIUSA.ORG to read the full article.
Three Part Harmony Farm Hosts Sisters of Mercy Delegation June 9th, 2022
Our collaboration with the Three Part Harmony farm at the OMI property here at 391 Michigan Ave in Washington, DC continues to bear fruit. Every week the farm receives requests for either tours or educational presentations. It is another way that we have been successful in sharing the message of Laudato Si in recent years. It is especially exciting to be able to share the message of caring for a common home, raising nutritional vegetables, adding a touch of beauty to the area with the street-side flower garden and of course teaching about good eating and good nutrition.
We received the following message and photos after a recent visit by a group of Mercy Sisters collaborators.
Dear Gail,
Thank you so much for your generosity in welcoming us to Three Part Harmony Farm the other day! It was a welcome break from classroom-style presentations with the group and meetings with their legislators.
We had some really good conversations afterward about food sovereignty, your farming practices vs. the corporate model, and intersections with our concerns for Earth and immigrants when it comes to farm workers. One of the staff with the students pointed out that you live the value of mercy in the great empathy you expressed for farmers whose practices differ from yours.
I’ve attached some photos, which I had to resize to send via email. I suspect you already saw many posted on social media that tagged the farm.
Many blessings for a fruitful season both with the bounty of your produce and with the building of community that you also prioritize.
Regards,
Marianne Comfort
Sisters of Mercy, Institute Justice Team
Synod: Series of free online courses on discernment and decision making June 9th, 2022
Catholics across the globe are invited to take part in a Massive Open Online Course on the topic of “Common Discernment and Decision Making in the Church.”
Agency Breeds Hope June 4th, 2022
By: Sr. Maxine Pohlman, SSND, director, La Vista Ecological Learning Center
I didn’t know what to expect when I read the invitation for a Barge Bash in late April, but I quickly accepted since I always wanted to see a barge up close, having observed them from the bluffs for so many years. On the parking lot of Alton, Illinois’ Melvin Price Locks and Dam I was given a life jacket before heading to the Living Lands and Waters barge docked there. I could not have imagined the impact the evening would have on me as I felt myself rocking between hope and despair. 
One young man with one boat began collecting trash on the Mississippi near his home in 1998 and sorting it in his parents’ back yard. Now his organization has a fleet of 4 barges, 2 towboats, 5 workboats, 5 trucks and a crane. All of these are needed to do the work of trash removal and sorting, watershed conservation, tree plantings and education on the Mississippi, Ohio, and Illinois Rivers. His web site reports that he and his crew of 9 have collected over 12 million tons of trash with 120,00 volunteers. They say they are the only group doing “industrial strength” river cleanup in the world. And they do all of this in a spirit of fun. Their impact on the river made me feel hopeful; the fact that the amount of trash has increased over the years evoked a feeling of despair. The barge in the photo is one of three the crew filled during their 3 weeks in our area!
Part of the Barge Bash evening included a Sierra Club presentation on the Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative (MRRRI) This piece of legislation seeks federal funding to care for the Mississippi and its communities threatened by flooding and other extreme weather events, and pollution. Imagine that this river, which provides drinking water to 20 million people, is a flyway for millions of migratory birds, and provides habitat for endangered species, is only now about to get federal protection!! While the Initiative evokes hope, the fact that there has not been legislation to care for our precious river until now does not. This called to mind Thomas Berry’s desire for Earth jurisprudence which recognizes Earth as a living being with intrinsic value and every constituent, including rivers, as having the right to be, the right to habitat, and the right to fulfill its role in the Earth community. Sadly, we are a long way from that visionary perspective.
Not long after my barge experience, I listened to the webinar The Language of Trees featuring Kathleen Dean Moore and Alison Hawthorne Deming who helped sort my feelings. Both women have been writing and teaching about the natural world for decades, and they are intimately familiar with the inclination to hope as well as despair. In response to a question about how to nurture hope Moore commented, If despair comes knocking at your door, double bolt it and pretend you are not at home. Despair denies meaning and relieves you of responsibility. It is moral abdication! Deming responded with equal sincerity, Hope is a moral choice. There is plenty of evidence that we should not be optimistic, but to be of use in the world, choose hope!
One webinar participant indicated that when she dies, she wants to be “fully used up”, and so she asked, what can we who are not writers and speakers do? Their reply: Use the gifts you have and do what gives you a sense of agency. Because of the extreme urgency of the climate crisis, ratchet up your activities however you can, making them happen on a larger, broader scale.
Hearing the wisdom of these two seasoned women shed light on my barge experience. I know I can’t match the energy of the youthful crew on the barge, but I absolutely can respond to life as Kathleen and Alison propose. Also, I felt confirmed in using my ability as a writer to continue these reflections as one of my gifts to our planet in crisis. Following are some opportunities for you to act and nurture hope.
La Vista E-News
Please consider making a donation to La Vista Ecological Learning Center to keep this little newsletter happening: send your check to 4300 Levis Lane, Godfrey, IL 62035.
Thank you kindly for your past support including many emails in which you share your own wonderful reflections with me. What a boost!
And/or you may choose to extend the reach of our e-news by sending the name and email address of someone who would appreciate receiving it. (With their permission, please) Send to info@lavistaelc.org.
Support the Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative:
Contact your Congresspersons: https://act.americanrivers.org/page/40188/action/1
It is an act of hope to exert your agency in this way because we must not give in to despair, thinking sign-ons don’t matter!
Thank you!
