St. Louis Sisters and JPIC Office learn about Sustainability!

 On Saturday, June 4th, Incarnate Word Sisters from St. Louis, MO gathered with staff from the Congregational JPIC Office to learn about sustainability and reflect on sustainable actions that they can take in their own lives as well as throughout the Congregation.  This was part of the Congregation's larger celebration of the one year anniversary of Laudato Si, commemorated by hosting workshops on sustainability throughout the U.S., Mexico, and Peru.

The St. Louis group attended the Green Homes Fair at the Missouri Botanical Gardens, which was filled with many different vendors and organizations sharing their knowledge and skills related to the various ways we can live more sustainably.  Some of the topics covered included renewable energy technologies, green building and home improvement, nature scaping resources, energy efficiency, sustainable transportation, recycling, composting, gardening, weatherization, energy audits, eco-friendly household cleaning products, and sustainable living ideas.   It was a beautiful day to walk around the botanical gardens, surrounded by the beauty of God's creation, and be inspired by the many ways we can care for our common home!

After spending a few hours at the Gardens, the group met at the Incarnate Word Foundation to reflect on what they saw and learned and share ideas about future actions.  There was a lot of interest in having energy audits of the sisters' homes and buildings conducted to see how we can take steps to make these living and work spaces more energy efficient.  We also learned about a local Green Schools Challenge to help area schools form a Green Team and devise and implement a sustainable project at their school.  One sister who attended is also interested in building her own rain barrel and offered to build one for other sisters who might be interested as well!

At the end of the day each of the participants shared one way that Laudato Si has inspired them to take action to live more sustainably.  The Catholic Climate Movement has a social media campaign right now encouraging everyone to share how Laudato Si has inspired them to take action, and we encourge you to participate as well!  Download this flyer and take a picture of yourself with your answer to how Laudato Si has inspired you with the hashtag #CreationCare and #LaudatoSiWeek.  Each of us doing our part to live Laudato Si and care for creation makes a difference!