Throughout the history of the congregation, the School Sisters of Notre Dame, have joined their voices around the world to call one another and the human community to live more justly. During the last two decades, however, they have come to a deeper realization that commitment to the integrity of creation must be at the heart of the work for justice and peace in the world today.

What is meant when it is said that there is a commitment to the “integrity of creation?”

School Sisters of Notre Dame recognize that human beings are a part of and are intimately interrelated with every other dimension of creation. The belief that the human community and the earth community need to live in right relationship with one another and that the human community cannot use or abuse the rest of creation is fundamental to this commitment.

Because of an ecological consciousness of the integrity of all of creation, the School Sisters of Notre Dame believe that the Christian mandate “to love our neighbor” extends not only to other human beings but also to every facet of creation. The human community is called to live in life-giving and mutually life-enhancing relationship with all of creation.” For the human and earth communities to live in a world of life-giving reciprocity demands the demise of dualistic, hierarchical, and patriarchal patterns of oppression rooted in sexism, racism, classism, ageism, militarism, violence, greed and exploitation.

At the core of the belief in the integrity of all of creation is the Christian conviction that all of creation is sacred, because God is the creator of life. Similarly, SSNDs believe that all forms of life are integrally interrelated and interconnected with one another and with God. As Christian women of faith and hope, they proclaim that ―

• Creation is a source of the revelation of God;
• The exploitation of the whole Earth community is a moral crisis;
• Ecological justice demands sustainable living;
• The integrity of creation is foundational to justice and peace;
• SSND international Congregation can be a positive, global influence for just and sustainable living for the whole Earth community;
• SSND charism calls the sisters to contribute to the healing of a wounded and broken planet through a renewed commitment to radical and prophetic living.

In order to acknowledge and respect the integrity of creation, the 21st General Chapter of the Congregation of the School Sisters of Notre Dame took a dramatic step and adopted the following resolution:

We the members of the 24th General Chapter, call on the SHALOM network to design and carry out a process of study and theological reflection on the values and principles of the Earth Charter. This process will include a reflection on our experience regarding the integrity of creation, as well as reflections on Sacred Scripture, our Catholic faith tradition, and our congregational documents. The purpose of the process is to assist the Congregation to respond with renewed action for the sake of justice for the integrity of creation.

By adopting this 2002 Chapter Resolution on the Earth Charter, the School Sisters of Notre Dame joined countless others around the world in the efforts to effect ecological consciousness and global justice. The General Chapter called its sisters to a way of being in the world that is rooted more deeply in thinking, acting, and living in right relationship with all forms of life. It was a call to conversion from any ways that show lack of respect and reverence for all of creation at this time. The call to conversion must be both personal and communal and it must be rooted in contemplation as a way of life that will lead to attitudinal, relational, and structural change in one’s life.

"Christian conversion requires new thinking and new living,
a continual change of mind and heart as individuals and as community."
(You Are Sent, Constitution and General Directory of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, GD 51)

What can you do?

• Find out what the Social Teaching of the Church says about the integrity of creation and what other Christian denominations and other faith traditions have said about the topic. A good place to start: World Council of Churches
• Find out if your local Bishops Conference has made any kind of a statement regarding the integrity of creation
• Read something on Ecology and Religion.
• Form a group and reflect together on the gift of water. Use as a guide, Water for Life: In Defense of our Sister Water a small booklet available in many languages.
• Take time with nature. Watch a flower, an insect, a bird or stare at a cow for five minutes.
• If possible, begin a compost pile and watch potato skins, orange peelings, coffee grounds be transformed into something new. Be fascinated by the worms as they turn the garbage into a “new creation.”
• Have a conversation with yourself about how you can “simplify” your life.
• Buy a bicycle and use it!      

To learn more about the integrity of creation and ecological justice see the following:

The Earth Charter is a declaration of fundamental principles for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century.

The United Nations Environmental Programme provides leadership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations

The United Nations Division for Sustainable Development provides leadership and is an authoritative source of expertise within the UN system on sustainable development. It promotes sustainable development in its work with UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) which was created in 1992 to monitor and report on implementation of the UN conferences and summits on the environment and development.

Umweltportal der Europäischen Kommission provides up-to-date information on the state of our environment, policy initiatives and legislative issues. (English, German and some other European languages)

World Watch Institute provides independent research for an environmentally sustainable and socially just society.

Many religious congregations have web sites with ecological news. The Holy Cross International Justice Office provides information on relevant issues of the environment

The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia provide an “ecological audit” on their web site.

Friends of the Earth International is a federation of autonomous environmental organizations from all over the world. (English, Spanish, French)

Find out the meaning of Ecological Debt (Spanish)

Subscribe to Reuter’s Daily Environmental News

Copyright © 2005 by SSND

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

THINK GLOBALLYACT LOCALLY

Revisiting the Earth Charter  by Cathy Arata, SSND

Three years ago the 21st General Chapter passed a resolution calling the congregation to a study and theological reflection of the Earth Charter. Every unit of the congregation has been involved in this reflection. Many of our sisters have incorporated the reflection on the Earth Charter into their ministries. It is time to share some good news regarding their decisions and activities.

• In Ghana, where the privatization of water is an issue, Sister Cecilia Gros no longer allows water to be sold at the health clinic that she directs. She has provided a water fountain where people can get water free of charge

• One of our communities in the Mankato Province buys and sells Fair Trade coffee as a way of being in solidarity with coffee growers who receive so little pay for their work.

• In Poland, the sisters have become more aware about peacemaking in their interpersonal relationships.

• One community in Milwaukee has stopped getting the daily newspaper in order to save trees. They get their news from the radio and TV.

• More and more of our convents are buying Hybrid cars. Although they cost more, they are better for the environment.

• In St. Louis, our sisters are members of a faith-based organization, Metropolitan Congregations United, which addresses issues of racial and economic equity. One of the issues is monitoring the effects of environmental pollution. The coalition has been able to get a commitment from the local government to test the air, water and soil in the area at the expense of the government.

• The Wilton Province had an environmental resources assessment of the SSND buildings and property in Wilton. The purpose of the audit is to encourage religious communities to put their environmental consciousness into action by converting their land-holdings and other property into models of healthy ecosystems and sustainability. Other provinces have also had environmental audits.

• The Baltimore Provincial Council has been sending via e-mail to each house in the province an ecological audit, How Earth Friendly Are You, produced by the Franciscan Sisters of Philadelphia. The audit comes monthly and helps sisters to reflect on life style and ecology.

• Santa Inez School in Porto Alegre spent the entire school year studying the different themes of the Earth Charter. Each class reflected on one principle of the Earth Charter and presented that principle to the rest of the school in a creative way. Parents were invited to attend a session on the EC and how to incorporate it in family life. At the end of the year an Earth Charter festival was held with students carrying posters, displays and creative works of art in a procession through the school neighborhood.

• At Notre Dame High School in El Progresso, Honduras, sisters, faculty, and students asked Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola (with whom ND had contracts) to provide paper cups rather than plastic ones for ecological reasons. Coca Cola said no and Pepsi Cola said yes. The school did not renew the contract with Coco Cola.

• At the Catholic University in Ghana, S. Kathleen Feeley uses the Earth Charter as a teaching tool. The first year, the students divided into groups and researched one area of the Charter. Then they created a booklet, with a short essay by each student, on different aspects of this one area. The content of the Earth Charter was used for teaching oral speaking. Students developed a talk around different sections of the EC.

• At the SHALOM Club at St. Joan of Arc in St. Louis, Missouri students invited two guests from the Missouri Department of Conservation to speak to all the classes at school on the precious gift of water. They learned various ways that our actions either pollute or protect our water supply. Another SHALOM group at the school developed ideas for a trash-free lunch. Letters were sent home asking parents to help pack simple, “trash-free” lunches in reusable containers. Students were heard commenting on the “empty trashcans” and maintenance staff were all smiles!

• In Vienna, a discussion on ecological sustainability led to a decision to use “environment friendly” cleaning materials in school. An “official permission” from local authorities was needed to change from chemical based materials to organic ones.

• At the Magnificat Volunteer Center in Nowy Sącz, Poland, only “earth friendly” cleaning products are used. Volunteers have studied the Earth Charter and are concentrating their efforts on promoting a culture of peace.

• In Peru, the 13 SHALOM Clubs are raising consciousness regarding foreign mining companies who are displacing people and destroying land used for agriculture. Each of the clubs has a vegetable garden and use only organic fertilizers.

• In Guam, the schools where SSNDs minister have studied the Earth Charter. A corporate reflection on democracy, nonviolence and peace was held for sisters, associates, teachers, and parents of students. As a result of the corporate reflections, the sisters committed themselves to certain actions.

• At Holy Family School in Forquilhinha (PA) 10 teachers and 100 students participated in “An Ecological Walk”. They walked 6 km. along the Mae Luzia River to observe the amount of pollution in the river. They discovered a chicken processing plant that dumps their waste into the river and then uses strong chemicals to lessen the pollution. A week after the walk, the school invited an engineer from the plant to discuss students’ concerns over the matter.

Also noteworthy are actions taken on behalf of Earth by the Mankato province. Although these actions predate the Chapter Resolution on the Earth Charter they are good examples of SSND concern for the integrity of creation. Through the Conservation Reserve Program nearly 40 acres of land were planted in a mix of prairie grasses and wild flowers. Four hundred trees and shrubs were planted in designated areas. Eroded ravines were repaired and holding ponds to allow rain water to slowly seep into the soil were installed.

Community Gardens on Motherhouse property have been designated for neighbors and people in need in the Mankato area. With the building of Notre Dame Center, the new health care wing, many conservation practices were employed. The number of acres of mown grass has been reduced and watering the lawn has been limited to a few areas close to the front of the main buildings.

Copyright © 2005 by SSND