Earth Hope

Sisters Marya and Helen to Present at Mt. St. Agnes

Mount Saint Agnes Theological Center for Women announces a retreat--“Women, Earth and Divine Love”--for women “to rest and renew your commitment to planet Earth.”  Anchored by S. Marya, OSF, and S. Helen, CSJ, the retreat will take place Friday April 23 to Sunday April 25 at the Bon Secours Spiritual Center in Marriottsville, MD.

For registration information and details visit the Mount Saint Agnes website at www.mountsaintagnes.org. Or call 410-435-7500.

“Live Lightly on Earth”

So suggest the Sisters of St. Francis of Oldenburg in their corporate stance on Care for Creation and Sister Earth. Companion Director Kathy Boehm and Companion Val  Cummings spent October 23-25 at the Franciscan Retreat Center in Oldenburg, Indiana, delving into that concept as they supported Marya Grathwohl, OSF, and Helen Prejean, CSJ, in an Earth Hope event. The weekend gathering was entitled, “Justice and  Compassion in the Web of Life: Energized by Grace for Action.” Energizing grace was certainly present for the 30 or so participants, as they joined people in 181 countries for 350 International Day of Climate Action on October 24. Motivation from the short film Kilowatt Ours provided the foundation for their contribution to the 350 Community’s dedicated effort to decrease the volume of carbon in Earth’s atmosphere. The group also entered into St. Clare’s contemplative process as they sought to experience grace and wisdom in nature. Dr. Helen Caldicott’s writings, particularly If You Love this Planet: A Plan to Heal Earth, generated both lively discussion and quiet reflection. In concert with Earth Hope’s focus on the sacred connection in all creation, Val Cummings led the participants in an introductory reflection on Teillhard de Chardin’s Mass on the World. The weekend’s highlights included personal reflections from Helen Prejean and Marya Grathwohl, both of whom are penning soon-to-be-published memoirs of their spiritual journeys.               

                                                                                                         Val Cummings

VOICE OF THE HURRICANE, SONG OF THE BREEZE:

BEING HOME, WHOLE AND FREE, IN THE COSMOS

A workshop for teachers, facilitators, group leaders, and more, on how to integrate The Universe Story into your current program setting.

A cosmology curriculum ready to use:

◊ With any group that wants to explore what it means to be human and

compassionate in the 21st Century

◊ In settings from parish halls to prison units, from book study groups to coffee circles,

in women’s centers and men’s gatherings.

 WHEN: SEPTEMBER 11-13,2009. Beginning and ending with the noon meals on Friday and Sunday

WHERE: THE LODGE AT COVE CANYON, Billings, MT, home of Rim Country Land Institute

For information on lodging options available please email the Earth Hope office: earth_hope@vcn.com

COST: $125. Includes meals and a complete set of curriculum materials (no art supplies)

 ◊ Curriculum materials include: 12-week course syllabus, music CD, Universe Story DVD, Earth Story DVD, guided imagery readings, and suggested art activities. Workshop participants will engage in an actual lesson.

◊ Workshop sessions include time on the land, stargazing, storytelling, art and conversation.

 PRESENTERS:

◊ Cece Gannon, PsyD, facilitator of the Earth Hope cosmology program since November 2007 in the Sonoma County Detention System, CA

◊ Sr. Mary Nerney, PD in psychotherapy, facilitator of the Earth Hope group in the Riker’s Island Women’s Jail, NYC

◊ Carol McEvoy, MA, Co-founder and Executive Director of Rim Country Land Institute

◊ Sr. Marya Grathwohl, MA, Founder and Executive Director of Earth Hope

VOICE OF THE HURRICANE, SONG OF THE BREEZE is co-sponsored by Earth Hope and Rim Country Land Institute. Look for registration information, soon to be posted on both Websites.

www.rimcountry.org and www.earth-hope.org

For more information about the program in the Sonoma County Jail System please visit the Earth Hope Website and click on the News link.

Earth Hope Raises a Global Voice

by Valerie Cummings, Friend of Earth Hope

Sister Marya Grathwohl, OSF, founder of Earth Hope, was among spiritual leaders invited to attend a prayer summit in Aspen Colorado. Religious leaders from around the country and from across faith traditions met from November 5-10, to create a plan of action in support of President-Elect Barack Obama and his new administration as they seek to address the nation’s challenges.

The 100-plus faith leaders who gathered expressed determination to support the Obama administration by mobilizing a new spiritual voice for the country, one based on inclusion, compassion, and a vision of unity. In a ground breaking move, there was an extensive outreach to those voices not often heard at such gatherings – Buddhist and Hindu religious leaders, as well as Sufis and Native American spiritual leaders. Included were those steeped in deep contemplative practice, as these leaders bring a much needed perspective.

Among the moral issues deemed the most critical for the nation are helping Americans move beyond fear, working to develop a more inclusive and caring economy and the re-establishment of respect and deep regard for our environment and natural resources.

A commitment to defend the web of life and to promote mutually enhancing human~Earth relationships made Earth Hope a perfect fit for inclusion in this initiative. Marya facilitated two group discussions, led a prayer using the Women’s Creed from the UN Beijing Women’s Conference **, and gave a presentation to the Assembly entitled: The Contemplative Voice of America Rises from the Continent, from the Land.

Summit participants agreed that a Council of American Contemplative Elders would be formed as the guiding voice and face for a new spiritual movement in the country, a process that would parallel the political changes now underway. This Council revitalizes a tradition of most societies to hold spiritual leaders in a place of honor, and to seek their guidance and vision for their communities.

A key factor of this initiative is that it is being organized and led by women religious and spiritual leaders. It is the women who feel called now to assume a leadership role in mobilizing this new voice for the nation. The gathering in Aspen was organized by the Global Peace Initiative of Women, which is based on the belief that a shift in consciousness is needed, a change in heart and mind, if we are as a global community to meet the challenges of climate change, environmental degradation, poverty and hunger, violence and conflict. Central to the Global Peace Initiative of Women is the conviction that the feminine qualities of wholeness, inclusion, and integration have a vital role to play in facilitating this shift and bringing greater balance to our world.

The voice of Earth Hope, sounded by Marya at this critical summit, brings to the fore our commitment to stand in solidarity with all of creation, offering support for those who have a desire to

· Find links between the inclusive compassion of Jesus and care for creation

· Discover how care for creation promotes justice and builds peace

· Contemplate and celebrate the sacred story of the Universe

· Expand knowledge and deepen feelings of connection with Earth

· Explore spirituality and faith that enliven and sustain that connection

· Create lifestyles that benefit our families, the local community and Earth

· Generate more hope about the future of the planet and all life

 **Pray with Marya, as she prayed at the Faith Summit

      (Excerpted from The Women’s Creed)

Bread. For this we pray

A clean sky. For this we pray

Active peace. For this we pray

A woman's voice singing somewhere,

       melody drifting like smoke from the cook fires. For this we pray

The army disbanded. For this we pray

The harvest abundant. For this we pray

The wound healed. For this we pray

The child wanted. For this we pray

The prisoner freed. For this we pray

The body's integrity honored. For this we pray

The lover returned. For this we pray

The magical skill that reads marks into meaning. For this we pray

The labour equal, fair, and valued. For this we pray

Delight in the challenge for consensus to solve problems. For this we pray

No hand raised in any gesture but greeting. For this we pray

Secure interiors - of heart, home, land - so firm as to make secure borders irrelevant at last. For this we pray and say AMEN

See The Women’s Creed in its entirety at

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/41685_73857_ENG_HTM.htm

Sister Marya gave a Franciscan day of retreat at the Tepeyac Institute in El Paso, Texas, on Mary 15, 2008.  Marya's presentation, entitled "Jesus and Nature," was attended by about 45 people of varying ages and from diverse ethnic communities who enthusiastically shared stories of faith, struggle and hope.Sharing stories of experiencing God in nature