This summer, Sister Janet Marcisz spent time at her local county fair with the garden club of Eugene, OR, which sponsored a booth providing flowers and containers to fairgoers wishing to explore flower arranging. Gardening has always been important to Sister Janet, providing a close, heart-filling connection to the beauty of our planet. After 38 years of classroom teaching, she trained as an Oregon State University Master Gardener as a new facet of her ministry as an educator.
For the past 32 years, Sister Kay Burton has ministered in Jonestown, MS. A part of her message has been the importance of helping others, both through her own involvement and by training volunteers.
Sister Mary Rita Rohde embodies the SNJM commitment to caring for the Earth. “For me, it’s a moral issue,” she says. “We need to be morally responsible for generations to come.”
In this time of institutional racism, global pandemic, economic fragility, climate change, and families struggling, I ask others to pray with me about the knots in my life that that are causing many of us to ask questions about power, privilege, and respect.
Consuming news can be like eating your least favorite vegetable. It might be something you need, but it’s probably something you’d rather push aside. Sister Elizabeth Liebert has another idea – letting the news into your prayer life.
At a time of global fear and crisis, the practice of spending intentional time in the holiness of the natural world is a powerful way to connect with God.
