Earth Day is April 22, but we celebrate the whole month!
This Earth Month, we invite you to reflect on one of The Vatican’s Laudato Si’ Goals: “Adoption of Sustainable Lifestyles.” Or more simply put, simple living.
Personal choices you can make
Eco-Challenge
As we do every month, we kicked off April with our Eco-Challenge. This month, we urge you to consider using laundry sheets or sustainably packaged powdered laundry detergent.
Prayer Journal
Ecological conversion is a big aspect of our Laudato Si’ Action Plan. Our Earth Month Prayer Journal offers reflective tools to consider.
Sustainable swaps
Looking to make your household more Earth-friendly? Our list of recommended sustainable products offers dozens of items recommended by our sisters and charism partners.
Engage together
“Simple Living: God’s Vision of Abundant Life”
Join our congregation for an hour of prayer, small group discussion on simple living and an introduction to our two major congregational projects to impact sustainable living.
FRIDAY, APRIL 21
7-8pm EDT / 6-7pm CDT / 5-6pm MDT / 4-5pm PDT
1-2pm Hawaii / 4月22日（土）午前8時から9時。
7-8pm en Chile / 6-7pm en Perú
To prepare:
- Watch a 10-minute video “Simple Living: God’s Vision of Abundant Life”
- Download our participant guide (PDF 531KB)
This hour-long program was originally prepared by Catholic Climate Covenant, and it has been adapted by the Sisters of St Joseph of Carondelet.
Trees for Tacna Program
Know your carbon footprint and take steps to reduce it. You can calculate your ecological impact with free calculators from the EPA or the United Nations. Then consider donating a commensurate amount to our Trees for Tacna program, planting native trees and making green space in the arid climate of Tacna, Peru. Students at Fe y Alegría School, where our sisters teach, will plant and care for the space.
UN plastics pollution treaty
We have an active committee advocating for the plastics pollution treaty currently being debated by the United Nations. This treaty would aim to reduce plastic production and pollution and its harmful effects on the environment and human health. You may remember reading about our efforts beginning last July and may have signed the two messages in July and January that we have sent to the negotiators representing the countries where we live and serve over the last year.
Our congregational committee has now developed a position statement. It has been approved by our offices at the Congregations of St. Joseph at the United Nations Non-Governmental Organization as its official international position, so this statement will speak for Sisters of St. Joseph around the globe. We are putting together an international delegation of four or five Sisters of St. Joseph to represent us at the Paris Negotiating Session, and we are engaging the global family of St. Joseph to contact their delegates to support this position.
Stay tuned for future updates and calls to action.