Organized in partnership with
Laudato Si’ Week and the CSSJ Federation
The fifth anniversary of Laudato Si’ offers us an opportunity to act together in a strategic way to care for creation. Our special emphasis will be the impact of plastics on our environment.
As Pope Francis reminds us, “The urgent challenge to protect our common home includes a concern to bring the whole human family together to seek a sustainable and integral development, for we know that things can change” (Laudato Si’ paragraph 13). This is a great opportunity for us to experience our solidarity, to learn, and to act together.
Get involved in CSSJ activities and actions
The congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and the U.S. Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph have organized the following slate of activities and actions and invite all to join.
Share Laudato Si’ messages on social media
Artists from the U.S. Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph created a variety of creation-themed artwork and generously shared it with all of us to post on social media throughout Laudato Si’ Week. We have also listed some passages from Laudato Si’ you can pair with them. Feel free to make your posts your own and invite your friends and followers to join us in action!
Click here to view the post ideas.
Prayer Services
Sisters from the Federation wrote a variety of prayer services that can be used for each day of Laudato Si’ Week.
Click here to download the prayer services.
CSSJ Schedule for Laudato Si’ Week
Saturday, May 16Video and Discussion: Frontline’s “Plastic Wars”
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Sunday, May 17Presentation: “The Be-attitudes for Care of Our Common Home” by Lin Neil, CSJ
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Monday, May 18Video and discussion: “The Story of Plastic”
Click here to learn more about the film. Depending on your cable package, you may be able to watch the film here |
Tuesday, May 19Take action We need to address single-use plastics through our personal choices to avoid them but also by letting the manufacturers and local vendors know of our concern. Please take these two actions.
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Wednesday, May 20Presentation: “Living Simply in a Consumer Society” by Lin Neil, CSJ
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Thursday, May 21Presentation on the Save Our Seas Act Patty Johnson, CSJ will share information on Save Our Seas Act via Zoom videoconference at 4pm Eastern/3pm Central/2pm Mountain/ 1pm Pacific
Click here to download the legislator tracking sheet
Spanish conversation on Linda Neil, CSJ’s presentations Conversación en castellano sobre las presentaciones (videos) por Linda Neil (Be-actitudes y Vivir Simple) a 8pm Eastern/7pm Central/6pm Mountain/5pm Pacific Ver “Las Be-Actitudes para el Cuidado de nuestro Hogar Comun” |
Friday, May 22Take action by asking your congressional representative to co-sponsor the Save Our Seas Act. |
Saturday, May 23Take action by making a personal pledge to take “one more step” as we “Journey Farther.”
Here are some ways you can go “One Step Farther.” We encourage you to share this on social media!
Click here for a spectrum of actions that individuals and groups can take as part of the pledge. |
Sunday, May 24Pray together in a Closing Ceremony of Celebration and Commitment We close this week commemorating Laudato Si’ with a celebration of the gifts and challenges of being members of this one sacred Earth community. We will reflect on, discuss, and recommit to aligning ourselves with the Creator’s dream for our Earth. We will call on the graces continually bathing us through Creation and on the goodwill and strength of each other as we go into a sacred future together. Interactive service presented via Zoom videoconference at 2pm Eastern/1pm Central/noon Mountain/ 11am Pacific
Click here to download the PowerPoint for the service in Spanish |
The cry of the dear neighbor impels us to go deeper, to journey farther, to respond boldly and creatively. We are called to bold conversation and prophetic action! Join us!
Additional Resources
- Visit the international Laudato Si’ Week website
- Read Laudato Si’ online
- Global Catholic Climate Movement
- Beyond Plastics
- The Story of Bottled Water: The Story of Bottled Water tells the story of manufactured demand—how you get Americans to buy more than half a billion bottles of water every week when it already flows virtually free from the tap. Over five minutes, the film explores the bottled water industry’s attacks on tap water and its use of seductive, environmental-themed advertising to cover up the mountains of plastic waste it produces. The film concludes with a call for viewers to make a personal commitment to avoid bottled water and support public investment in clean, available tap water for all.
- The Story of Microbeads: This 2-minute short takes on plastic microbeads—the nasty little bits of plastic that companies have been putting in everything from body washes and hand soaps to toothpaste and make up. In it, we show how microbeads are actually designed to go down the drain and into our rivers, lakes, and oceans…and what folks like us can do to stop this ridiculous assault on our public waters.
- The Story of Microfibers: Most of us wear synthetic fabrics like polyester every day. Our dress shirts, yoga pants, fleeces, and even underwear are all increasingly made of synthetic materials — plastic, in fact. But these synthetic fabrics, from which 60% of all clothing on earth is made, have a big hidden problem: when they’re washed, they release tiny plastic bits — called microfibers — that flow down our drains, through water treatment plants, and out into our rivers, lakes, and oceans by the billions. This 2-minute short explains it all.
More information on the pledge and possible actions
We are committed to journeying farther in our efforts to save our planet. Many of us have already taken actions to reduce the presence of single-use plastics. Please consider taking a next step during Laudato Si’ Week. Choose an action, print out this poster, and fill in your Laudato Si pledge, take a photo of you holding it and share on social media using the hashtags #CreationCare. Challenging your friends and colleagues to do the same.
- Recycle single-use plastic water bottles
- Use a reusable water bottle
- Use cloth bags and produce bags for shopping- remember to use bags of natural fibers like cotton (polyester and many mesh products are made with plastics)
- Click here to see reusable bags
- Click here to see produce bags
- Recycle plastic that is often not recycled in communities
- Click here to learn how to recycle plastic packaging not recycled in your community
- Click here to recycle candy and snack wrappers, coffee capsules (Kuerig and creamer capsules), plastic bottle caps, food storage containers
- Click here to recycle pens, pencils, and markers
- Use personal hygiene supplies without microplastics
- Click here for Lush, a company that produces shampoo, conditioner, soap, lotions that contain no plastic and also are not packaged in plastics
- Click here for Hibar, a company that produces shampoos, conditioner that contain no plastics and are also not packaged in plastics
- Buy natural fiber clothing – polyester and microfabrics have plastics
Resources mentioned by members of our community this week:
- Missouri Botanical Garden Green Resources
- Grove Collaborative (offers many sustainable products and tries to minimize plastic)
- #BreakFreeFromPlastic
- Vatican office invites church on journey to ‘total sustainability’ in next decade
If you would like to add anything to the list, email it Kim Westerman at csjcommunications@csjcarondelet.org.