What would you like to know about St. Joan of Arc? Do you have a story about our parish or of general interest that you think others would like to hear? For story ideas, contact Jeff Rholl, jeff@stjoan.com.

Upcoming Event April 29th - The Ecospirituality Committee invites you to Global Warming: Call to Action - Details

ECOSPIRITUALITY VISION STATEMENT: (1998) The earth is our home, the household where we play and work out our lives with each other. This home is the incarnation of God’s/Divine Wisdom’s creative love. The earth, like all of creation, is sacred, and like a mother nurtures our lives and reveals the sacred to us. Humans as embodied spirits, share with all creation the divine spirit. Our human journey is intricately connected with the earth and all its creatures; our way to healing and wholeness plays out through our inter-relationship with the living systems of the earth. As householders of the earth, we are stewards of its life-systems – the air, land and water essential for our lives. We face a crisis because the earth’s life systems are extremely stressed to the point where they soon may no longer sustain human life. The earth will go on; we may not. “Eco-spirituality”, which embraces earth-centered and creation centered spirituality, fosters an awareness of how we are inseparably interconnected with all of creation. It calls us to be stewards of the earth and students of her rhythms and the mystery of her sacred landscape so that we act wisely and learn to live justly amongst its abundance and rich diversity. It challenges us to raise our awareness and change our behavior in all our relations with earth, its creatures and each other.

Spirituality and Global Warming- It’s hot news. The pundits are chiming in, television shows are dedicating in-depth reports to it, even our President acknowledged it in his State of the Union although he hasn’t quite brought himself to use the term ‘global warming’. But it’s there, on everybody’s radar. Even large companies who may have been a major source of carbon dioxide emissions are acknowledging the problem, stepping right up and asking for a seat at the table. The scientists are being proven right but it’s no surprise to St. Joan of Arc’s Ecospirituality Committee(right). They’ve been spreading the word for years. You’ve seen them behind a table or gathered under the white tent, selling the need for wind power – getting people to sign up. You’ve seen the results of their work in water awareness, in waking us up to the need to know how our food is produced and transported. They’ve brought in the experts to provide recommendations and actions to achieve a sustainable world.

I asked staff liaison Tom Myott-Smith to tell me the story of the Ecospirituality Committee, its history and how it came to be a voice for the earth amongst our parish. In an hour conversation I found a quiet man who walks his talk. He espouses Lifelong Learning and applies the principle to himself. In a quiet voice he reveals his intense dedication and passion for the environment and discusses the study and action that has brought him and the Ecospirituality Committee to its maturity. He says they “just plugged along from year to year”, but listen to their accomplishments:

• 1998: It all started with a group of visionaries who felt a need to expand their knowledge to include an ‘understanding of creation.” and investigate the ways the environment was being challenged. The first year was spent in serious study and research. At the end of that year, the goal was “transformed into a Vision Statement that talked about the environment in general.”
  
  
• 2000: Food and Gardening: After two years the group was ready to ask the question, “Do you know which garden your food is grown in?” This began a study of whole food farms from Wendell Barry. It asked serious questions: Do you know how your food is grown? Do you know how it is transported? Do you know if it is safe for consumption and healthful living?

  A garden was dug and planted at the side of the Church of St. Joan, dubbed “The Left Field” and was a center of activity for four years until the new Memorial Garden took its place. A relationship was developed with a man who dedicated himself and his organization to producing ‘whole foods, organically grown.” This information was provided to the people of SJA and a liaison set up to make these products available to us.
  
  

• Water: The committee turned its attention to our precious resource –clean water. They explored the availability of water, gained understanding that its sources can be depleted. A speaker, a writer for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, spoke giving tips for saving water regularly. That year, even Broadway had a hit show about the world with water as a pay-as-you-go commodity. There is concern that clean water is becoming more and more scarce. A pundit noted, “the next oil war will be water.” With irrigation systems pumping water out of the aquifers, people are encouraged to consider the effect of water supply for homes; to consider using rain barrels and rain gardens to collect water.
  
  
• 2002: The Committee focused on global warming and began reading and studying. Tom sat in on an inter-faith group, Global Climate Change. He discovered that Saint Joan was one of the few churches that had any kind of group focusing on the environment. The committee advertised its work with a speaker, balloons and pin wheels! They offered suggestions to decrease carbon dioxide each family produces as they go about their daily living. An effort was spearheaded to encourage people to use fluorescent light bulbs.
  
  
• 2005: St. Joan was a founding member of Congregations Caring for Creation, an ecumenical inter-faith group. It’s goal was to call churches to action. St. Joan was held up as a model of a church involved in issues related to Environment.

Mary Dymond, right, is chair of the Ecospirituality Committee

At one point, Clarence Chaplin said, “I know Will Steger. Would you like to have him speak here?” The answer was a resounding “yes!” and St. Joan parishioners became further enlightened by seeing the actual photographs of the effects of global warming in areas where Steger led his expedition. It was heartbreaking to see and to hear about the damage to the ice caps and the natural habitats.

Currently the Ecospirituality is involved in the archdiocesan Global Warming Action Team and have set an ambitious list of goals for the next year. You can view their 2007 goals at this link.

We all know the story of the building of the Parish Center –‘eco-building’ with care and sensitivity to the materials used. There are more exciting plans being considered – just think about it. We recently added solar energy panels to the roof and hope to save $3000-4000 annually on electricity. St Joan’s is also researching ways to cool the church in summer that is financially feasible and ecologically responsible. It’s not just about buildings and energy though; not just about “green” and “sustainable” – it’s about spirituality. It’s also about justice, social justice. And isn’t that what St. Joan of Arc is all about?

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Ronnie Angelus says: "There are three things that make my life work: Talking to my daughter who opens vistas to me and makes me laugh; being in the circle of the Divas, my writing group, who shout "go girl" and give me standing ovations with their smiles and tears; sitting next to Mary and Claude Paradis during Sunday Mass at St. Joan of Arc, which is as close to pure goodness as I will know in this lifetime."

MISSION STATEMENT: (2008) To help the St. Joan community become aware of our social and spiritual responsibility for God’s creation so that we live sustainably as compassionate stewards.

For more information, Contact: Tom Smith-Myott, tsmith.myott@stjoan.com

Addendum to Ecospirituality article  - A webreporter “gets religion.” I went to the Ecospirituality Committee meeting to take some pictures and ended up converted. First there was the impeccable agenda. Impeccable and agenda are words not often seen together but it’s the best description I can think of. Mary Dymond gently led the 30 or so people assembled through the intricacies of reports and new ideas presented by members. Even when everyone was talking at once, everyone seemed to be listening! Tom Smith-Myott engaged in the discussions and seemed to anchor the group, offering actions to engage staff and move the agenda items forward. A fine and professional DVD, Stewards of the Earth was premiered and enthusiastically greeted by all. Here are the people who made it all possible: Eco-Spirituality team members who were on the "Stewards of the Earth" movie team (in alphabetical order): Carl Ahlberg Clarence Chaplin Mary Dymond Susan Spindler Kay Strand Producer: Mary Dymond Director: Mitch Waters Editor: Alan Lloyd (Mitch and Alan are not Eco-spirituality team members although Mitch is a regular SJA church attendee. Both of these men have years of experience.) People interviewed: Archbishop Harry Flynn Auxiliary Bishop Richard Pates Paul Douglas, WCCO Meteorologist Will Steger, Polar Explorer Dr. John Hart, Professor of Christian Ethics, Boston University J. Drake Hamilton, Science Policy Director, Fresh Energy Jeff Lederman, MPCA Coordinator of MN State Fair Eco-Experience Lisa Herschberger, Congregations Caring for Creation representative Jeff Jeremiason, Director of Environmental Studies, Gustavus Adolphus College David Osterberg, Director of Iowa Policy Project A guest came and spoke knowledgably about the dangers of the privatization of water and the evening planned at St. Joan on the following Thursday. The group agreed: Water is the next oil. It may be another cliché, but also true: The air fairly crackled with energy and enthusiasm as individuals reported on their progress in the work of the subcommittees. These passionate and dedicated people are planning an Earth Day and working at all levels to “green” St. Joan of Arc. I left excited, educated and converted. And all I had planned to do was take a few pictures. - Ronnie B Angelus