April 22 is Earth Day

The human environment and the natural environment deteriorate together;
we cannot adequately combat environmental degradation unless we attend to causes related to human and social degradation. Laudato Si 48
On Earth Day, Pope Francis continues to remind us that Care for Creation is connected to care for each other, and that constructing the Kin-dom means that first we have to recognize that “we are all in the same boat.” More than one billion people in 192 countries now participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world.
Here are some RESOURCES to help you mark this event and the days beyond.
Several Justice Groups have designed a 21-Day Environmental Justice Challenge, beginning on April 23 and ending on May 16, which is the start of Laudato Si Week (May 16-24). Week One topic: Land, Week Two topic: Air, Week Three topic: Water. The Environmental Justice Challenge invites us to pray, learn and act in order to:
• enter into the complex work of understanding the connections between environmental injustices that disproportionately impact Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), as well as low-income communities
• listen to and learn from the voices of environmental justice leaders from frontline communities
• better understand the connections between current and historical environmental injustices
• respond to the call to work towards a lived vision of a world in which all of God’s creation can flourish.
You can sign up to receive daily challenges at the link above. Other Opportunities: Catholic Climate Covenant is sponsoring a screening and discussion of The Condor and the Eagle, a film highlighting how indigenous peoples and communities of color are protecting their peoples, and the air, land, waters, and beings upon which they depend and hold sacred, from profound threats, on April 20.
The School Sisters of Notre Dame have shared an invitation to a Contemplative Reflection by Sr. Sharon Zayak O.P. from 3-4pm ET via Zoom. No advance registration is required.

Bread for the World notes that care for creation and ending hunger are linked. You can pledge to put your faith into action and care for creation and end hunger by clicking on this link

The Columban Center offers the Story of Climate Change, a free resource that documents how climate change impacts vulnerable communities around the world, and what you can do to stand in solidarity with those communities.

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