Environment Corner - The creativity of dreams

People from parishes in York, Middlesbrough and Ampleforth village were challenged to identify with Pope Francis’ book, Let us Dream, and imagine the shape and function of future parishes as dynamic hubs for the Care of our Common Home.

The call – can we “shape our parish” to enable it to “shape the world”? – was made at the February meeting of the Justice and Peace Commission.

John Paul de Quay, from the Ecological Conversion Group, introduced the morning through the concept of integral ecology, whereby everything is connected and we live in right relationship with our creator and our planet.

So many live in a conflictual relationship with their homeland, turning creation into a commodity and seeing people as “other”.

As a contrast to that, in Laudato Si’ Pope Francis calls for an ecological conversion whereby the effects of our encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in our relationship with the world around us. Everybody and everything matters.

We were asked to consider how we would build structures of love that make life better for everyone, structures that would educate and enthuse and help us grow together as communities.

Ideas were generated that encompassed every aspect of parish life – centring on liturgy, prayer, encounter, use of green spaces to plant trees, vegetable gardens and wildflowers.

The importance of closer relationships between parishes and schools was emphasised with recognition of much good work that goes on in our schools concerning care for the environment that needs to be shared more widely.

Our parishes should be open welcoming spaces where everyone feels at home and the local community can feel part of. Joint projects with the local community could focus on issues such as land regeneration and eco shops.

It was fun to dream and to be made aware of the richness of resources within the Journey to 2030 project, of which John Paul is a joint founder.

To quote from Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis’s encyclical on fraternity and social friendship – “No one can face life in isolation… We need a community that supports and helps us, in which we can help one another to keep looking ahead.

“How important it is to dream together… By ourselves we risk seeing mirages, things that are not there.

“Dreams, on the other hand, are built together. Let us dream, then, as a single human family, as fellow travellers sharing the same flesh, as children of the same earth which is our common home, each bringing the richness of his or her beliefs and convictions, each of us with his or her own voice, brothers and sisters all.”

Excellent parish packs are available which are suitable for groups to plan a range of activities and to reflect on what is good in what they are already doing.

Visit journeyto2030.org to find reading and video resources and advice on getting started. You can order packs via the website.

Barbara Hungin