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April 28, 2024Dear Friends and Fellow Christians,
On Tuesday of this past week, Bishop John Stowe announced the commitment of the Diocese of Lexington to achieve net zero energy usage by 2030. This initiative is in furtherance of the goals espoused by Pope Francis’s 2015 encyclical letter, Laudato Si. There are seven goals in the letter, which call for the care of our common home.
RESPONSE TO THE CRY OF THE EARTH. This is a call to protect our common home for the wellbeing of all, as we equitably address the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and ecological sustainability.
RESPONSE TO THE CRY OF THE POOR. This goal is a call to promote eco-justice, aware that we are called to defend human life from conception to death, and all forms of life on Earth.
ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS. Ecological Economics acknowledges that the economy is a sub-system of human society, which itself is embedded within the biosphere–our common home.
ADOPTION OF SUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLES. This goal is grounded in the idea of sufficiency, and promoting sobriety in the use of resources and energy.
ECOLOGICAL EDUCATION. Ecological Education is about re-thinking and re-designing curricular and institutional reform in the spirit of integral ecology in order to foster ecological awareness and transformative action.
ECOLOGICAL SPIRITUALITY. Ecological Spirituality springs from a profound ecological conversion and helps us to “discover God in all things”, both in the beauty of creation and in the sighs of the sick and the groans of the afflicted, aware that the life of the spirit is not dissociated from worldly realities.
COMMUNITY RESILIENCE AND EMPOWERMENT. This goal envisages a synodal journey of community engagement and participatory action at various levels.
Bishop John has taken the extraordinary step of committing the entire Diocese to caring for creation. The first steps will include assessments at all the parishes and Diocesan buildings and plans to reduce our carbon footprints and increase our energy efficiency. Let’s support our Bishop and our Pope in these efforts, as we work for the good of all by being good stewards of the earth! If you would like to learn more, please contact me at shester@cdlex.org.
Peace,
Dcn. Steve
Learn more here:
Diocese of Lexington sets goal to achieve net zero carbon footprint (Lex18)