Call to locally organize a Marianist Encounters Day of Action in April – May 2023

Sr. Leanne Jablonski, FMI, Director of MEEC, Marianist Environmental Education Center, sends us this important call to action.

Each Marianist community (lay and vowed religious), institution (schools, universities, parishes, retreat centers), and organization (MSJC, MEEC, MarianistPulse) is invited to designate a day sometime between the first of April (month of Earth Day) and the end of May (anniversary of Laudato Si') as a day of work and reflection through an activity focusing on at least one of the Marianist Family Encounter Project (MFEP) Goals:

1. Promote Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation

2. Transform through Integral Ecology

3. Listen and Educate in Faith

4. Foster Sustainable Lifestyles

5. Empower through Family Spirit

Learn more about the MFEP goals here: marianistencounters.org/about

*Please designate someone in your group to take photos of the day and post them on the Marianist Encounters website with a brief story. Email to: support@marianistencounters.org.

A sample timetable:

08:00 – 08:30: Gather introductions (light refreshments?)

08:30 – 09:00: Opening Prayer, description of small group work, distribution of tools, etc.

09:00 – 12:00: First work period

12:00 – 12:30: Lunch

12:30 – 03:00: Second work period

03:00 – 3:45: Reflections on the day

• What did you like most? What did you learn about yourself, others, or nature?

• What would you change about the experience?

• Can you articulate any relationship between the action and our Marianist Charism?

03:45 – 4:00: Closing Prayer, depart

Some suggested activities (Feel free to develop your own!)

1. Clean up a stretch of beach, river, or creek in your area.

2. Volunteer at a local food pantry or soup kitchen.

3. Work at a community garden preparing beds for spring planting.

4. Plant tree seedlings at your institution or park (check with appropriate administrators for permission and location of trees). Bulk tree seedlings can be purchased through Arborday.org for $50/$70. This might require some prior fundraising.

5. Organize housecleaning or simple landscaping services for elderly neighbors or parishioners (preplanning required for appointments).

6. Work on trail maintenance at a local park or nature center (plan with local park officials)

7. Dayton-area Marianists are invited to Mount St. John on May 6 for garlic mustard control in the woods with MEEC. https://meec.center

8. Organize a student club to focus on the Marianist Encounters Project or Laudato Si action plan. What would it do? How often would it meet? Develop posters to recruit members. Invite a faculty moderator.

9. Hold a teach-in on climate change, ecological economics, or sustainable lifestyles.

10. There are numerous videos and articles that could be used and discussed, e.g.,

    • Enough is Enough, link.

    • Doughnut Economics, link.

    • Living in the Time of Dying link.

    • Living the Change, link.

For more information:

– contact Brother Steve O’Neil SM, sponeilsm@gmail.com