FULL CIRCLE FOCUS 2024-2025
Earth, indeed, the entire Earth community, the world and our nation call out for compassion, healing, reparation. May we, nourished by nature, art, music, poetry, literature, humor, and our relationships, be moved to do whatever we can to restore balance to Earth life. Contemplation and meditation help us gain insights, courage, and wisdom to respond to Earth’s sufferings.
The art of contemplation is simple, but not easy. It requires learning how to be still, to listen, to be present and to respond with love and compassion…. Contemplation with creation…incorporates contemplation with the body and nature, whether physical or in the imagination…. This is not just the work of monks or cloistered nuns. It is our calling as Christians and human beings who long to be joyful, compassionate, and connected.
Excerpt from an article in NCR by Christina Leaño, retreat leader, teacher of mediation/contemplation
Associate Director of the Laudato si Movement
To love God, we must honor all that God has created. To love our neighbor requires us as Christians to preserve and protect all that sustains life. The Earth, its air, land, and water, and everything derived from such, are precious gifts that sustain us all. All these elements must be cared for, protected, and preserved, here and now, for the common good and for future generations.
Excerpt from Declaration Chicagoland Christians United for the Care of Creation
Signed by 13 leaders on the shore of Lake Michigan, Aug. 17, 2023
Parliament of the World's Religions Conference, Chicago
NEW NATURE PRESERVE NAMED FOR FULL CIRCLE
Dec. 3, 2022 Thumb Land Conservancy preserves 8.5 acres of forested land in Kimball Township, St. Clair County.
GRANT NEWS
The Bioregion Reparation Fund awarded three grants in 2024. Two December grants helped support projects of Friends of the St. Clair River. A March grant was awarded to Camp Cavell Conservancy's Building Environmental Champions program.
Learn more about these and other BRF projects.
May 17, 2022: Dan Rhein and Sr. Concepcion Gonzalez enjoy a spring visit to the Bidwell Sanctuary in Burtchville Township, Michigan.
GUIDING BELIEFS
- The Earth Community is an interconnected web of life.
- Life within the web is sustained by diversity.
- Every creature in the web deserves respect.
- Justice and peace are integral to the life of the web.
- Compassion toward all leads to healing and reconciliation.
- Creation tends toward communion whose ultimate expression is love.
Bioregion Reparation Fund to continue the legacy
Full Circle has created a new fund with the Community Foundation of St. Clair County to continue the legacy of love and concern for the integrity of the natural world.
Learn more