News Archive 2008

This year I have been enjoying the opportunity given to me to take a time of sabbatical based in Ireland. For someone who’s forebears all came from Ireland, this was a Godsend! I attended a course run by the Dominican Sisters in Wicklow Town, Co Wicklow. An Tairseach (The Threshold) was a ten week course with fifteen participants. It looked at the current state of our planet Earth and ways of living which will have a positive rather than negative effect on the generations who follow us. I was surprised and concerned at the actual facts and figures that are known about the loss of species, due to climate change, resulting largely from human activity. Issues such as the dependency we have on fossil fuels, when these resources are running out, is also not being taken seriously enough by governments and the large multi-nationals, which put profit before concerns over exploitation of land and people. It is obvious already that the impact of changes in climate, and decreasing supplies of fish for instance, (through over-fishing by large concerns) are already impacting most on the poorest around the world. The logging of rain-forests is having devastating effects on climate, but also those people and species losing their long time ancestral lands and habitats.

On the plus side, signs of hope are also appearing, as individuals and groups decide to do their bit to reverse the trends where they can. There are a great number of initiatives springing up, like the Transition Towns initiative in the UK and Ireland, where people of local communities are working together to educate themselves and take action in whatever way they can to be counteractive and live in an environmentally friendly way. I was interested while in Ireland, to see the excellent advertisements and documentaries on local TV which were raising awareness on climate and related change and what people can do to minimise it. While at An Tairseach we had a presentation from the Pachamama Alliance which is doing great work training trainers to run one-day workshops for anyone interested in learning and changing what they can in their day to day lives. I see on their website that they have reached New Zealand and are already running their one day symposiums ‘Awakening the dreamer.’ It spurs us on as responsible individuals to know that others are making changes in their lifestyles too, because it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the vastness of the issues around climate change. Be encouraged. Every effort counts!

Christians believe that we have been given stewardship over creation. At this time a positive response to what is happening in and to our world is compassion. Compassion is needed for the vulnerable earth being so depleted of resources often through greed. Compassion is needed for the species whose habitats are being destroyed, on land and in the oceans and water-ways around the world.

Compassion is needed for all God’s people around our global village. There is no person now to whom we can say ‘You are not my neighbour.’ Science is still discovering the inter-connectedness of all creation. Compassion is something all human beings can practice and our every compassionate action makes a difference to the whole.

Let us be encouraged by each other in this life-saving exercise.

Sr Margaret Mary