Intimately related – even to elements

Intimately related – even to elements • Same unifying source and purpose • At oneness with all • Living right means unconditional loving relationships • Life is a cycle – death is not the end • All of Creation accompanies us as we journey • together to make God’s Kin(g)dom come © 2009 Lucy Slinger, FSPA, Ph.D.

Franciscan Trinitarian & Incarnation Interpretation Creator • LOVE IS RELATIONAL • All inclusive • Overflowing • Infinite • Unconditional Word Spirit Fountain-fullness Overflowing & outpouring as Creation Including Jesus LOVE’S Emanation & Return © 2009 Lucy Slinger, FSPA, Ph.D.

“Incarnation means that creation is the co-beloved of God, not a commodity for human consumption. God loves creation so much that God has entered into it in a personal way. To participate in the family of creation is the most fundamental Christian stance for those who claim to believe in the Body of Christ.” p169 Care for Creation, Delio, Warner & Wood, 2008 © 2009 Lucy Slinger, FSPA, Ph.D.

Biocentric • Humans part of creation made in goodness with free will • reflection of God /Mystery/ Holy intimately • interdependent and dependent on creation. Love Sustainability Abundance Inclusion Gratitude Unity - All one of the ONE Consensus / Collaboration Accompaniment (Franciscan) Theology © 2009 Lucy Slinger, FSPA, Ph.D.

Worldviews Anthropocentric Biocentric Human above creation Image and likeness of God Sinful - not right relationships Dominion stewardship Humans part of creation made in goodness with free will reflection of God/Mystery/ Holy intimately interdependence and dependent on creation. Sin Love Extraction Sustainability Fear Abundance Exclusion Inclusion Scarcity Gratitude Divide & Conquer Unity - All one of the ONE Coercion / Competition / Cooperation Consensus / Collaboration Atonement Theology Accompaniment (Franciscan) Theology © 2009 Lucy Slinger, FSPA, Ph.D.

Worldview Authenticity Integrity Right Relationships Love, Abundance, Gratitude Sustainability Inclusivity Sin, Fear, Scarcity Extraction - Extinction Exclusivity The Choice is individual!! The impact is universal!!! “The human community and the natural world will go into the future as a single sacred community or we both will perish.” Thomas Berry .CP © 2009 Lucy Slinger, FSPA, Ph.D.

Made in Go(o)dness Daughters & Sons of The Divine Nature is the first book of God Gaia Theory: Earth is One Living System Sentient Beings Resilient, Numinous unfolding Nature of natural phenomena Zero Point Field Theory Made for Go(o)dnes © 2009 Lucy Slinger, FSPA, Ph.D.

Catholic Catechism The sun and the moon, the cedar and the little flower, the eagle and the sparrows: the spectacle of their countless diversities and the inequalities tells us that no creature is self-sufficient. Creatures exist only in dependence on each other, to complete each other, in the service of each other. The beauty of the universe: the order and harmony of the created world results from the diversity of beings and from the relationships which exist among them. © 2009 Lucy Slinger, FSPA, Ph.D.

“Safeguarding creation requires us to live responsibly in it, rather than managing creation as though we are outside it... We should see ourselves as stewards within creation, not as separated from it.” US Catholic Bishops “Renewing The Earth” 1992 © 2009 Lucy Slinger, FSPA, Ph.D.

THE ECOLOGICAL CRISIS A COMMON RESPONSIBILITY PEACE WITH GOD THE CREATOR, PEACE WITH ALL OF CREATION. Pope John Paul II Message of His Holiness for the celebration of the WORLD DAY OF PEACE January 1, 1990 16. Even men and women without any particular religious conviction, but with an acute sense of their responsibilities for the common good, recognize their obligation to contribute to the restoration of a healthy environment. All the more should men and women who believe in God the Creator, and who are thus convinced that there is a well-defined unity and order in the world, feel called to address the problem. Christians, in particular, realize that their responsibility within creation and their duty towards nature and the Creator are an essential part of their faith. As a result, they are conscious of a vast field of ecumenical and inter-religious cooperation opening up before them. © 2009 Lucy Slinger, FSPA, Ph.D.

""I desire that, on the part of everyone, cooperation intensify to the end of promoting the common good, development, and the safeguarding of creation, returning to the alliance between man and the environment, which must be a mirror of God the Creator, from whom we come and toward whom we are journeying.” Sep 17, 2007 Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI © 2009 Lucy Slinger, FSPA, Ph.D.

"We cannot simply do what we want with this Earth of ours, with what has been entrusted to us." "This obedience to the voice of the Earth is more important for our future happiness ... than the desires of the moment. Our Earth is talking to us and we must listen to it and decipher its message if we want to survive.” "We must respect the interior laws of creation, of this Earth, to learn these laws and obey them if we want to survive.” © 2009 Lucy Slinger, FSPA, Ph.D.

Mortal sins are updated Published Mar. 10, 2008 THE Vatican has extended its list of mortal sins to include 21st-century problems and issues such as genetic experimentation, pollution, drug abuse and excessive wealth. Published in the Vatican's official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, the revised list was revealed at the end of a week-long refresher course for priests on the sacrament of confession. Traditionally, mortal sins are those which are a breach of the Ten Commandments – murder, adultery, theft and lying, to name a few. • But now to this list has been added • genetic experimentation, • tampering with the order of nature, • environmental blight - pollution, • social injustice, causing poverty, • accumulating excessive wealth, • and drug abuse. © 2009 Lucy Slinger, FSPA, Ph.D.

Pope Benedict XVI October 2, 2007 The Vatican is now offsetting all of its carbon dioxide emissions through a reforestation project and produces its own electricity from solar panels on building roofs. © 2009 Lucy Slinger, FSPA, Ph.D.

United Nations Earth Charter for Sustainability “Let ours be a time remembered for the awakening of a new reverence for life, the firm resolve to achieve sustainability, the quickening of the struggle for justice and peace, and the joyful celebration of life.” La Crosse County & City Strategic Plan for Sustainability La Crosse Joint Oversight Committee on Sustainability www.sustainablelacrosse.org- to read the plan - participate in public hearings about it. © 2009 Lucy Slinger, FSPA, Ph.D.

Intimately related – even to elements