Br Paul Noonan Formation Centre, Tamale: Sustainable Development& Eco spirituality Workshop 13- 17Th July

Friday, September 4, 2009

Sustainable Development& Eco spirituality Workshop 13- 17Th July

What an extraordinary week!! It was a week of revelations, discovery, awareness, illumination and discernment as Br Terry Dowling led us through in his well articulated presentation.
It was time to explore the evolving story of the universe which begun 13.7000 000 years ago ‘Imagine nothing….then everything. I was thunderstruck to hear the clear scientific insight of Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme that the ‘Earth is not part of the Human story, the human story is part of the earth story’ and at the same time question what has been my belief since childhood-The 2 Hebrew creation stories.

All in all I was at ease to take notice of some truths expressed in them, *There is one God *God created the universe. *Human beings are made in God’s image *Everything God made is good. *Humans are created for happiness. *Woman and man are equal. *We have free will to choose good or evil… wrong choices have consequences. *God forgives.
It was astonishing to hear human beings who in both unfolding stories came at the end are using more than nature can generate, and the fact that 50% of the species will be lost by 2050 and we’ve only 10 years to do something about it.
Looking at this grief and loss we need to continue scrutinizing the following questions: What is the present status of our planet? What is the possible future? Where do we go from here? Whose responsibility is it to restore the lost dignity?

“Teach your children what we are have taught our children, that the earth is our mother. All things are connected like blood which unites one family. All things are connected, mankind did not weave the web of life, and we are just merely a strand in it. Whatever we do to the web we do to ourselves”
The input as I write it has found a fertile environment as in the novitiate we pledged to participate in the process of restoration, awareness, care and protection to our own home in simple ways as we continue to seek joining forces with other people with good will who strive to repair environmental degradation and prevent future destruction of the only planet. A handful of plants have already been planted and a few other adjustments are being made in our capacity towards being a sustainable community.

A great need to Re-think, Reduce, Re-use and Recycle is being advocated and I can say we are committed to being part of a sustainable global society founded on respect of nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace.
May this new revelation of Eco-spirituality enable conversion for let us remember that “we cannot have peace in the earth, unless we are at peace with the earth’
The sessions were very interesting with the added zest of the educative film in the evening. The only prayer I have for Terry is ‘Thank you’ (Dankie) I hope that would suffice, as our gratefulness cannot be enclosed in this article. Wishing Terry well as he continues advocating for the care of the earth and sustainable development.

(Sydney)

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What do we want this novitiate to be?

There is a saying that goes something like this: “If we don’t do what we believe in, then we’ll end up believing in what we do”. Without a vision that is authentic and alive to guide our actions, then we can settle for rationalizing the status quo or what is convenient and comfortable.
One of the first things the new team in Tamale did was to spend time beginning to articulate its vision of a novitiate beyond the basics laid down in our Constitutions. Here are some elements of what we came up with:
Novitiate is a journey, a process that involves KNOWING, EXPERIENCING and CHOOSING.
It is an INITIATION into Christian Brother religious life, so a “rite of passage” into a new identity, a time of learning and testing.
Novitiate confronts the novices with the Brother’s vocation as a call to brotherly solidarity and community, not to privilege, status and security.
It involves exploration of the basic values of faith and vocation, and the challenge to embrace these out of personal conviction and free choice.
Novitiate means understanding that a religious vocation makes a claim on the whole of the person and his life, including his inner life, his relationships and his professional activity (ministry). Furthermore, it challenges the novice to see the dynamic inter-relationship of these areas and to learn what their integration means.
Novitiate is a time of DISCERNMENT. The novice learns more deeply who he is, and what this Christian Brother life is. There is a constant back-and-forth movement between these two poles as an answer is sought to the question, “Is this where I am meant to be? Is this the life that will enable me to find my true self in God?”