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Peace and Justice - Fall 2007

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Dear Friars,

This past June, I joined Bill Linhares and Pat Foley at an eco-spirituality conference in San Antonio, Texas.� Having the patron saint of ecology as our founder has inspired me to want to know more about how to love and protect our planet.� Plus, Pat would be speaking to the crowd about the �Covenant of Creation� he has written.

Brian Swimme, a cosmologist, was the featured speaker of the three-day gathering and shared awesome pictures and stories of our universe.� How amazing that in the 1920s when some of you were born, our scientists thought there might be one more galaxy than our own.� Now they know there are hundreds of billions and more are still being created.� The immense universe and tiny earth are witnesses to God�s continual act of creation.

There were other speakers and small group discussions that were informative and Pat made me proud of our Franciscan heritage in this arena.� What a vital opportunity for us to follow Francis in our own way of loving and respecting Br. Sun, Sister Earth and the entire family.

Back at the friary, we�ve talked about how we can do our part.� Maybe it is a small part to change the trend of global warming but it is a start.� For one thing, we have started using compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).� Not only are these a huge energy saver, they last five to 10 times longer than a regular incandescent bulb, saving you at least four times the cost in the long run.� Scientists say if every house in the U.S. used just one of these bulbs, the savings in pollution would amount to removing one million cars from our roads.

We are also trying to reduce our use of paper and paper products.� It is claimed that 20% of our landfills are made of paper.� This adds to massive garbage dumps which often ultimately make their way into our lakes and oceans.� At least paper decomposes after awhile.� Plastic bottles take 1,000 years to do so. Consequently, we rarely buy bottled water anymore�it has sometimes been discovered to be mere tap water anyways�and always recycle our plastics.

Additionally, we�ve opted to drink juices and other beverages that come in recyclable containers.� We also try to buy foods with less packaging, which again ends up in our landfills and waterways.� Sandwich meats and cheeses, for example, can be bought from the deli section instead of the packaged containers.�

Are there ways your friary practices saving energy and being kinder to Mother Earth?� I would be grateful if you shared your practices and new ideas.� It seems that our father Francis would desire a life for us that respect all of creation.

Your brother in Christ and Francis,

John�������������������������������������������������������������������������������


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