During our Regional Gathering in March 9, 2024, the Laudato Si Action Platform (LASP) Planning Circle presented a report to the US Region outlining our LSAP accomplishments during our second  year of living out our LSAP Commitment Statement adopted  in October 2021. A powerpoint presentation included our efforts in caring for the green space on our campus, ways we are connecting to communities to care for Earth our common home and for the poor; extending a helping hand to those in need; and seeking justice and peace. Tau Spirituality Center programing included Solstice drumming circle, four elements prayer walk, outdoor yoga, seasonal forest therapy walks, and creating Earth mandalas and rituals. Our OLA monarch butterfly hatching project nurtured and released over 160 butterflies. Sisters, covenant companions and guests enjoyed seeing the transformation of caterpillars into butterflies and celebrated each release into the sky. These were just some of the many accomplishments that we celebrated and shared with each other and on social media.

On April 21 the Wheaton Franciscans celebrated Earth Day with Sisters, covenant companions and members of our extended faith community participating in an outdoor ritual following our Sunday liturgy in the chapel.  After a brief prayer outside our motherhouse entrance, we shared a 20-minute contemplative walk in the beauty of nature, enjoying our restored native Illinois prairie, the campus trees and early spring flowers. The ritual concluded with a prayer together in the new St. Clare Garden where a newly planted yellow magnolia tree was blooming. The weather was perfect—what a glorious way to celebrate Earth!

During Lent we encouraged recycling by hosting a speaker from our local area to educate all of us on how to optimize our recycling efforts. We also encouraged one another to donate gently used clothing to those in need, and how to recycle well-worn clothing to organizations who recycle the materials for re-use. We also provided lists of locations for these donations.

Our Lenten donation drive was used to collect money for food banks to help address hunger locally. To help address hunger globally, we also donated to the Feed My Starving Children Campaign.

In May our Wheaton Franciscan JPIC Office sponsored a letter writing campaign sponsored by the organization Bread For the World. This annual campaign is to write letters to our Senators and Representatives in the US Congress urging them to fully fund USA programs that help alleviate hunger both domestically and internationally. This is the time of year when the congress is developing the country’s budget priorities. Unfortunately, these programs for the poor are always the first ones to be considered for cuts in the budgeting process, in an effort to balance the federal budget. Last year, this national letter-writing effort was able to prevent any significant cuts in hunger programs. We even saw an increase, although not to the level we had hoped. We are hopeful we will be successful again this year.

On May 12 during our Sunday liturgy for Mothers’ Day, we blessed the sacred corn seeds for the Chickasaw Indigenous Nation. This is being done as part of our participation in the Native American Seed Keepers project. For the past 2 years we have had great success in growing red flint corn for the Kickapoo Nation. However, the Chickasaw corn has not been as successfully grown as the Kickapoo corn. So, the seed keepers have asked us to try to grow the Chickasaw corn this year. Paige, our new postulant, planted the corn in the third week of May, and already we are seeing it growing. We are hopeful that it will mature and yield many ears of corn for the Chickasaw people. (Sr. Beatrice Hernandez FCJM)