In this guest article, Virginia Bell reports on the UK Laudato Si’ Animators recent gathering during the Season of Creation 2024.

Laudato Si’ Animators Get Together to Celebrate past Actions and to Discuss Future Actions

On September 29^th 2024 during the Season of Creation, 24 Laudato Si’ Animators from different parts of England gathered for a Laudato Si’ Encounter at the Laudato Si’ Centre in Salford.

Laudato Si’ Animators are members of the Laudato Si Movement, a global community of prayer and action.  We animate our local parishes and communities to engage in ecological spirituality, sustainable lifestyles and advocacy for climate and ecological justice.

Animators work to bring Pope Francis’s Encyclical Laudato Si’ to life. We are trained by the Laudato Si’ Movement to get the message of Pope Francis into the parishes. Most of us knew each other from bi-monthly zoom meetings and taking part in prayer vigils and marches about the climate and biodiversity.

Our Visit to the Centre

The day began with a tour of the Centre given by Emily Cahill, the Centre’s environmental and learning officer.  She stressed that Bishop John Arnold’s vision for the Wardley Hall Centre was that it would be used by everyone as a centre for learning, spirituality and wellbeing.

In four years, a lawn has been converted into a thriving garden. The woodland area is ideal for groups. Over 3000 people have visited the centre, especially school and parish groups.

We were given leaves from various plants to attach to our sheets on which we wrote what inspired us to be Animators and what our hopes are for the future. Each of us chose a picture and spoke about it as we introduced ourselves. After a simple vegan lunch when we were joined by the director of the centre Emma Gardner, we split into groups and noted down our responses. The rain brought us back into the outdoor classroom where Bishop John greeted us all and a photo was taken. Sr Joan Kerley then gave us an inspiring talk about St Hildegard of Bingen and St Kateri and the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Creation story. We sang 2 songs about creation and then started to answer the questions* that Laudato Si’ Movement had given us. We ended with prayers from the Haudenosaunee Greetings to the Natural World.

A Laudato Si’ Centre in Every Diocese!

One of the suggestions made during the Encounter was for Animators to write to the Bishop and Environmental Lead in their diocese asking:

a) have you visited the Laudato Si’ centre?

b) have you looked in detail at the centre’s website and programme?

c) do you have the vision to establish something similar in our diocese?

What is needed is some land owned by the Diocese, preferably with woodland and near to public transport. Trained staff would be needed to run the centre supported by volunteers. Disabled access and safeguarding are important. In terms of buildings, the already present outdoor classrooms and portaloos were perfectly adequate. But the most important things are prayer and vision.

How are we to get the message of Pope Francis to clergy and laity? A centre like this would be wonderful for doing just that. A place like this in every diocese would help towards the UK Government’s commitment to rewild 30% of our land and sea by 2030, and would be a centre for peace, reconciliation and evangelisation. We were told about young people who had attempted suicide coming to the centre and beginning to find hope again.

“We all responded to the inspiring experience of being in creation. How many children never experience this? So many spend their lives glued to their phones and live in a virtual world. So many have mental health issues.
Laudato Si’ needs to be seen as a spiritual and evangelical document. Our young people are pushing us to do so much more and they respond very positively to the message of Pope Francis.”

Animator John Woodhouse

Feel free to leave a public comment or question below. For further information or to send a private message, use the contact form on the website with “Animators 2024 Meeting” in the message.

*Questions

• What are your biggest hopes for the future?
• What is your mission for our common home?
• What tools are needed to help others more fully embrace the call for creation?
• What have been the biggest barriers you have experienced since starting your ecological conversion journey?
• How have you overcome any barriers since starting your ecological conversion journey?

Virginia Bell (on behalf of Laudato Si’ Animators UK), September 2024