Metro New York Catholic Climate Movement

Bringing Laudato Si to life in the Metro New York area

A local chapter of the

Global Catholic Climate Movement, GCCM

Who we are:

The Metro New York Catholic Climate Movement is made up of individual Catholic leaders from various parishes and Catholic organizations in the New York City metro area who want to network, be engaged, organize and sustain one another spiritually as we journey together working on climate change, integral ecology, and care for creation.

We strive to be a voice.

We promote dialogue.

We work towards a culture of encounter.

We connected through the People of Faith contingent of the People’s Climate March in Sept. 2014, and then joined the Global Catholic Climate Movement, GCCM, when the highly-

anticipated encyclical of Pope Francis, Laudato Si, was released in June, 2015. We formed a working group to prepare for two major events: Pope Francis’ visit to New York City, and the UNClimate Summit in Paris, (Conference Of Parties, COP-21), focusing our attention on Laudato Si and the Catholic Climate Petition.It was this working group that evolved into the Metro New YorkCatholic Climate Movement, a chapter of GCCM.

Metro NY Catholic Climate Movement participating in the Global Climate March in NYC, Dec, 2015.

What we do:

We participate in and organize initiatives

  • In our own parishes
  • With sister parishes, either in our clusters or deaneries
  • With the diocese
  • At the city and state levels

We network with one another and with

  • Catholic and other faith organizations addressing integral ecology
  • Secular organizations that share common concerns
  • People committed to a new vision of relationship as planetary citizens rooted in eco-spirituality

We promote the program goals set forth by GCCM with the collaboration of their grassroots member organizations.

We reach out to parishes and Catholic individuals with a core program based on Laudato Si. We are a resource to working groups or parish committees. We can help identify projects and presenters. We can offer workshoppresentations.

How we are structured:

We are a flexible and evolving team of committed individuals who come together through conference calls, email, occasional face-to-face meetings, and participation in events. We do as much as we can on a volunteer basis. We see Laudato Si, eco-spirituality, climate change, and integral ecology as our main areas of focus.

To that end, we coordinate with other faith groups, environmental groups, and advocacy groups. We strive to share information and create connections between groups.

We connect people to the Global Catholic Climate Network website, to one another, and to local initiatives.

Participants from several parishes in the Global Climate March held in NYCduring the UN Climate Summit in Paris, Dec. 2015.

Initiatives to date:

  • Produced 17 parish Bulletin Inserts,each with a central idea from Laudato Si and a suggested action step. Distributed to parish contacts and posted on GCCM’s website in English, Spanish and French.
  • Helped produce a radio program on Laudato Si for “Eco-Logic”.
  • Collected hundreds of signatures for the Catholic Climate Petition prior to the Paris Climate Summit. GCCM submitted almost a million signatures to Summit leaders.
  • Helped plan the interfaith vigil “Light The Way” to pray for the success of the Pope’s address to the UN in Sept, 2015.
  • Arranged to display artist Gan Golan’s large banners with quotes from Laudato Si in parish events on the encyclical.
  • Hosted an event with Guatemalan Llan Carlos Davila from the Sta. Rosa Diocese’sCommittee in Defense of Nature, CODIDENA, on the impact of mining in his area.
  • Promoted and participated in the Global Climate March in NYC, Nov. 2015, as the Paris Climate Summit came to a close.
  • Sold 300 copies of Laudato Si in several Manhattan parishes.
  • Distributed Lenten“Care for Creation” action suggestions for parish bulletins in English and Spanish. Written by the Peace and Justice Committee of St. Francis Xavier Church in Manhattan.
  • Co-sponsored events on Laudato Si in two NYC parisheswith Fr. Sean McDonagh, a Columban priest from Ireland and consultant for the writing of the encyclical.
  • Took responsibility for the ninth station on Care of Creation for Pax Christi Metro NY’s Good Friday Way of the Cross, April, 2016.

Who we connect with:

Catholic

Sisters of Charity of New York

Sisters of St. Joseph, Earth Matters Committee

ROAR (Religious Organizations Along River)

LCWR Region 2 Justice, Peace, & Integrity of

Creation Committee (JPIC)

Franciscan Action Network, FAN

Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns

Pax Christi Metro New York

Peace & Justice CommitteeatParish of St.

FrancisXavier Church, NYC

Justice, Peace & Integrity of Creation Committee

at Parish of Holy Cross-St. John the Baptist, NYC

Peace & Justice Group at Parish of Guardian

Angel - St. Columba, NYC

Adult Faith Formation Program at Parish of St.

Augustine in Larchmont, NY

Benincasa Community in NYC

Secular Franciscans at Parish of St. Francis of

Assisi Parish, NYC

Interfaith

GreenFaith

Our Voices

Interfaith Power and Light

Bread for theWorld

Environmental

Columbia University Earth Institute

NYC Safe Energy Coalition

Food and Water Watch

350.org

Sierra Club Lower Hudson Chapter

Sierra Club New York City Chapter

Oxfam Action Corps NYC

Harmony Farm, a CSA supported by the Sisters

of St. Dominic of Blauvet in Goshen, NY

Ocean Conservancy

Sisters of Charity Federation members in the Global Climate March, NYC, Dec. 2015 during the UN Climate Summit in Paris.

Have you read Pope Francis’s encyclical? bit.ly/CareForOurCommonHome?

Connect with us:

Email:

Tel: 631-609-6727

FB: Metro NY Catholic Climate Movement