Care of Creation

Artwork: Sister Helen Matosich

In the early 1980s, Mother General Sister Patricia Maria Mulpeters encouraged Sisters and Associates to begin to form "Focus Groups" around areas of shared interest. Sister Rosemary McKean, Sister Rosemary Campi, and Sister Jacqueline (Jackie) Graham formed the core of the Focus Group on the Environment, with Sister Rosemary McKean as the leader. With advanced education and teaching careers in the field of science, these three Sisters were knowledgeable about human impact on the earth long before it was widely discussed in everyday discourse. At each meeting a member of the core team presented a topic, assigned reading, and moderated discussion, similar to a college seminar. Early subject matter included the ozone layer, climate change, cause and effect of human activity, landfills, and water conservation. 

Most of these new focus groups were intentionally small, with seven to ten participants on various topics. The Environment group, however, drew 35 people to its first meeting. The gathering, planned for the living room at the convent at St. Christopher's in San Jose, had to move outdoors for more space - appropriately, into the fresh air and sunshine. Eventually the meetings moved into the library at Presentation High School, San Jose. Enthusiasm did not wane - there was a thirst for this information.

The Sisters and Associates who were members of the focus group learned and then passed on their knowledge in their own classrooms and spheres of influence. Many have participated in Earth Day cleanup activities in San Francisco; observance at Presentation Center was always creative, inspirational, and impactful. One year they prayed a Stations of Creation outdoors in the forest. In Sister Rosemary McKean's classroom, the students loved singing "Happy Birthday" to Earth Day and the related activities she designed for them each April.

Throughout the school year and during the summer, elementary school students visited Presentation Center for Outdoor Education field trips. They walked the nature trail as Sister Rosemary Campi shared the names of the plants and animals they saw; they worked hard in the vegetable garden; and they absorbed the beauty of those natural surroundings. Sister Jackie's students were dubbed "the Science Bugs." 

From the focus group efforts, changes were made at the Motherhouse and other living and working spaces. Providing separate recycling containers developed a sense of mindfulness around reducing waste, or recycling/reusing materials. Where possible, Sisters use mass transit; they advocate for the environment and continue to pray for all of creation. 

To this day, Sisters and Associates express gratitude for the knowledge gained through this focus group, especially as it grounds our understanding of the current crisis of climate change.