Columban Vocation for Justice - 'Jubilee: Pilgrims of Hope'

The theme for the Autumn 2024 Columban newsletter is 'Jubilee: Pilgrims of Hope'. It is also the title of the next Columban Schools Competition, which is being launched during the Season of Creation. Further information is in the newsletter.

But where does the theme come from?

Pope Francis has decreed that 2025 will be a year of Jubilee, with the theme, 'Pilgrims of Hope'. He urges us to look for signs of hope in the world and work for peace and justice. Biblically, a Jubilee is a special year of forgiveness and reconciliation, where right relationships with God, one another, and all of creation are restored. The newsletter highlights advocacy, lifestyle, prayer, pilgrimages, education and, for some, nonviolent direct action.

The cover shows a 'Pilgrimage for the Planet' in London during last year's Season of Creation, organised by Christian Climate Action and Laudato Si' Movement. The route along the Thames was inspired by the theme 'Let justice flow like a mighty river'. Pilgrims, including Columban sisters, walked to the Thames Flood Barrier, which is symbolic of rising sea levels, with prayerful reflection along the way. It was the hottest day of 2023 in the UK, reinforcing the imperative for climate action. The 2024 pilgrimage will be on 14 September - definitely not the hottest day this year - and all are welcome.

Care for Creation, particularly Biodiversity, is a Columban priority. This summer has been full of media headlines about the decline in pollinators threatening food security, sewage killing river habitats, wildfires and floods internationally. All have been flagged up for four decades by Columbans. Pope Francis said recently in 'Laudate Deum': "Other creatures of this world have stopped being our companions along the way and have become instead our victims" (#15). Yet, many positive practical responses from Columbans and partner organisations are to be found and are shared in the newsletter.

The Justice, Peace and Ecology Coordinator in Britain, James Trewby, writes about caring for creation here in the UK. The 'rewilding' of the grounds at St Columban's in Solihull has been underway for a year now. This includes rewilding fields, installing bee hives in the gardens, planting 3,500 trees, putting on a bat evening, helping local Catholic primary schools do a butterfly count, and making a learning visit to the Laudato Si' Centre in Salford Diocese.

Fr Kevin McDonagh - an Irish Columban missionary in Britain who had been based in Peru - explains his journey on the path to 'Ecological Conversion,' called for in the 2015 encyclical Laudato Si'. Influences include a childhood in rural Ireland where, "there emerged love and concern for the whole spectrum of natural processes and cycles that were intimately interwoven into my daily world." Then, as a Columban missionary in Peru, he found "my eyes opened" to such realities as droughts, overfishing and the retreating glaciers in the High Andes. From the late 1980s, he "came under the influence of the ecological writings of Columban Sean McDonagh and other eco-theologians and learnt more about the climate and extinction emergencies. He believes theology and ecology are "intertwined and complementary with respect to the gift of life."

Advocacy on the Climate and Nature Bill, preparing to mark Peace Sunday on 19 January 2025, and the monthly vigil at the Home Office in London to support migrants and refugees all receive attention in the newsletter. Columbans are part of the international Faiths for Biodiversity group planning to lobby the next UN Conference on Biodiversity - COP16 - to be held in Colombia from 21 October. And Jesuit Mission colleagues are running a campaign to lobby on climate change in the leadup to the COP29 climate talks in Azerbaijan during November. In parishes and schools, CAFOD'S LiveSimply Award provides the opportunity for communities to work towards living simply, sustainably and in solidarity with the poor.

A huge Columban initiative is the Schools Competition, now in its 7th year. In line with the Jubilee theme, young people are invited to highlight one community or group bringing hope in the world today, either local, national or global. This might be one they are part of or one that inspires them. Deadline for entries is Friday 7 February 2025. Cash prizes are offered to winners. The designated website link is given below.

So, the Columban newsletter 'Vocation for Justice' - produced three times a year - aims is to help individuals and groups involved in Justice, Peace and Ecology to prepare for celebrating Jubilee over the coming months and into 2025. This Season of Creation - running 1 September until 4 October - provides a great opportunity to start.

LINKS:

Vocation for Justice Newsletter: https://columbans.co.uk/how-you-can-help/subscribe/vocation-for-justice/

Poster for 'Pilgrimage for the Planet' on 14 September on Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/1024949935861034/posts/1053154353040592/?locale=en_GB

Columban Schools Competition: www.columbancompetition.com