Amazonia, Gathering the Seeds and Scattering the Fruit, Britain

Amazonia, Gathering the Seeds and Scattering the Fruit, Britain.

Over these past three weeks of the Synod, Columban Sisters throughout the world have been gathering the seeds from the Amazon Synod, by keeping their finger on the pulse of all the happenings there and now look to the future with a plan of action, by scattering the fruits of their discoveries.

Pic. Max Reeves

London: 

In London Kate Midgley had a very inspiring time on the streets with Extinction Rebellion. Pope Francis spoke that it is a season for prophetic actions and so Kate found herself  in the midst of this group which was founded less than a year ago in the UK to cry out to governments about the need to take urgent action before it is too late, to save our planet from heating up past the point when we will be unable to stop  even more rapid global heating and which will result in many countries becoming uninhabitable, and flooding in numerous places as sea levels rise.

Extinction Rebellion (XR) was founded as a non-violent direct-action group calling for mass civil disobedience after the example of Ghandi, Rose Parks etc.

 Pictures by Kate Midgley.

Kate spent time with the “Faith Bridge”, which was the most appropriate place for her as a missionary. She meditated with XR Buddhists, listened to the Call to Prayer with XR Muslims, silently prayed with XR Quakers and said morning and midday prayer with Christian Climate Action. At one point the Anglican Bishop of Liverpool started reading the Book of Revelation (Apocalypse) and it was continued by 20 vicars and ministers. There were poignant moments standing or sitting in silent prayer as people were being arrested or being unlocked by the police from the places where they had stuck or locked themselves on to.

Pics. by Kate Midgley.

During an action at Westminster Cathedral to draw attention to “Laudato Si” there was a peak moment during the  Mass where the priest gave a wonderful homily about St John Henry Newman, who was canonized that day, and his influence on people of his day whom he encouraged to follow their conscience (eg Sophie Scholl and her non-violent resistance to the Nazis and William Wilberforce and his abolition of slavery movement) Just as in our day people are following the “kindly light” of their conscience to discern whether to risk a criminal record by being arrested in order to protect our mother earth.

          Pic.Max Reeves    Pic. Alison P.

As the Bible says:  For everything, these is a season…  

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