About Care for Our Common Home
In response to the Church’s moral call for action, the SJN Care for Our Common Home ministry seeks to better understand the interconnectedness of all of God’s creation and to act in solidarity with vulnerable populations around the world and for the benefit of future generations. We strive to share Church teaching on care for creation, reduce our carbon footprint as a parish, and provide resources and encouragement so that all parishioners can live in a more sustainable manner as faithful stewards of creation.
The ministry began in 2016, inspired by the message of Pope Francis’s 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home. The ministry is a founding member of the Care for Creation Network of the Catholic Diocese of Arlington. The ministry meets at 7 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month for prayer, education, and action planning. See the parish calendar for the room number. For more information, Please email saintjn.cch@gmail.com.
Season of Creation 2024
September 1-October 4
Prayer from Pope Francis
Enable us to succeed in listening and responding to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor.
May their current sufferings become the birth pangs of a more fraternal and sustainable world.
We pray through Christ our Lord, under the loving gaze of Mary, Help of Christians. Amen
From September 1-October 6, we will be collecting E-waste and textiles outside the Brown-McCarthy Auditorium by Our Lady of Guadalupe. The clothing and fabric items will be recycled into insulation and other materials.
For guidance on wiping personal data from electronic devices, please visit the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. Alternately, if so noted, the recycling company will cut hard drives in half.
Thank you for caring for our creation and helping keep these items out of the waste stream! 🌍
GUIDELINES FOR WHAT ITEMS CAN AND CANNOT BE DROPPED OFF:
✅Accepted Items
Computers
Printers
Scanners
ZIP drives
Keyboards
Phones
Cameras
Fax machines
Portable Gaming Devices
Video Equipment
Audio Equipment
Laundered clothing beyond donation condition
🚫Not Accepted
Televisions
Clothing that is still usable
Over 70% of the U.S. food supply is considered “ultra-processed.” Join us to learn what that term means and how it affects our health, the poor, and the environment. The Care for our Common Home Ministry will give a presentation at our monthly meeting, and welcomes anyone who would like to learn more about this topic.
Join us on September 10 at
7 p.m., either in the SJN Conference Room or by Zoom. Email saintjn.cch@gmail.com the Zoom link.
“The True Cost” Screening
Saturday, September 14
beginning at 6 p.m.
The price of clothing has been decreasing for decades, while the environmental and human costs have grown dramatically. Join us as we learn the story behind the clothes we wear, the people who make those clothes, and the impact it’s having on our world. “The True Cost” is a groundbreaking documentary film that pulls back the curtain on an untold story and asks us each to consider, who pays the price for our clothing?
“The True Cost” invites us all on an eye-opening journey around the world from the brightest runways to the lives of the many people and places behind our clothes. Please join us in the Brown-McCarthy Auditorium for light refreshments at 6 p.m. followed by the screening at 6:30 p.m.
In honor of St. Francis of Assisi’s October feast day, we will hold a pet blessing on Sunday, October 6 at 1 p.m.
Whether you have a precious pup, a curious kitty, or anything in-between, you are invited to meet us at the flagpole for a short prayer and special blessing of our beloved furry, fluffy, feathered, and scaly companions!
Want to help us with our commitment to reducing waste at St. John Neumann? Join the SJN Dishwashing Ministry!
Upcoming CCH Events
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Annual Fair Trade Sale
November 30-December 1, 2024
The Fair Trade Sale will be in the Brown-McCarthy Auditorium after all Masses (and throughout the day on Sunday) over Thanksgiving weekend, November 25 and 26.
Purchasing hand-made, high-quality, Fair Trade products empower those living in poverty to change their lives and their communities. The Fair Trade sale offers many great gifts that are fair for people and the planet.
St. John Neumann is a faith partner with Fair Trade Winds and receives 10% of all purchases.
Prayer Walk
A meditative, prayerful walk in nature lifts the spirit and lightens the heart.
You are invited to expand your prayer experience as you walk along the short SJN Prayer Loop behind the church, new as of this summer. If you can’t come in person, take this 3-minute virtual walk and add a blue prayer flag with your private intention.
The entrance to the prayer loop is at the far right, rear corner of the church at the end of the side parking lot (between the church and the rectory). Sample prayers are in the prayer box. We hope you enjoy finding prayerful uses of the sacred space.
