Presented by Sr. Verónica Méndez and Beth Piggush
September 29, 2021
Conversation
As they live out their commitment to care for creation, women's religious communities have become leaders in local land conservation. To mark this monthlong Season of Creation, EarthBeat and Global Sisters Report hosted a virtual conversation with representatives of two communities that have made different decisions about how to preserve their land for future generations. Brian Roewe (EarthBeat) and Chris Herlinger (Global Sisters Report), moderated the conversation. The session accompanied a series of articles about how religious communities are making land-use decisions, which began September 27 on EarthBeat.org and GlobalSistersReport.org.
Resources
- Feature series: An estate plan for the Earth by Global Sisters Report and EarthBeat
- 'This is water management.' St. Joseph sisters create massive rain garden in New Orleans
- Conservation easement makes land 'Our Common Home'
- Dominican Sisters of Hope easement protects 'oasis' of land in New York
- US sisters turn their lands over to trusts, preserving them from development
- Opening and closing prayers
- Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration
- Marydell Faith and Life Center
- What traditional territory do I live on?
- Religious Organizations Along the River (ROAR) in the Hudson Valley
- Sisters of St. Francis, Dubuque, Iowa
- Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana
- Sisters of St. Joseph, Brentwood, New York
- Congregation of the Humility of Mary, Davenport, Iowa
- Adorers of the Blood of Christ, United States
Presenters
Beth Piggush is the integral ecology director for the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. She has an evolving purpose that includes serving as a resource and promoting environmental and sustainability best practices that support care for all of God's creation. Two major parts of Beth’s work are promoting the Global Laudato Si Action Platform and the FSPA land on St. Joseph Ridge which includes 200 acres of woodlands, prairies and crops.
Sr. Verónica Méndez of the Institute of Our Lady of Christian Doctrine was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, and raised in New York City's Spanish Harlem. She holds a Masters of Theology in Hispanic Ministry from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California, and has worked with her congregation in Florida, South Carolina and New York, mainly in religious education. She also has been involved in national outreach to Spanish speakers in the U.S. church and in vocation work for the Archdiocese of New York. Sr. Veronica, who is celebrating 60 years of religious life this year, directed the Marydell Camp in Nyack, New York, from 1981 to 1988. She served as president of her congregation from 2014 to 2018, leading the community as it made arrangements to conserve a portion of its property.
See all of our past and upcoming Witness & Grace Conversations.