Everything is Connected

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Summer invites us to slow down, notice the beauty of Creation, and become more aware of our relationship with the natural world. The ARC has been exploring how care for creation is inseparable from care for one another—how Pope Francis's vision in Laudato Si' and the Jesuit Universal Apostolic Preference of Caring for Our Common Home cannot be untangled from the Preference of Walking with the Excluded, with “those whose dignity has been violated.” So Kimmerer’s radiantly-written, award-winning book seemed like the ideal book for us to encounter and reflect on in community. By centering Indigenous wisdom alongside scientific knowledge, it invites us to notice whose voices and ways of knowing have been historically excluded, and to consider how their recovery might help us better imagine how to move forward.

We feel that recognizing that "everything is connected"—that our relationships with God, one another, and the earth are woven together, and that environmental degradation and social injustice often share the same roots—is an important part of the parish’s anti-racist work. So, we hope and pray that you not only delight in reading Braiding Sweetgrass together, but are able to use this guide to think about how justice includes honoring diverse cultures, histories, and perspectives, and to help prepare and inspire you to join in our book discussion on Sunday, September 20, 11 am to 12 pm, during Hospitality.

Until then, happy reading and reflecting!

• The book is available to order online, and there is a free pdf of the entire book, also available online. The book is widely available online, through bookstores and through the library. If purchasing the book, we urge you to please support your local independent bookstore.

• Also, there is a young person's edition appropriate for middle grade and high school readers!

• Here is the guide we'll be using.

Photo: Robin Wall Kimmerer, from her website