On May 18-21, several Marthas and members of the Martha Justice Ministry Core Group participated in the joint Justice, Peace, Integrity of Creation (JPIC) and Religious of Atlantic Canada (RAC) conference in Halifax. The event was called “The Word Beyond: A Conference with Ilia Delio.”

This was an opportunity for those of us working in social and ecological justice from and with religious congregations in Atlantic Canada to come together to connect on our work, to hear about new initiatives, and meet new people. It was also a chance to see how the ideas being shared might impact our work.

At our JPIC meetings, we were joined by Gen Gallant, Executive Director of the Office of Religious Congregations for Integral Ecology (ORCIE/BRECIE), who shared about the advocacy and lobbying work of her office on priority policy areas of climate action and reconciliation. We were also joined by the Canadian Religious Conference’s Sabrina di Mateo, who acts as a support person for the work of JPIC Atlantic, to discuss a letter we’ll be sending to Atlantic bishops on creation care and to share thoughts on next steps for JPIC Atlantic.

JPIC Atlantic and RAC folks then came together in welcome, prayer, and song.

The key event of the conference was Ilia Delio’s presentation. Ilia, a Franciscan Sister, scientist, and author of over 20 books, spoke about the intersections and interconnections of religion and science, bringing together the universe story, shifts in consciousness, and the challenges and opportunities of technology. In our breakout sessions, we had a chance to discuss the complex, challenging, and fascinating ideas that Ilia shared with us and tried to see how they apply to our justice work.

The weekend included wonderful opportunities to come together, share stories, prayer, and laughter. We also shared our hopes for what we might do in our communities and together as we continue to integrate the ideas shared and respond to the needs of our time.

It was an enriching time together!

For more about Ilia Delio’s work, check out the Center for Christogenesis: https://christogenesis.org/