Resources: Rural Life & Stewardship of Creation
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Catholic Rural Life
Catholic Rural Life (CRL) is a national, Catholic nonprofit organization dedicated to the vitality of the American countryside. Since 1923, they have been applying the teachings of Jesus Christ for the social, economic, and spiritual development of rural America, strengthening and sustaining the Church in the countryside by educating and inspiring leaders and advocating on their behalf.
Northwest Missouri Enterprise Facilitation
Northwest Missouri Enterprise Facilitation, a group of over sixty volunteers who care passionately about preserving the economic success and sustainability of rural Northwest Missouri, was launched in 2006. This group of volunteers with a variety of skill sets and experiences, the NWMEF Board, meet monthly to provide feedback and assistance to the group’s facilitator who presents individual cases of current businesses and organizations being monitored by the group and proposed clients who are in need of assistance—like a combination board meeting and town hall. To date, over 650 entrepreneurs from Andrew, Atchison, Gentry, Holt, Nodaway and Worth Counties have been assisted.
North Central Missouri Business Facilitation
North Central Missouri Business Facilitation, founded in 2015, is a group of volunteers committed to championing the sustainable success of small businesses in the north and northeast part of our diocese in rural Harrison, Grundy, DeKalb, Davies, Caldwell and Clinton counties. NCMBF strives to support and champion local individuals in sustainable business enterprise through facilitated coaching and the assistance of a local community-wide think tank. The overall goal is to contribute to the stabilization and economic growth of the communities.
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Jerusalem Farm
Jerusalem Farm strives to transform the lives of their members and the lives of those around them through the four cornerstones of Prayer, Community, Service and Simplicity as well as Catholic Social Teaching. Specifically, Jerusalem Farm is directly involved in two areas. They address the home-repair needs of their neighbors in the Historic Northeast neighborhoods of Kansas City, Missouri. Many families and individuals including single mothers, elderly, and disabled persons are on fixed incomes which barely provide for their necessities and when extra expenses come up, such as fixing a leaking roof, installing a handicap accessible shower or other home repair needs. Secondly, they host week-long retreats for high-school and college students that are focused on forming participants in their faith and in loving each other and God more fully. During the retreats the youth assist the members of Jerusalem Farm in their service of home-repair and they are trained in Catholic Social Teaching.
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Catholic Climate Covenant
In 2006, to address growing ecological awareness and the need to implement Catholic social teaching on ecology within the US Church, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) helped form Catholic Climate Covenant. Inspired by the USCCB's 2001 statement on climate change, and supported by 16 national partners (which include the USCCB, Catholic Relief Services, Catholic Charities USA, the Catholic Health Association, congregations of religious men and women, and other national organizations), Catholic Climate Covenant helps US Catholics respond to the Church's call to care for creation and care for the poor.
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Parish Resources
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Laudato si' On Care for Our Common Home (Laudato Si') is the appeal from Pope Francis addressed to "every person living on this planet" for an inclusive dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. Pope Francis calls the Church and the world to acknowledge the urgency of our environmental challenges and to join him in embarking on a new path. This encyclical is written with both hope and resolve, looking to our common future with candor and humility. |
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Parish Laudato Si’ Action Plan (Archdiocese of Atlanta)
The “Laudato Si’ Action Plan,” authored by University of Georgia professors and staff, contains a variety of options for parishes and parishioners to help reverse the threat of global climate change and environmental degradation, and create a more sustainable world in harmony with God. |
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Catholic Rural Life Celebration Handbook
The purpose of a Rural Life Celebration is to affirm, edify, bless and celebrate those in rural communities. A Rural Life Celebration helps highlight the life of the rural church and reminds us that our roots are deep in the soil of this earth, and that we and the earth belong to God. All or part of the information or items provided in the handbook may be used based on the situation. This resource was written with the intention that it would be used with a Catholic audience, but it can be used in any ecumenical setting. |
