EARTHKEEPING NEWS A NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COALITION FOR CHRISTIANITY AND ECOLOGY Volume Six, Number Four May/June 1997 After the Floods New Ulm Diocesan Council of Catholic Women Receives Grant for Minnesota River Restoration Project The New Ulm, MN Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (CCW) over the past two years has participated in the ecumenical Earth Sabbath Team seminars and worship services with faith communities along the Minnesota River. This year, the New Ulm CCW is one of 19 national recipients of grants from the Environmental Justice Program of the United States Catholic Conference. National attention has been focused recently on the heavy snowfall, the continued cold and spring flooding of the Red River and Minnesota River that have brought disaster to the upper Midwest. Church folks in the river towns, and around the state, have responded quickly to lessen the disaster and alleviate the suffering. Many are now asking how this happened. What has global warming to do with the erratic weather and unusually high snow accumulation? What has the century-old practice of draining our wetlands for more agricultural acreage (forcing field run off through ditches directly into the watersheds) to do with river towns being inundated, not only by the rising river, but also by sheets of water coming across the fields? And, how is this a religious issue? Local Catholic Women's Councils in over 70 parishes in the New Ulm diocese will address these questions in six regional assemblies to learn more about the human impact on the river ecosystem. Teams of women will be trained as speakers to help local parish groups transform their thinking about our responsibility and behavior towards the earth. The US Bishops' Environmental Justice Program this year is funding projects in 14 states that "educate and motivate Catholics to a deeper respect for creation, and engage parishes in activities that deal with environmental problems, particularly as they affect the poor." For more information on the river restoration project write Dee Czech, Environmental Chair, New Ulm CCW Community Concerns Commission, PO Box 205, Arlington MN 55307. To apply for a grant, write to US Catholic Conference, Environmental Justice Program, 3211 Fourth St. NE, Washington DC 20017. Home     Table of Contents