Sisters of St Agnes plot path to sustainable future for Fond du Lac in spirit of Laudato Si’ Action Platform

FOND DU LAC – The Sisters of St. Agnes have always been trailblazers, from the first moments they arrived in frontier Wisconsin to bring modern health care and education to early pioneers.

They were only young farm girls themselves, instructed to go out and teach English and minister to immigrant families. By 1870, a group of these sisters had settled in Fond du Lac, where they put down roots and a lasting legacy of community service.

Now, more than 150 years later, these sisters have recommitted themselves to transforming the world through a series of dynamic environmental initiatives. The hope is to build concrete steps toward a sustainable future.

The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes, along with 600,000 Catholic religious women in eight countries, are participating in the Laudato Si’ Action Platform — a seven-year journey that calls for "sowing hope for the planet" by finding opportunities to ramp up local environmental actions, said Sister Jean Steffes, the congregation's general superior.

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Laudato Si' is an appeal originating from Pope Francis' 2015 encyclical letter in which he addresses "every person living on this planet" to take on the ecological crisis and ensure a healthy world for generations.

Many women religious are ahead in sustainability initiatives and environmental efforts in their communities. Over the past year, the congregation has helped shape both the model and the content for this program, Steffes said.

For decades, the sisters have worked to care for the land they live on along County K in the town of Taycheedah. The motherhouse sits on 240 acres of pristine countryside that contains natural springs, wetlands, woods, prairie with walking trails and workable farmland.

The convent's energy source is 881 solar panels that generate electricity. Additionally, sisters purchased solar blocks from Alliant Energy’s solar garden in Fond du Lac, completing the motherhouse's transition into 100% solar energy.

“Our goal is to get more people involved in this kind of green energy, put it into practical use and also start actively recycling more — cutting back on what we toss in the garbage,” Steffes said.

In 2016, the congregation adopted a corporate stance that calls for educating others on renewable, cleaner energy sources to mitigate the effect of climate change and enable the most vulnerable to adapt to the changes. The women also committed to promoting a low-carbon economy and cooperating with local organizations working to care for the earth.

Sustain Fond du Lac, the Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance, Fond du Lac Audubon Society and the Fair Trade Towns initiative are among the groups advocating for environmental and social issues.

The Fond du Lac River and Lake Winnebago are key natural resources to be prized and protected from runoff pollutants, said Sister Susan Seeby, general councilor. Fresh springs that come down off the rocky ledge of the Niagara Escarpment onto the congregation's property are from the same groundwater source the provides for all public, private and industrial water supplies in the county,

Seeby also points to the importance of spiritual ecology — the idea that the natural world creates "a spirit of wonder," which offers reprieve from depression and improves mental health.

“Every one of us have sat by the lake at sunrise or sunset and looked out at its beauty,” Seeby said. “And we know about the healing properties of nature, something we need now more than ever.”

Everything is connected

A lack of care for the planet fuels more than just environmental woes. Integral ecology refers to a concept recently popularized by the Catholic Church that advocates for a holistic approach to the problems that plague the world today.

The sisters maintain many of the political, social and economic crises seen on a global scale today — poverty, immigration, racism, human trafficking — are tied to pollution, climate change, lack of clean water and a loss of biodiversity.

“There are 84 million displaced persons in the world because of climate change, their homes destroyed," Steffes said. "This is nothing we can afford to turn our backs on. We need to understand all living things are interconnected and interdependent.”

The most vulnerable are the poorest of the poor who bear the brunt of global disasters such as disease, drought and food shortages, said Tracy Abler, the congregation's justice, peace and integrity coordinator. She joins three of the sisters in becoming certified Laudato Si' animators, who will formulate plans and share resources to move the mission forward in Fond du Lac.

Community engagement, ecological education, adoption of simple lifestyles, less consumption of earth’s nonrenewable resources and the practice of ecological economics are among the goals.

“The hope is to energize everyone to have a greater passion for care of creation as well as concern for the common good,” Abler said.

Marian University is offering educational components to the cause. Sister Edie Crews, director of campus ministry and part of a committee to promote earth care, said the school will host a book read in January, as well as two classes on the pope's Laudato Si' encyclical letter.

In it, the pope says in order to know why a given area is polluted, we must study "the workings of society, its economy, its behavior patterns, and the ways it grasps reality." And in considering solutions to the environmental crisis, we must "seek comprehensive solutions which consider the interactions within natural systems themselves and with social systems."

Fond du Lac is already well on the right path to sustaining a healthy future, Steffes said. The community has been named a bird and a tree city, and in 2013 the city council designated it a Fair Trade town.

Just recently, the sisters hosted a group of bird watchers on their property, and during a walk through the land, 40 different species of birds were identified.

"We can also see how the city is committed to green space with all the little parks around and the bike trails that allow people to get out and enjoy the beauty of nature," she said.

Steffes said the sisters' plans include preserving their own land for the future by placing the motherhouse and grounds, cemetery and surrounding acreage into a Wisconsin conservancy.

Families, local organizations and schools may sign onto the platform over the course of the coming years and spend time making concrete plans on how they can make a difference, said Dusty Krikau, the congregation's mission advancement director. The Laudato Si Action Platform website will be updated to provide resources and inspiration.

"The Pope addressed every living person on the planet — those of faith or no faith — and invited them to participate in a spirit of cooperation," Krikau said.

In the coming year, the congregation will access what it is already doing and find additional ways to fully realize this vision of Pope Francis' encyclical over the next seven years.

Keep up with congregation's progress by bookmarking csasisters.org/lsap.

Contact Sharon Roznik at 920-907-7936 or sroznik@gannett.com. Follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/reporterroz.

This article originally appeared on Fond du Lac Reporter: Fond du Lac's Sisters of St. Agnes sign onto pope's sustainability plan