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 “We
stand at a critical moment in Earth’s history, a time when
humanity must choose its future. ….We must join together to
bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for
nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture
of peace.”
These words are taken from the Preamble of
The Earth Charter, a document that came about after a decade-long
process of input from thousands of individuals and groups of many
religions, races, nationalities and professions, as well as from
people of different economic standing and social classes. The Earth
Charter is “a shared vision of basic values to provide an
ethical foundation for the emerging world community.”
Aware that we are world citizens, that we
must identify ourselves with the whole Earth community as well as
our local communities, the School Sisters of Notre Dame, at their
international general assembly meeting in October 2002, committed
themselves to study and reflection on the values and principles
of the Earth Charter. To facilitate this effort, a small
group of sisters planned and produced six study/reflection guides
focused on the main sections of the Earth Charter using
concepts and quotes from the Charter itself as well as scripture,
poetry and other pertinent writings and resources.
In order to share them with a broader audience,
the decision was made to publish them on the SSND web site, from
which they can be downloaded and printed. It is our hope that many
more people will take advantage of this resource to help bring about
a better understanding of what is needed to bring about a sustainable
global community.
A copy of the Earth Charter itself can be
found and copied from the web site www.earthcharter.org.
Sister Jeanne Wingenter,
SSND
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