We seek warm dialogue with leaders of other ethical or eco-spiritual networks about how we may humbly cooperate as ethical and eco-spiritual partners.
Mission
To inspire, educate, and network eco-spiritual leaders and activists, especially emerging young leaders, from across all the spiritual traditions of our entire human family, for personal, local, and global spiritual-ecological transformation.
Vision
As a diverse spiritual network, we aspire to contribute with creative learning to the process of transforming our consciousness and society by cosmologically reimagining and co-creating integral communities and thus healing Earth.
History
HISTORY
SSGN was established by a group of leaders who participated in a series of Spirituality and Sustainability interfaith conferences in Assisi, Italy over the last two decades. The conferences were organized by Dr. Elizabetta Maria Fererro, professor of religion, St. Thomas University in Miami and Dr. Rick Clugston, co-founder of the Earth Charter International.
The conferences were convened in the medieval home of Saint Francis, patron saint of ecology. They had a special focus on the ecological vision of the late Fr. Thomas Berry, who taught that evolution is a mystical unfolding of cosmic co – creativity wherein all creatures reveal the loving Creator’s presence.
MORE RECENTLY
in 2017 and 2018, two more Spirituality & Sustainability conferences were convened in Assisi. That included time in Rome with Cardinal Peter Turkson and his staff to discuss how we might support Pope Francis’ encyclical letter on ecology, Laudato Si’.
In 2019, inspired by these conferences, SSGN was formed as a network to help connect and support the work of conference participants and to humbly cooperate with leaders of other ethical and eco-spiritual networks.
THE FOLLOWING SOURCES
have inspired our global movement.
Laudato Si’ – On Care for our Common Home. We draw on Pope Francis’ 2015 eco-spiritual letter on integral ecology. It indicates that we are now entering what Pope Paul VI in 1970 warned could be “ecological catastrophe under the effective explosion of Industrial Civilization.”
Thomas Berry’s mystical-cosmic vision. We draw on all Thomas’ writings and especially his book written late in his life, The Great Work: Our Way into the Future. It analyzes the root causes of the ecological breakdown of Modern Industrial Civilization, and it summons us to create a new “Ecozoic Era” to save the life-system of our garden-planet Earth.
The Earth Charter. We draw on this visionary document, which was created by people from across the world. It provides ecological-social values and principles to guide human governance for a sustainable, just, peaceful, and democratic future.
Indigenous Traditions. While humbly seeking inspiration from all ethical and eco- spiritual wisdom traditions of our human family, we especially seek to learn from
indigenous traditions. We seek to join in their celebration of the Creator’s deeply spiritual gifts of our majestic Cosmos, of our garden-planet Earth, and of all Earth’s beautiful creatures.
