A Shared Commitment to the Earth and One Another

By John Shively, SCL Executive Director of Mission

On a cold and typically windy day in February 2022, I gathered with English- and Spanish-speaking sponsored ministry leaders, vowed women religious, board chairs, and Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth (SCL) staff in a conference room at a Kansas City hotel. We were there to reflect on a question rooted in the SCL charism and prompted by our current context: How do we act collectively to care for creation and those most vulnerable?

I still remember the response I heard so many times that day from the Hermanas from Peru, who serve a deeply vulnerable community facing extreme climate-related hardships:

“¿Cómo no responder a lo que está sucediendo?”
How can we not respond to what is happening?

In many ways, the Community has always answered that missional call through a legacy of service and prophetic witness. But on this day, the SCL leadership invited us to think bigger and respond differently. Inspired by the 2022 Chapter Directional Statement (inside cover) and Laudato Si’, we began to imagine the future we could shape if we integrated all our gifts—our social capital, knowledge, experience, relationships, and tangible resources—to act as one.

That day, a vision came into focus: create lasting, transformative change by empowering marginalized communities to participate fully in improving their own lives by building learning communities to address urgent social and environmental challenges.

Our answer to the SCL leadership’s question and call was the Integral Ecology Initiative (IEI).

A New Way of Thinking

The IEI is not just a program—it’s a new way of expressing our mission. Functioning as an integrator, connector, and convener, it unites the SCL Community, the Offices of Mission and Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC), the Centro Pastoral San Vicente de Paúl (CPSVP), other sponsored ministries, and like-minded partners in Kansas and Peru to respond to the urgent “Cry of the Earth and the Cry of the Poor.”
Our two bold goals speak directly to our shared commitment to the planet and people:

• Achieve carbon neutrality by 2030
• Ensure access to basic human needs—housing, water, energy, food, safety, and health—so individuals and communities can thrive

These goals reflect the SCL’s belief that caring for creation and caring for the vulnerable are deeply interconnected ones. We understand that true transformation must be holistic, systemic, and spiritual.

Resources in Action

Since that winter day not so long ago, the IEI has made meaningful progress toward our goals and forged deeper connections across ministries, borders, and disciplines.

Working to break down silos and embrace integral ecology as a shared expression of our mission, SCL, CPSVP, and JPIC have identified our first major collaborative project: co-creating an education and formation curriculum in integral ecology that draws on our collective strengths.

This curriculum will be designed for English and Spanish speakers, with education and experiential opportunities for intellectual and spiritual growth that incorporate JPIC’s ongoing land justice, anti-racism, immigration reform, and community organizing efforts. It will also leverage the IEI’s expertise in building inclusive learning communities and CPSVP’s ability to connect directly to the lived realities of those we serve.

In July, the IEI officially launched its comprehensive effort to develop a Sustainability and Energy Efficiency Plan for the combined SCL and University of Saint Mary Campus. Sustainability consultants Verdis Group were selected through a competitive RFP process to create a plan that builds on the SCL’s environmental groundwork and aligns closely with our broader strategic and IEI goals of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030. This long-term roadmap will guide the SCLs in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening its infrastructure, and enhancing the Community’s ability to adapt to climate change. We are also excited to share that Verdis is bringing Dan DiLeo, a moral theologian whose work focuses on Catholic Social Teaching and climate change at Creighton University, onto our project team.

Verdis will solicit critical community input through workshops and dialogues to ensure the process and outcomes are equitable and reflect the SCL’s mission and values. The process will span 11 months and culminate in July 2026, resulting in a dynamic, actionable plan with measurable goals, prioritized action items, and clear timelines to hold the SCLs accountable for making meaningful changes.

The IEI is also building external partnerships to combine local action on climate change with serving basic human needs. Together with Kansas-based nonprofit and SCL Charity and Systemic Change Fund recipient Climate and Energy Project (CEP), the SCLs, CPSVP, and JPIC are conducting a joint landscape analysis and stakeholder mapping to explore the potential for establishing a Climate Resilience Hub in Leavenworth and Piura, where vulnerable populations could access essential services, education, and climate preparedness resources.

A Journey Rooted in Relationship

The Integral Ecology Initiative is still young, but it is gaining momentum. The IEI is not something we do for others; it is something we do with others. It is built on relationships across geography, language, and ministries. And
it requires courage, patience, and the willingness to do things differently.

This is sacred work. As we continue this journey together, we do so knowing that our efforts reflect the heart of our vocation: to be in communion with God, one another, and all of creation.

Through the IEI, we are dedicating our resources in the most meaningful way possible—by investing in the future of our planet and all God’s people.

This article appeared in the 2025 Summer Edition of Voices of Charity.