Flocknote

Friends in the Diocese of Worcester:

The Environmental Stewardship Ministry of the Diocese of Worcester is prayerfully with you in spirit as we experience the most unusual summer of our lives. This Ministry is planning some activities to celebrate the Season of Creation (September 1 to October 4) during which we can share time in prayer, hopefully in person, with appropriate social distance.

In spite of the unusual circumstances of these summer months, we strongly urge you to take time to enjoy God’s creation with outdoor walks, hikes, and/or biking. The Worcester County area is blessed to have many locations where families and other small groups can safely experience the joy of experiencing nature. We offer a list of destination possibilities at the end of this note.

While enjoying your time in nature, we encourage you to make prayer and contemplation of your relationship with the Creator a part of your experience. Because each family, person and group will have a different style for prayer and experience of God while outdoors, we stored a diverse collection of prayers on the Diocese of Worcester website that may help to bring your outdoor time into a prayerful focus.

Prayers and Reflections - https://environment.worcesterdiocese.org/prayers-and-reflections

When on your walking or biking adventure, please snap a selfie and share that outdoor time with us on the Diocese of Worcester Environmental Stewardship Ministry Facebook page. (https://www.facebook.com/EnvironmentWORC) These small examples of positive action give hope and encouragement to all seeking the best path forward. Remember, please, to take nothing but pictures and leave nothing behind but footprints.

Our struggles with COVID demonstrate to all how interdependent we are as we work to find optimal solutions. These lessons of interdependence also apply as we respond to the shared threat of environmental degradation. Pope Francis said "a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. [49]

To follow the latest from the Environmental Stewardship Ministry, follow us on Facebook ((https://www.facebook.com/EnvironmentWORC). When you see a program or article that interests you, please share with your Facebook friend to help spread the word.

With Hope,

The Diocese of Worcester Environmental Stewardship Ministry Team

Destination Possibilities:

Religious sites, Memorials, or Shrines:

Fatima Shrine - Holliston
St. Joseph's Abbey/Spencer Monastery - Spencer
Mary's House - Spencer
National Shrine of Divine Mercy - Stockbridge
National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette - Attleboro
Blackstone Valley Angel of Hope Memorial
Madonna, Queen of the Universe Shrine - Boston
St. Anne's Shrine - Fiskdale
St. Joseph the Worker Shrine – Lowell
Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (The Mission Church) – Boston
St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine – Boston
St. Francis Chapel – Boston
Our Lady of Loreto Shrine – Worcester
Cathedral of the Pines – Rindge, NH
St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Parish and Shrine – Harrisville, Burrillville, RI

Outdoor Walking, Hiking or Biking Trails:

Hopedale Parklands - Hopedale
West Hill Dam - Uxbridge
Wachusett Mountain State Reservation - Princeton
Purgatory Chasm - Sutton
Doyle Conservation Center - Leominster
Tower Hill Botanic Garden - Boylston (no bikes, check the local public library for free tickets)
Garden in the Woods -Framingham (no bikes, check the local public library for free tickets)
Nashua River Rail Trail - Ayer
Broadmoor Audubon Society - Natick
Drumlin Farm Audubon Society - Lincoln
Waseeka Audubon Society - Hopkinton
Look Out Rock - Uxbridge
Birch Hill Dam - Royalston
Rice City Pond - Uxbridge
Peppercorn Hill - Hopkinton
Willard Brook State Forest - Townsend
Riverbend Farm - Uxbridge
Blackstone Gorge Trail - Blackstone
Cormier Woods - Uxbridge
Borderland State Park - N. Easton
Hopkinton State Park - Hopkinton
Noanet Woods - Dover
Upton State Park - Upton
Whitehall State Park - Hopkinton
Del Carter Conservation Area - Franklin
Morse State Park - Paxton

Services/Resources/Applications: