Cultivating Hope: Celebrating Spring and the Promise of Renewal
Saturday, May 20, 2023
9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Cary Gaunt and Colleen Mollica
The JustFaith Social Justice Ministry of Holy Family invites you to join them for a program held at Holy Family’s beautiful new pavilion in observance of Earth Day, April 22, and Laudato Si Week, May 21-28.
We‘ll come together to celebrate spring’s creative emergence and the signs of renewal around us and in our own lives. As a community, we’ll experience nature in new ways and learn from wisdom teachers across traditions. We’ll look to nature and Spirit, asking “What does the spring season mean to me and to Earth, our common home? What is beckoning to me now?”
Through guided meditation, prayer, praise, nature exploration, reflection, storytelling, and ceremony we’ll weave together practices of contemplation and action. Cultivating hope means remaining resilient in troubled times while being pollinators of change for the common good.
Cost: $50, includes lunch
Sponsored by Holy Family’s JustFaith Environmental Concerns Committee
Presenter Profiles
Cary Gaunt, Ph.D.
Cary Gaunt, Ph.D. is an eco-spirituality scholar, teacher, and guide who offers retreats, workshops, courses, and nature-based spiritual formation programs around the country. Her engaged spirituality informs her vocation as a highly accomplished sustainability and climate responsibility professional with over 35 years of experience leading organizations across all sectors to develop and implement watershed management, sustainability, and/or climate action plans.
Two great loves comprise the heart of Cary’s life and work. One is a profound connection with the earth formed by her childhood spent exploring the water resources, limestone ledges, fields, and forests of her family farm in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. The second is a deep spirituality comprised of meditation, Centering Prayer, and other contemplative practices. She is passionate about helping people and places thrive.
Colleen Mollica, M.A.A.T.
Colleen Mollica, M.A.A.T. is a Kripalu Certified Mindful Outdoor Guide, Interfaith Campus Minister, and Laudato Si' animator with over 25 years of experience facilitating outdoor leisure, educational, and mindfulness activities. She is the founder of Soulful Earth Connections, offering Mindful Outdoor Experiences (MOEs) for community groups.
Colleen is also the Social Justice Outreach Coordinator for the Albert and Amelia Ferst Interfaith Center at Westfield State University and is actively engaged in social and environmental advocacy. She is the visionary behind the installation of the Interfaith Garden at Westfield State University. She is passionate about protecting the more-than-human world and nurturing the human spirit