Dear Friends, Last January, I was incredibly blessed to move to Washington, D.C. and begin an advocacy internship with Catholic Climate Covenant amidst my undergraduate studies at Creighton University. Nearly 18 months later, I find myself in another period of transition. I will graduate from Creighton this week and enter the ACE Teaching Fellows Program at the University of Notre Dame, moving this fall to Brownsville, Texas, where I will teach social studies at St. Joseph Academy.  I am eternally grateful for the opportunities and initiatives I have been able to participate in during this formative time. This was an internship unlike any other, filling both my mental and spiritual coiffeurs with insights, memories, and moments of profound faith. Learning about and conducting Catholic climate advocacy in a particular way through the Encounter for Our Common Home campaign is a blessing that will continue to drive my search for truth and justice in the world. Support and leadership from colleagues, organizational partners, volunteer leaders, and each one of you made it such a joy to advocate and organize on behalf of our Common Home, driven by faith and a vision for a better world. This effort is entirely communal, and as I move into a high school classroom, I hope to cultivate similar values of integrity, openness, and hard work among my students. Though I will be stepping back from my current part-time duties on the Covenant’s advocacy team, the inspiring work of the Encounter campaign continues with full strength. I am thrilled for you to meet Riley Talbot, Catholic Climate Covenant’s Policy and Outreach Associate. Riley is well-positioned to engage Catholic climate advocates across the United States to work for justice in our communities, parishes, schools, and beyond. I am taking this next step in my life firmly rooted in the spirit of Catholic Climate Covenant’s mission: to “inspire and equip” my students, school, and graduate program to care for creation and live out Laudato Si’, which calls each of us to ecological conversion (LS, 217). My role within the reach of the Church is changing from student to teacher, a both exciting and nerve-wracking transition; and yet, hope abounds. I look forward to engaging with the Covenant’s new Youth and Young Adult ministry programs on the ground in Brownsville, South Bend, and wherever I continue to be called deeper into our loving God’s desire for me. In closing, I wish to extend special gratitude to the entire Catholic Climate Covenant staff. Thank you for taking a chance on me, helping me grow personally and professionally, and inviting me to greater self-reflection about the holy work of protecting our common home for our common future. This organization serves a critical purpose in the U.S. Church, inviting all of us to consider our role in the world by educating, giving public witness, and offering resources to build a world in the spirit of love. I receive every single person I have interacted with in this work as a gift. God bless you all. Thank you. In peace, Henry Glynn Catholic Climate Covenant *Questions, comments, and concerns about Catholic Climate Covenant’s advocacy efforts should be directed to Riley Talbot (riley@catholicclimatecovenant.org). |
