Abstract
In my paper, I argue that faith communities can contribute toward the sustainability of our shared home in developing and prioritizing ecological accompaniment as part of an overall and re-imagined pastoral care for humanity and our common home. As such, my proposal expands the parameters of accompaniment to persons, communities, the material world, and its inhabitants. Ecological accompaniment, therefore, is profoundly social and interdisciplinary in its recognizing the relationality and interdependency of all life. Specifically, I explore loneliness as an interdisciplinary endeavour between science and religion in building sustainability in our shared home through ecological accompaniment. I contend that one of the inhibitors to sustainability is loneliness, which I understand to be an unsolicited experience of social isolation. Given the link between the environment and the social sphere, attending to social isolation is necessary for ecological accompaniment. In making explicit this claim, I engage with current scientific research on loneliness in proposing a theological engagement with loneliness that is scientifically informed. Religious actors or institutions can promote environmental sustainability directly through activities and statements, like the papal encyclical Laudato si. But religion also contributes to how faith communities accompany “the lonely other” and how the academic study of theology prepares religious ministers to attend the lonely other. I maintain the creation of a “Loneliness-Resilient Culture” by promoting a way of encountering life through spiritual and social support. Specifically, I prioritize spiritual and humanistic resilience through mediative participatory prayer as an intervention of ecological accompaniment to strengthen sustainability.
Presenters
Gerard RyanDirector, Master of Divinity and Master in Theological Studies Degrees and Assistant Professor of Political Theology , Theology, Regis College, Toronto School of Theology, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Religious Community and Socialization
KEYWORDS
Ecological Accompaniment, Formation, Loneliness, Meditation, Pastoral Care, Resilience
