Evening in the Amazon and the Stories of Interconnection

On Monday, September 29, the eve of the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, seventeen people gathered at the FCJ Centre for Evening in the Amazon, a Season of Creation program organized by the Laudato Si’ Committee. The evening invited participants to reflect on the interconnectedness of creation, Indigenous wisdom, and our shared call to reconciliation. 

Carol Hollywood, a parishioner at St. Bonaventure Parish in Calgary and part-time archivist with the Sisters, Faithful Companions of Jesus, shared her summer journey to Peru with Development and Peace–Caritas Canada partners. She described the struggles of Amazonian communities, unsafe water, polluted rivers, and the threats of climate change, deforestation, and mining. Yet she also pointed to hope: the creation of the Vicariate of Water, inspired by Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’ and Laudate Deum. This new ministry raises awareness of the ecological crisis and gives voice to Amazonian communities, turning their cry into concrete commitments for the care of our Common Home. 

Rev. Tony Snow of the United Church of Canada’s Chinook Winds Region followed with reflections on a church visit to Guatemala. He spoke of Indigenous resilience, the importance of listening to their stories, and the sacredness of water and land, naming local places like Lake Minnewanka and Ha Ling Peak as sites of healing. 

Together, Carol’s and Tony’s messages resonated with a central theme of Laudato Si’: everything is interconnected. From the Amazon to Peru and Guatemala to Canada, creation binds us together in a web of care and responsibility. 

In the spirit of the Season of Creation theme, Peace with Creation, the evening was both a time of learning and a call to action, an invitation to walk the path of reconciliation by listening deeply, respecting sacred traditions, and caring for the earth as our brother and sister. The gathering ended with hope and resilience, and a renewed commitment to journey together toward healing and harmony with creation. 

We also invited everyone to see the display in our lobby for Truth and Reconciliation Day. 

To learn more about Laudato Si, visit https://laudatosimovement.org/ or to get involved, please contact Whitney Nagasan-Calo at director@fcjcentre.ca