For Our Common Home – Resounding Ecojustice lifts up humanity’s urgent need to heal our relationship with Earth and each other. The oratorio weaves songs of gratitude and celebration along with reflections on the
planetary crisis, calling for participation in movements for environmental and social transformation. This cross- genre piece was commissioned by world renown theologian Dr. Harvey Cox and is based on Laudato Si’ an
encyclical issued by Pope Francis. Laudato Si’ calls on humanity to acknowledge the urgency of the environmental crisis and work toward building a just and sustainable world. Inspired by a canticle of St. Francis
of Assisi, the message focuses on environmental justice, addressing the impact of climate change on the most vulnerable communities. References to Earth crying out not only to calls attention to the devastation wrought by climate change but also endangered species, racism, violence against women, governmental systems of oppression, and climate refugees. It is no accident that the piece’s genesis during COVID corresponds to a time when people came together to demand that “injustice be defeated in the land” with protests accelerating around the world with the Movement for Black Lives. This piece is an effective musical parallel with poetic text portraying God as a “God of liberation” and inviting us to see nature as a magnificent book and, above all, asking humanity to “harmonize with creation.

Composer and flutist Linda J. Chase, a former Koinonia Volunteer, is a professor at Berklee College of Music and New England Conservatory in Boston.  

For Our Common Home – Resounding Ecojustice lifts up humanity’s urgent need to heal our relationship with Earth and each other. The oratorio weaves songs of gratitude and celebration along with reflections on the
planetary crisis, calling for participation in movements for environmental and social transformation. This cross- genre piece was commissioned by world renown theologian Dr. Harvey Cox and is based on Laudato Si’ an
encyclical issued by Pope Francis. Laudato Si’ calls on humanity to acknowledge the urgency of the environmental crisis and work toward building a just and sustainable world. Inspired by a canticle of St. Francis
of Assisi, the message focuses on environmental justice, addressing the impact of climate change on the most vulnerable communities. References to Earth crying out not only to calls attention to the devastation wrought by climate change but also endangered species, racism, violence against women, governmental systems of oppression, and climate refugees. It is no accident that the piece’s genesis during COVID corresponds to a time when people came together to demand that “injustice be defeated in the land” with protests accelerating around the world with the Movement for Black Lives. This piece is an effective musical parallel with poetic text portraying God as a “God of liberation” and inviting us to see nature as a magnificent book and, above all, asking humanity to “harmonize with creation.

Composer and flutist Linda J. Chase, a former Koinonia Volunteer, is a professor at Berklee College of Music and New England Conservatory in Boston.