Green Convergence (GC) closed 2025 with the 426th session of Kamayan Para Sa Kalikasan themed “The Birth of Christ and the New Cosmology” last December 19, 2025, via Zoom and Facebook livestream, linking ecological understanding to spiritual meaning in the season of Christmas.
Sr. Marvie Misolas, Miriam College Environmental Studies Institute Executive Director and GC Trustee, opened the forum citing literature by Ilia Delio who acknowledged St. Augustine and St. Bonaventure as ‘observers of the cosmos’.
Quoting Bonaventure, Misolas said that it is important to return to the Book of Creation, as creation is not a backdrop of human drama, but the disclosure of God’s identity.
Laudato Si’ Movement Pilipinas Coordinator Sr. Elizabeth Carranza widened this idea by introducing the “new cosmology,” which she described as a way of understanding the universe that integrates science and spirituality and views creation as conscious, purposeful, and deeply interconnected.
Carranza traced the becoming of the cosmos—from the Big Bang, the birth of stars and galaxies, to the emergence of Earth as home to life, emphasizing that creation is not static but continuously evolving in communion.
She drew this idea from theologian Brian Swimme, who described gravity as a force of “union and communion,” reflecting God’s creative love at work in the universe.
Carranza said Earth became Mother and home to life through billions of years of transformation, giving birth to diverse species and, eventually, to humanity.
“It took billions of years for God to make us,” Carranza noted, underscoring the sacredness of both human life and the natural world.
Carranza then confronted the ecological crisis, pointing to destructive human activities such as mining, deforestation, pollution, and fossil fuel dependence that wound “Mother Earth.”
Quoting Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’, she reminded that creation ‘now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her.’
Carranza urged a collective response toward the “Ecozoic Era”—a time when humans live in the right relationship with Earth as a living, life-giving home.
Talking about deep incarnation, Carranza said God’s becoming flesh in Christ is inseparable from the whole of creation. “God is always needing to be born on Earth,” she said, calling on people to embody care, compassion, and responsibility in their own lives.
Carranza also led spiritual exercises to help audiences connect with Mother Earth and shared her self-written poem prayer titled ”I am Terra. I am Earth.”, reflecting on her inner connection to Earth, which she said she wrote while walking barefoot.
Understanding the new cosmology in the Philippine context, Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ National Laudato Si’ Program, expanded on the theological concept in his talk titled “Luntian na Pasko.”
Alminaza reframed the story of the birth of Christ as one rooted in vulnerability, displacement, and dependence on nature, which are realities familiar to many Filipinos today.
“Christ is born into a world marked by uncertainty and danger,” he said, noting parallels with communities facing climate disasters, environmental degradation, and development projects imposed without consent.
He cited mining permits, energy projects, and coastal reclamation that displace families and threaten livelihoods, particularly of fisherfolk, farmers, and Indigenous Peoples, which are realities that mirror the vulnerability of Christ’s birth, remarking that ecological issues are also questions of justice and responsibility.
“A luntiang pasko invites us to see the manger not as a decorative symbol but as a reminder that God chooses to enter the world where life is fragile and dependent on the integrity of creation,” Alminaza said.
He emphasized that the injustices faced by Filipinos are not merely technical issues but a moral one, shaped by decisions that determine who bears the cost of development.
Alminaza also added that when affected communities resist, they are often stigmatized or criminalized, prompting the necessary question—’development for whom and at what cost?’
Calling for solidarity, Alminaza urged communities, churches, civil society, and institutions to stand with farmers, fisherfolk, Indigenous Peoples, and urban poor families whose lives are dependent and directly tied to land and water.
“Care for creation and care for people are inseparable,” he said, adding that Christmas calls for both personal conversion and collective action.
Altogether, Carranza and Alminaza invited everyone to rediscover Christmas not only as a celebration, but as a commitment to honor creation, accompany the vulnerable, and allow faith to shape a more just and sustainable future.
Closing the forum, GC President Victoria Segovia reflected on the speakers’ talks through a deeper understanding of “Noel,” meaning joy and celebration, and “Emmanuel,” meaning “God is with us.
She said that “Noel” should remind everyone to choose and share joy amidst difficult times, even including the poor, the lonely, and the forgotten; it should remind hope that resists despair amidst crisis, conflict, and environmental harm.
Moreover, “Emmanuel” should remind that God is with those who suffer poverty, injustice, war, and climate disasters, and with creation that grooms under pollution and abuse.
“Christmas asks us to be God’s presence to stand with the vulnerable, protect life, and care for our common home that the incarnate Christ shared with us in his physical body. The Christmas season then makes us remember that the natural environment is a collective good, the patrimony of all humanity, and the responsibility of everyone,” Segovia expressed.
The next Kamayan session will be on January 16, 2026.
Kamayan Para Sa Kalikasan is a monthly initiative organized by Green Convergence that enables non-government organizations (NGOs) and government representatives, the media, students, teachers, church groups, and concerned citizens to discuss, analyze, and create solutions to pressing environmental issues in the country.
For those interested to be a member of Green Convergence, visit this link to register: bit.ly/GCMembershipRegForm.
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