What's Happening

By Sister Janice Brown, OP
Director, Dominican Center: Spirituality for Mission

September 29, 2026, Detroit – What happens when people gather to celebrate one of creation’s most essential gifts – water?

Some 51 people gathered on September 19, 2026, at St. Suzanne Cody Rouge Community Resource Center in Detroit for Celebrating Water, a Season of Creation retreat sponsored by the Dominican Center: Spirituality for Mission and St. Suzanne Cody Rouge CRC.

The gathering brought together Adrian Dominican Sisters and Associates alongside community members and friends, creating a rich and welcoming community for a day of prayer, learning, ritual, and exploration. Together, they shared in the Dominican call to contemplation, relationship, and care for Earth, our common home. The day offered everyone an opportunity to slow down, notice the beauty and sacredness of creation, and experience the joy of being together.

The time together opened with prayer and ritual, inviting participants to become present to one another, to Earth, and to our Creator. Chris Kendall, music minister at Gesu Parish in Detroit, led the group in a spirited and soulful rendition of Wade in the Water, as participants poured water into a bowl, nourishing a beautiful arrangement of flowers gathered from local rain gardens. It was a simple yet beautiful way to begin, a moment to slow down and recognize water as gift. 

From there, Naim Edwards, Director of Michigan State University’s Detroit Partnership for Environmental Stewardship and a member of St. Charles Borromeo Parish, invited participants to consider water on a scientific level and a life-giving level. 

With his energy, humor, and gravity, Noam helped participants see water not simply as something we use, but as a precious gift that sustains all life. One participant captured the experience perfectly: “I have never heard a keynote with such energy and depth.”

Deacon Steve Morello offered a Native American purification blessing with sage, creating another sacred moment in the day’s journey, and then blessing lunch that was provided by chef and social activist Chef Bee.

The group then ventured into Rouge Park with Noor Ahmad, of Friends of Rouge Park. From the warmth of the bus, participants explored the park’s playgrounds, the rookery where blue herons nest, and the large rain garden at Warren and Outer Drive that provides habitats and diverts dangerous rainwater from damaging approximately 1,200 homes in the surrounding area. Noor’s knowledge and enthusiasm helped participants see more deeply the connections among water, plants, animals, and people. 

And then, appropriately, the rain came.

Rain fell throughout the day, becoming an unexpected but fitting part of a celebration focused on water. Rather than simply being a challenge, it became a tangible reminder of the very gift the group had gathered to honor. We were not simply talking about water. We were surrounded by it, listening to it, and watching it become part of the landscape.

The day concluded with the Prayer of Creation 2026, inviting participants to carry forward a deeper appreciation for creation and a renewed commitment to care for our common home.

A Community Effort

The retreat was made possible through the collaboration of many members of the Adrian Dominican community. Sisters Nancyann Turner, OP, Cheryl Liske, OP, and Rebecca Hodge, OP, along with Adrian Dominican Associates Patty Gillis and Carol Hofer, were part of the team coordinating the gathering. Other members of the planning committee included Steve Wasko and Amethyst Crawford from St. Suzanne Cody Rouge Community Resource Center. Dominican Center Board member Joni Scott also contributed to the effort.

Their collaboration reflects the Dominican tradition of bringing gifts, energy, and diverse perspectives together in service of mission.

Gatherings such as this offer more than an opportunity to learn about creation. They create space for people to pause together, recognize the sacredness of Earth, and experience the joy of community. Through prayer, conversation, exploration, and even a little rain, the Celebrating Water retreat offered a beautiful reminder that creation continually invites us into gratitude, wonder, and care for our common home.

For information on other opportunities offered by the Dominican Center, visit www.dominicancenter.org.

 

Caption for above feature photo: Members of the Planning Committee for the Water Retreat are, from left, Associate Patricia Gillis, Sister Cheryl Liske, OP, Joni Scott, Sister Nancyann Turner, OP, Sister Janice Brown, OP, and Associate Carol Hofer.

By Caroline Bode, 
Director of Shareholder Advocacy Mercy Investments

Growing scientific evidence links pesticide use to reduced soil health and farm resilience, and exposure to pesticides and agrichemicals is associated with serious adverse health impacts, particularly for children and farm workers. The base of a successful regenerative agriculture system is healthy soils and, without addressing and reducing agrichemical use, such systems are unable to effectively achieve regenerative outcomes.

Despite growing reference in food company annual reporting to regenerative agriculture programs and commitments, As You Sow’s 2026 Pesticides in the Pantry report found that more than half of the 17 benchmarked companies’ scores declined from their 2023 assessment and that several companies decreased or eliminated pesticide disclosure from their public reporting. And the assessment of 78 global agri-food companies by the investor network FAIRR  (formerly the Farm Animal Investment Risk and Return) found that none have set a target to reduce the use of pesticides as part of their regenerative agriculture programs.

For decades, Adrian Dominican Sisters Portfolio Advisory Board (PAB) has been a consistent voice calling for a transition to a safer and more sustainable food system and the development of safer forms of pest control, leading a multi-year engagement with Michigan-based Dow Chemical and participating in a similar engagement with Missouri-based Monsanto.  

The PAB has continued to engage with Dow’s agricultural chemical spin-off company, Corteva, and the German company Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in 2018. Current engagements with both companies ask them to develop pest control products that are safer for people and planet. In 2025, Corteva announced a multi-million-dollar joint venture to accelerate the development of new crop protection solutions inspired by nature. 

In its 2026 sustainability reporting, Bayer shared that it has reduced the environmental impact of its global crop protection portfolio by 14% against the baseline. However, Bayer has also been in the headlines this year due to its legal stance in the numerous lawsuits brought against the company concerning the health impacts of its signature product Roundup, which was originally developed by Monsanto.  

Earlier this year when the case reached the Supreme Court, Bayer argued that they should be immune from “failure to warn” lawsuits on the grounds that the language in the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) gives the EPA universal control to approve product labels and that any EPA-approved labels should preempt state labeling laws or individual rights to sue agrochemical producers. 

Unfortunately, the Supreme Court’s ruling in Bayer’s favor removes a primary tool for individuals to hold these companies accountable when they fail to warn consumers of undisclosed risks and harm. Adrian Dominican Sisters and other investors will continue to engage Bayer and other agrochemical producers on the need to transition their crop protection portfolios to solutions that are less hazardous and toxic to human and environmental health.

In part due to years of investor pressure, most major food manufacturers also have commitments to implement regenerative practices and several, such as Campbell’s, Lamb Weston, and Nestlé, are tracking and monitoring pesticide use. Kroger and Walmart have commitments to implement integrated pest management practices with their food suppliers to help transition to least-toxic growing methods.

Investors are also asking food retailers to disclose how they are working to reduce the use of pesticides in the products they sell. In the 2026 proxy season, the PAB co-filed a shareholder proposal at Target asking the company to report on pesticide use and reduction efforts within its supply chains. 

Despite Target’s commitments to safer chemical management and protecting biodiversity, the company lags its peers and may be overlooking risks associated with pesticide use. The proposal received 17.2% of the vote in support, indicating strong interest from shareholders on this issue.  

Investors will continue to press chemical companies to reduce the environmental and human health impacts of their agricultural products and to ask food and beverage companies and retailers to disclose how they are working to reduce pesticide use in their supply chains.