After five years of ministering from the three-story building of 100 Carpenter Lane, Cecilian Center for Earth, Arts and Spirit moved to a new location in Chestnut Hill. The Sisters of Saint Joseph of Philadelphia decided to renovate a building on the grounds of their Motherhouse and Chestnut Hill College for an SSJ Earth Center. Sister Mary Elizabeth Clark will continue to direct the program.
The Khepera Charter School, now on the grounds of Cecilian, has expanded into the building at 100 Carpenter Lane. This use of the building fulfills the mission of sustainability and continues the history of education.
One of the hopes for the future direction of the Center is the collaboration with Chestnut Hill College. Sister Mary Elizabeth sees this transformation as an evolution of the mission of the Center. "We have learned that Mount Airy is well served by other institutions in the area of workshops and classes. What is called for is a deepening of Earth Sustainability as a motivating force for educators, "green job" technicians, and people of faith, so that the critical work of making the change to a healthy Earth can be realized as soon as possible.
The Sisters of Saint Joseph are renovating the House of Loreto, a chapel building, with sustainable systems that can be used as a demonstration tool for the program.
