The Tri-State Area Women Religious invited community members, friends, and family for free, fun and engaging concerts focusing on care for the earth. The interactive concerts were titled “Songs and Stories with Earth Mama” and were held on August 6^th and 7^th in Dubuque.

The concerts were full of singing, laughter, dancing, sharing, and learning. Performing alongside Earth Mama was the Dubuque Franciscans’ Vocation Director, Julie Tebbe.

Earth Mama, a.k.a., Joyce Johnson Rouse is a singer-songwriter, educator, and environmental activist born in Cresco, Iowa. She has recorded 11 albums and her music is used around the world for ecology, peace, and justice education.

We thought this was a great opportunity to bring the message of caring for the Earth in a fun and engaging way through music and the arts,” said Sister Nancy Miller, OSF, Social Justice Promoter for the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Sisters of St. Francis.  “Joyce performs for audiences of all ages and interests and spreads the message that the Earth is a mother to all of us.”

The performances were sponsored by: Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa; Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Sisters of Mercy of the Americas; Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Sisters of St. Francis, Dubuque; Sisters of the Visitation; and Trappistine Sisters of Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey.

Caption: Joyce Rouse, AKA “Earth Mama” at a performance at the Dubuque DREAM Center.  Photo by Jessi Russo.