Marya Grathwohl

An Oldenburg Franciscan Sister since 1963, Marya Grathwohl lived for more than 30 years in African American, Crow and Northern Cheyenne communities, as teacher, principal and pastoral minister. While on her congregation’s leadership team, she initiated the revitalization of her community’s farm in Indiana, which employs integrated natural farming methods with vegetable gardens, chickens and heritage breed cattle. As founding director of Earth Hope, she was consultant for a women's center in Northern Cheyenne country, developing wind and solar energy, ground-source heating and cooling and native prairie restoration. Earth Hope provides a Cosmology Program for use in jails and prisons in California, New York and Missouri. Grathwohl gives retreats, workshops and lectures that help people connect their faith with ecology and is currently finishing her first book, After the First Thunder: A Spiritual Journey into Convent, Cosmos and Care of Earth.