I was reminded recently of the passing of Thomas Berry, one of the most eminent cultural historians of our time. His work and insight have been touchstones for me for the last 30 years.

For me, the story starts in 1993 when my wife, Carole, and I were invited to help the folks in the North Simcoe area of Canada, north of Toronto and on the southern edge of the Georgian Bay. In those days, the bulk of our work was helping people use continual improvement technology to improve their communities. In North Simcoe, as we were working with several teams, we noticed that they all seemed to be focused on some aspect of the environment. We asked why the theme seemed to emerge. Although the cause was a little unclear, the citizens of the area acknowledged that their adjacency to Georgian Bay had something to do with the fact that people in the area seemed to be particularly sensitive to issues related to the environment. As we pursued the question, some sisters from St. Theresa’s High School, one of the participating organizations, asked us if we knew of Thomas Berry. What they told us got our attention.

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