I was awarded a grant from the Archdiocese to fund an effort to raise awareness of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si', in which he calls on us to protect our planet.
To prepare for this undertaking, Youth Ministry students spent a day this summer at Calleva Farm learning about some of the choices that we can make to reduce our personal impact on the environment. During our visit, we helped harvest seasonal vegetables in the farm’s greenhouse and tasted fruit from the garden. We spent time with humanely raised farm animals like chickens, pigs, and sheep. These encounters allowed our students to experience and discuss God’s command that we are to care for creation as expressed in Genesis 2:15.