This year on April 22 for Earth Day, many organizations are working in conjunction with Metro Parks Officials to clean up five parks within the Columbus area. Leaders hope to encourage involvement of congregations within local communities. A day of services can be a great teaching moment as well as an opportunity to give back.
This year, the Anamchara Faith Community will be providing an Earth Day celebration in the woods at Bernheim Forest in Bullitt County, Kentucky. The service will include biblical passages that give honor to the importance of trees, with the plan to plant at least one during this time. This service will draw from different faiths and cultures, ranging from the Catholic faith to Native American customs and traditions.
The Catholic community is joining with the Earth Day Network to help reach the goal of planting 7.8 billion trees by 2020. This would equate to one tree per person on earth. Pope Francis's recent encyclical, Laudato Si, focuses on the importance of trees and their benefits to the environment as well as human kind.
