Students, Dominican Sisters pray for the earth at Earth Day Celebration (Video)
The Dominican Sisters of Caldwell hosted an Earth Day Celebration for over 100 students, faculty, lay associates, and sisters at the Saint Catherine of Siena Healthcare Center at their campus in Caldwell on Friday, April 21.
The issue of environmental conservation and protection is one that the Dominican Sisters of Caldwell take seriously, according to their Vision Statement, which includes a promise to “resist the ongoing devastation of our planet by a contemplative scrutiny of our use and abuse of earth’s gifts.”
Students from Lacordaire Academy in Upper Montclair, Mount Saint Dominic Academy in Caldwell, and Saint Dominic’s Academy in Jersey City attended the celebration featuring prayer, song, and environmental issues presentations by student leaders.
The celebration opened with a prayer thanking God for the creation of the earth, the four cardinal directions, and the four elements of the earth.
Presentations on the four elements — earth, wind, fire, and air — discussed the importance of each one and how climate change has negatively impacted them, with a focus on both local and global experiences.
Lacordaire Campus Minister Nate House said the Earth Day Celebration provided students with the opportunity to raise awareness of environmental issues occurring in their local communities.
In preparation for their presentation at the Mother House, members of the Lacordaire Preachers Club – a group of students who speak at school-wide liturgies, lead and serve others as tutors, volunteer in the community, and serve as stewards of the Earth – went on a hike at Chimney Rock in Caldwell “to experience the beauty of some of the rocky outcrops of New Jersey,” House said.
However, the beauty of the hike was short-lived when the students stumbled upon a rock quarry that had removed the neighboring mountainside, showing the devastating environmental effects of overdevelopment firsthand, House said.
“The creeks, streams, and reservoirs found along their hike were destroyed by a gravel company on the neighboring mountainside,” he said.
During their presentation, Lacordaire students shared their experiences and an action plan they developed for preventing future environmental destruction. Following the presentations, each group facilitated a discussion about actions that could be taken to prevent further environmental harm.
The groups also discussed Laudato Si’, the Pope’s well-known encyclical that comprehensively discusses the environment and its destruction and calls on Catholics to “care for our common home” by addressing environmental problems and needs on a local and global basis.
Sister Jeanne Goyette, OP, the Coordinator of Earth Ministry at the Dominican Sisters of Caldwell said that the goal in hosting the celebration “was to come together to celebrate God’s gift of the earth… [and] to promote environmental justice both locally and globally.”
The celebration provided an opportunity for the sisters to socialize and experience community with the students, which was especially impactful for those sisters who live at the Saint Catherine of Siena Healthcare Center where the celebration took place. “It is always good when we bring our schools together with the sisters, especially those that are in our healthcare center,” Sister Goyette said.
Rachel Feuer, a senior at Saint Dominic Academy in Jersey City and one of the students who presented at the celebration said she was thankful for the opportunity to discuss the environment.
“I am thankful for the opportunities that the Caldwell Dominicans have put together on our behalf,” she said.
Feuer has attended several conferences and retreats at the Dominican Sisters of Caldwell Mother House and recently completed training to become a Eucharistic minister. “I love hanging out with the sisters because they are filled with joy.”
