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St. Matthew’s students commit to renewing God’s green earth
By Ambria Hammel, ahammel@catholicsun.org
May 1, 2008
Students at St. Matthew School spent Earth Day making a permanent commitment to beautifying and renewing the planet.
They gathered in the church April 22 for a brief prayer service and blessing of two trees that will provide a haven for birds, oxygen for the community and shade over the school’s Marian grotto.
“A big part of being an active Catholic is taking care of our environment,” said Fr. Ray Ritari, the school’s pastor.
The project was his idea. He wanted students to honor Pope Benedict XVI for his first pontifical visit to the United States and embrace his 2007 World Peace Day message to protect and cultivate the environment “with responsible freedom, with the good of all as a constant guiding criterion.”
At the prayer service, fifth-grader Sergio Acosta read about the interdependence of creation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
“No part of creation can live on its own,” Acosta said. “All creatures depend on each other, to complete each other, in the service of each other.”
The students also praised God’s handiwork in creating the land, seas, animals, wind and people that serve as reminders of His goodness. They committed to caring for all the gifts of creation and prayed that through God’s grace, they would renew life for all.
Students received a button that read, “Do your share. Earth Day everyday,” as a reminder of their commitment. Parishioners received the same buttons in English or Spanish during Mass a few days earlier when Fr. Ritari blessed the trees for all churchgoers to see.
“We are super-conscious of the environment around here,” said Gena McGowan, principal.
The parish and school have two dumpsters in the parking lot for the community to recycle paper. School leaders found a way to turn money from recycling aluminum cans into tuition for a child in an underdeveloped country.
The Earth Day celebration also fit in with the school’s science lessons and community service.
Fifth-grade teacher Mike Bradley prepped his students for Earth Day by taking them on two field trips to see firsthand what the environment needs to thrive. The students learned about native plants and animals and how they adapt to the climate at the Desert Botanical Garden.
They also toured the Rio Salado habitat restoration area, which stretches along five miles of the Salt River south of downtown Phoenix. The students learned about the city’s effort to restore nearly 600 acres of native wetland.
After learning about ways to be a caretaker of God’s creation, the kindergarten class put on oversized plastic gloves and spent a few minutes picking up trash around their campus.
Fr. Ritari told the students that keeping the campus clean is one of the many ways to care for God’s creation.
“Each and every one of us is one of those stewards,” he added, “a caretaker of God’s creation.”
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