The Catholic Church observed the ninth World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation Sept. 1, launching five-plus weeks of activities and prayer heightening the commitment to shepherding God’s handiwork. The Season of Creation concludes Oct. 4, the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi.
For the Arlington diocese, it is an opportunity to reflect on and advance its broad, multiyear response to Pope Francis’ commitment to ecology — most notably devoting his second encyclical to the subject: “Laudato Si’: On Care for our Common Home” published in 2015.
“We know that this is a major emphasis of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, reminding us that we all as children of God are stewards of creation and we must have a common care, care for our common home, and we must be united in that,” Bishop Michael F. Burbidge said on the “Walk Humbly Podcast” Aug. 23. “I’m so proud of the many ways we are doing that in our diocese.”
That activity includes a recent agreement to install new solar projects over the next year at five facilities: Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria; St. Leo the Great School in Fairfax; St. Luke Church and School in McLean; St. Michael School in Annandale; and the diocesan San Damiano Retreat Center in White Post.
Under what’s known as a power purchase agreement, a third-party provider installs, owns and operates the equipment on the property of customers who agree to purchase electricity generated by the project, usually at a lower cost per kilowatt hour than was previously available. At St. Michael School, the solar rooftop is estimated to provide 95 percent of the facility’s annual electricity usage, while supplyng electricity at a cost approximately 30 percent below the school’s current utility rate, according to the diocesan Office of Planning, Construction and Facilities. The developer hopes to have all five new solar projects operating in early 2024.
Solar rooftops are in place at four parishes: Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Arlington; Nativity Catholic Church in Burke; St. Anthony of Padua Church in Falls Church; and St. Bernadette Church in Springfield. Once the new projects launch, Andrew J. Schulman, OPCF director, estimates that the combined output of all nine facilities would provide enough electricity to power 200 homes per year.
“We are reaching out to parishes and schools to offer no-cost energy audits and recommendations, which have already led to numerous LED lighting retrofits, boiler replacements and high-efficiency HVAC upgrades,” Schulman said. “There is much to be done.”
The work is part of the effort to advance Laudato Si’ through a seven-year “action platform” the diocese joined two years ago. The diocesan Peace and Justice Commission has embraced the call, adopting more sustainable catering practices at its events (substituting reusable glasses for disposable plastic water bottles), supporting the establishment of parish Creation Care Ministries, providing online resources for parishes, and a new toolkit for directors of youth ministry.
Parish activities marking the season abound.
St. John Neumann Church in Reston will host a Sept. 17 blessing of its Our Lady of Guadalupe statue, located in the parish Mary garden. St. Mark Church volunteers will host water stations at the Sept. 24 fall festival in Vienna without plastic bottles; assist with recycling and composting food scraps; and kick off Clear the Air — a campaign to eliminate car idling at school pickup. The annual fall festival at Nativity Sept. 30 will feature a celebration and tour of native trees, a biodiversity presentation and a scavenger hunt.
Kim Young leads Nativity’s ministry with the help of husband, George. She calls it “the perfect marriage of my faith and concern for the health and future of God’s creation, especially for future generations.” After weekend Masses Sept. 9-10, volunteers will be available at the parish ministry fair to discuss upcoming activities, including the October launch of an eight-month virtual meeting series, in partnership with Commissioned by Christ, on a household approach to Laudato Si.’
Joe Knecht helped launch St. James Church’s Creation Care Ministry in 2020. A trip with his wife, Emily, to Italy and its historic vineyards sparked an affinity for nature. The ministry’s garden in Falls Church produced more than 200 pounds of produce this year for parish food distribution events, has fostered Eagle Scout projects and hosted children’s visits. Sept. 10, the ministry will educate parishioners about better energy usage, the importance of native trees and adopting Laudato Si’ at home.
Precious Blood Church in Culpeper recently established a new creation care ministry. “We are happy that our parish is joining the diocesan effort to care for our environment in the spirit of Laudato Si,’ ” parishioner Loretta Cummings said. “Culpeper is an agricultural area, so we live close to the earth. This way of life is a gift from God, which we want to preserve for our children and grandchildren.”
Individual Catholics can also participate in the season by taking the St. Francis pledge and utilizing other spiritual devotions available on the diocesan website — arlingtondiocese.org/peace.
The church’s attention to ecology has increased under Pope Francis’ pontificate, with plans to release a second part to Laudato Si’ Oct. 4. But his predecessors also spoke of the need to care for creation as a pro-life people.
“If we wish to build true peace, how can we separate, or even set at odds, the protection of the environment and the protection of human life, including the life of the unborn?” Pope Benedict XVI said in 2010.
“It is the ecological question — ranging from the preservation of the natural habitats of the different species of animals and of other forms of life to ‘human ecology’ properly speaking — which finds in the Bible clear and strong ethical direction, leading to a solution which respects the great good of life, of every life,” St. John Paul II wrote in “Evangelium Vitae.”
Father Robert C. Cilinski, diocesan episcopal vicar for charitable works and Nativity pastor, said that while every pope in his lifetime has called the church to share in protecting the precious gift of creation, Pope Benedict XVI’s welcoming address at World Youth Day in 2008 particularly resonated with him.
The pope said, “God’s creation is one and it is good. The concerns for nonviolence, sustainable development, justice and peace, and care for our environment are of vital importance for humanity. They are understood as part of a profound reflection on the innate dignity of every human life from conception to natural death.”
Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’ is both urgent and hopeful, Father Cilinski said.
“It is magisterial teaching of the church,” he said. “What we do in the next 20 years will affect the lives of our children, grandchildren and their children.”
Schweers can be reached at [email protected].
