By Gloria Stravelli
SANDY HOOK – Acting on a shared vision of stewardship for Earth, members of two local church congregations will be among the volunteers clearing litter from local beaches April 9, during Clean Ocean Action’s (COA) statewide 2022 Spring Beach Sweeps.
“We are pleased to share news about a new partnership of the environmental ministries of The Church of St. Anselm, a Catholic parish in Tinton Falls, and St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Ocean Township,” a press release announcing the joint initiative stated.
From 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. this Saturday, a team of 40 “green stewards” from both congregations will be among the volunteers collecting and documenting litter found on the beaches at Sandy Hook during COA’s Spring Beach Sweeps.
According to the release, the joint initiative is a faith-centered response to climate change inspired by members and leaders of the congregations of both churches.
Christina Eliopolis, a member of St. George, also credits the heads of the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Anglican faiths for inspiring urgent concern for the environment.
“Church leaders have identified climate change as the greatest spiritual challenge of our lifetime,” she said, referencing a call to action by Pope Francis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury.
The faith leaders issued a historic “Joint Message for the Protection of Creation” in September calling for urgent action to deal with the worldwide crisis of climate change and environmental degradation.
In 2015 Pope Francis issued an encyclical titled ‘Laudato Si,’ “which is a call to awaken and help humanity understand the destruction that man is wreaking on the environment and his fellow man,” Eliopolis said.
Working in partnership over the past year, the Creation Care Team at St. Anselm and the Caring for God’s Creation team at St. George, have hosted lectures and hands-on demonstrations about recycling, composting, green gardening and sustainable food sources. They have planted trees and a butterfly sanctuary, presented documentary film programs about Christian environmental stewardship, organized community-wide plastic collections and hosted celebrations of Earth Day and Arbor Day for Sunday School children.
“We are blessed to have people in our parish that brought to my attention that they would like to start a ministry of environmental awareness and care and I supported it. They’ve organized it and have done a fantastic job. I’m here to support them,” said Rev. Andrew Eugenis of St. George.
“The Beach Sweeps is another action like planting trees. It’s letting people know that we can do something to help in terms of awareness, that we really have a climate issue that we need to be working on very quickly because time is running out,” he said.
Mary McCauley, a member of the Creation Care Team at St. Anselm, noted that everyone needs to take responsibility for “how we use our resources, as the future of our common home depends on it.”
Part of that responsibility is standing up to those who would downplay or even deny the science behind climate change.
“Our spiritual leaders are calling upon all Christians to counter reactions of denial and disinterest and instead act as good stewards of God’s creation. Our two teams have blended seamlessly as we are on a common mission to educate and inspire parishioners to take thoughtful action,” McCauley said.
Stella Fotopoulos, a member of Caring for God’s Creation, the green ministry of St. George, encouraged everyone to join the team for the Beach Sweeps to make a difference.
“In the words of the ‘Green Patriarch,’ His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew, ‘we have not been entrusted with unlimited power over creation; we are only stewards of a common heritage.’ It is not too late. God’s world has incredible healing powers,” said Eugenis.
Clean Ocean Action launched the region’s first Beach Sweeps initiative in 1985 to rid beaches of unsightly and harmful debris and identify sources of pollution. Held in the spring and fall, Beach Sweeps have grown from 75 people at one site in 1985 to more than 10,000 volunteers statewide.
Those interested in volunteering at any of the more than 70 Beach Sweeps locations statewide can register at cleanoceancaction.org.
The article originally appeared in the April 7 – 13, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
