Growing Future Green Leaders      

On November 14th we held an Interfaith Youth Service and Tree planting. We started the day at The Shrine of the Sacred Heart for a service that began with song led by the church's Filipino Youth Choir. Father Bill Au, the parish priest, welcomed everyone with an opening prayer. Youth members recited readings and there were prayers and readings offered by Pastor Michele Ward, Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church, Rabbi Daniel Burg, Beth Am Congregation and Associate Pastor John Parker from Mount Lebanon Baptist Church (MLBC). Following the service about 35 people loaded on a bus and headed to a site in Cherry Hill where others met us to plant 75+ trees. It was  truly a great day.

But the story does not end there. Janell Belcher, a youth member from Mount Lebanon Baptist Church, participated in the service by reading Psalm 1:1-3 as well as leading a "Litany of Commitment for Creation Care" at the tree planting location. She had previously attended one of our "Inspirational Bus Tours" and on this day worked with her grandparents and other church members to plant trees at this event. Inspired by these experiences she has decided to focus her pursuit of a Girl Scout Gold Award on the upcoming rain garden and cistern installation that will be happening at MLBC as part of the One Water Partnership program. She says, "I have learned how important clean water, trees and other native plants are and want to share this with others in the neighborhood." Once the projects are complete next Spring she plans to do outreach to other churches and the surrounding neighborhood associations to share her newfound knowledge. This is how we grow our future green leaders!