Catholic Earth Day Committee Wins Trailblazer Award at the GIPPYs

Don't miss this year's Catholic Earth Day Celebration on May 1, 2011!

The Trailblazer Award is given to the ministry that has shown determination and creativity in creating something new and embracing Creation Care in revelatory ways. The Trailblazer Award at the Fifth Annual GIPPYs was given to the Catholic Earth Day Committee, which is sponsored by the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Atlanta, St. Thomas Apostle Catholic Church in Smyrna, and Ignatius House Jesuit Retreat Center in Atlanta, GA.The Catholic Earth Day Committee is a group of volunteers dedicated to educating, engaging and promoting issues of Environmental Justice throughout the Atlanta Archdiocese. They came together starting in 2009 with a shared interest in environmental issues and a belief that there was a need in the Archdiocese for a Catholic presence on environmental issues.

The original focus was to put on an event where Catholics could come together to learn about the Catholic principle of Caring for God’s creation. The event was known as Catholic Earth Day 2010 and was hosted at Ignatius House Jesuit Retreat Center in Atlanta on Sunday, April 25th, 2010. The day consisted of speakers, presentations, prayerful reflection, Mass and a social reception. The unique focus of the day was how the poor are affected by environmental issues. This is one of the central components of Catholic Social Teaching.

The theme of the day was water. They chose this theme because Atlanta had seen both severe drought and flood within the same year. The committee brought together four key speakers to educate and inspire attendees: Sally Bethea, Executive Director of the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Judith Winfrey from Love is Love Farm, Dr. Wayne Book from the Haiti Water Project, and Donnetta Pearson, who was an Atlanta flood victim that received aid from Catholic Charities and other organizations. She lost most of her home in the flood and shared her personal experience.

The committee is an organic, evolving, creative and growing group of people with a variety of backgrounds, interests and talents. Catholic Earth Day was a wonderful day of education and worship, and it was a true model of collaboration amongst multiple parishes with multiple viewpoints. This Catholic Earth Day has also become a model for other Archdiocese around the country.

Congratulations to the Catholic Earth Day Committee, winner of this year's Trailblazer Award!