By Katie Vasquez
Kids are getting their hands dirty by helping God’s creation to flourish at Immaculate Conception Church in Jamaica, Queens.
The church’s “Care of Creation Camp” started three years ago to help students understand the late Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si’.
“[What] I like about it, it teaches us like don’t litter and don’t harm the earth,” Jefferson Garcia, a student at the camp told Currents News.
“I learned how to plant flowers and how to not waste food,” added student Adrian Baylon.
It’s great for children “to see themselves as made in the image and likeness of God, how to care for themselves, and also to really love the creation that God has given them,” explained Father Jim Price, CP, the pastor of Immaculate Conception Church, “but all based on Laudato Si’ so they could come away with some idea of what Pope Francis’ vision was.”
Of course there was time for prayer, as counselors offered spiritual guidance related to the four elements: air, earth, water, and fire.
“Last week we read about the burning bush and this week we’ll read about what happened on Pentecost, as well as the fire on Mount Sinai,” Bella Zambrano, a counselor, told Currents News about the camp’s plans.
Staff said they have already witnessed a shift in the campers’ way of thinking.
“We were talking about food waste and how one third of all food gets wasted,” camp organizer Isabella Tamayo recalled. “At lunch time some of them [were] like, ‘Oh well I’m kind of… I don’t want anymore.’ I was like, ‘one third…’ and they were like, ‘That’s right.’ And then they finished their food.”
It’s a lesson they hope these young people will remember past their summer vacation.
It will “help them become like caretakers of creation and more conscious of the world that they live in for future generations to come,” said counselor Summer Knights.
“So, in the future, the planet is still alive,” hoped student Nalani Wiley.
The camp ends the week of July 14, 2025, but the church plans to bring it back next summer.