Season of Creation – Penang Diocese: A parish with a heart for creation

Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ calls on everyone in the world to take "swift and unified global action" to save our common home.

Sep 25, 2021

The Creation Corner at the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Kulim

Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ calls on everyone in the world to take "swift and unified global action" to save our common home. His inspiring encyclical has moved many, especially Catholics, to be responsible for and to love and care for our planet, given freely by our Heavenly Father to live on and cherish.

The Parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Kulim, Kedah, has been quietly working to bring this dream to life. Msgr Henry Rajoo, the parish priest of SHJ, set up its Creation Justice Ministry in 2018, and declared the parish an “Ecological Parish” in 2019. His constant support and guidance have motivated the ministry along with the whole Parish Council to educate, promote and inspire the parishioners to care for our common home. Everyone on the Council has been on board – from the liturgical team to the admin and maintenance teams. In turn, the parishioners of SHJ have responded readily to all the initiatives, showing that SHJ is truly a parish with the heart of Jesus for creation.

Some of the activities implemented by the parish have been: 

-- Starting off every Mass with a Sacred Heart Prayer for Creation. 

-- Establishing Ecological Parish Protocols and Food Catering Rules, as well as a commitment to practise the six Rs — Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle and Regenerate. The Food Catering Rules, for instance, ban the use of Styrofoam containers and singleuse plastics which has seen sharp reduction in these items. Washing of plates after church celebration meals are now the norm.

-- Selling church and church/homegrown plants and fruits to parishioners at reasonable prices. 

-- Setting up the “Creation Corner” just outside the church, with plants and a statue in honour of St Francis of Assisi. This was marked with a special Mass and blessing by our parish priest.

-- Openly making commitments to protect Mother Earth during mass with commitment cards handed out to help parishioners remember their promises. 

Celebrating the Season of Creation from Sept 1 to Oct 4 every year from 2018 with Masses and other events. 

-- Celebrating the Protect Our Earth, Protect Our Children (PROTEC) Campaign from 2020 with Masses and other events. 

-- Training a Disaster Risk Management team to set up emergency protocols and an evacuation centre at the church. l Conducting hands-on ecological activities like repurposing old T-shirts into bags and making Christmas wreaths from local twigs and plants. — By Murna Das and Clare Westwood

The role of the parish priest is crucial in making any parish an ecological one. Msgr Henry is one priest who takes his role in this seriously. The parish is in the midst of erecting a new hall with an open design to keep its carbon footprint low. Here, Msgr Henry talks to the SHJ CJM team about his dreams for building an ecological parish.

Msgr Henry, you signed the Parish Protocols and the Food Catering Rules for our parish and set up a Creation Justice Ministry a few years ago. Clearly you want SHJ to be an ecological parish. What is your dream for the parish and parishioners in terms of being an ecological focal point in the spirit of Laudato Si’ in the diocese?
My dream may sound utopian. I wish for every parishioner to know the serious state Mother Earth is in and make efforts to save her. I want all parishioners to read Laudato Si’ and know the truth of what is happening to our common home. I also wish all parishioners will practise the 6Rs to save Planet Earth.

What are your plans for the new hall and other renovations or expansion plans for SHJ in terms of ecological sustainability?
The new hall will have a rain water harvesting system. The car park will have road pavers for the absorption of water. We will have flower beds for planting trees and plants — it will look like a garden rather than a car park — and a park next to the hall. We will install LED lights for the hall and solar lights for the car park, and the roof is prepared for solar panels in the future. You often preach on creation/climate change/ecology in your homilies.

What personally inspires or motivates you to be a champion for creation and what can you say to encourage all Catholics and parishes to commit to becoming ecological citizens and parishes?
My inspiration comes from the “little” that makes the difference rather than the “big”. I feel that everyone is wanting the whole world to save the Earth and solve the climate problems, but since we are not able to mobilise the whole world, I, in my own corner, will show I care for Mother Earth. In the History of Salvation, it was the poor of Yahweh (Anawim) who truly lived the covenant that God made with His people. The Kingdom of God starts small and God has made the human race the stewards of creation. This is a responsibility that we cannot shrink from. Global warming is not doomsday; let’s work at it in whatever way we can to save the Earth.

                                             Reforestation

Protection of our earth is already a common topic in today’s news. The rainforest wildfires in the Amazon, Australia, Indonesia; the typhoons and heat waves in the US; flash floods in Germany, China, and here in Malaysia. It is a wake-up call, and if we continue to live the way we are living today, by 2030, our living conditions will not be normal.

In previous weeks, we have talked about how to grow your own food, live more simply and practice zero waste. Today, we would like to share on the importance of our forests, and tree planting. Rainforests play a practical role in keeping our planet healthy by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing the oxygen that we depend on for our survival. The absorption of this CO2 helps to stabilise the Earth's climate. Rainforests store water like a huge sponge. The trees draw water from the forest floor and release it back into the atmosphere in the form of swirling mists and clouds. Without the rainforest continually recycling huge quantities of water, feeding the rivers, lakes and irrigation systems, droughts would become more common, potentially leading to widespread famine and disease. In Malaysia, the rainforest of Ulu Muda is one of the most important water catchment areas in the country and supplies water to Penang, Kedah and Perlis. It is very important for the general public to understand this and to be the watch dog to ensure all rainforests are gazetted and protected.

But the situation today is that most of the rainforests have already been cleared for development and urbanisation. Is it still possible to restore the rainforests? With faith, it is still possible! Besides protecting the existing forests, we need both reforestation on a large scale, and also to look into urban forestry. Urban forestry is defined as the planting, maintenance, care and protection of tree populations in urban settings. And the role of trees is an essential function of city planning and urban infrastructure. Planned connections of green spaces encompass not only parks and gardens, but also landscaped boulevards, rivers and coastal promenades, greenways and even simple street-side tree boxes. All of this requires strategic planning and a skilled workforce.

City trees can reduce floods and carbon dioxide and refresh the environment. Planting trees as canopy is the cheapest way you can cool your city collectively. Trees cool the surrounding area by their leaves, through which water transpires and evaporates into the environment. Tree shades can also extend the lifespan of bitumen and save the replacement costs each year. Tree roots are also great at soaking up water after heavy storms. Scientists estimate that trees can hold as much as 40 per cent of the total rainwater that hits them. Penang’s Vision 2030, under the section of ‘climate change adaptation plan’, is targeting to plant 200,000 trees as part of the Sponge City concept to mitigate floods and improve public health.

In Jan 2021, the Energy and Natural Resources (KeTSa) Ministry, with cooperation from the Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia (JPSM), Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM), State Forest Departments and State Governments, launched the 100 Million Tree-Planting Campaign. The target is to plant 100 million trees by 2025. JPSM estimates an increase of 20,000 to 80,000 trees in preserved forest areas by 2025. This campaign encourages the participation from federal and state government agencies, private companies and corporate bodies, non-governmental organisations, educational and research institutions, and the general public. Anyone can join the program by accessing the website https://www.100jutapokok. gov.my/.



The Church of the Sacred Heart, Kampar, the first amongst the Catholic communities that has participated in this 100 million trees campaign, by planting a tree a day for 33 days during the entire Season of Creation, started planting from Sept 2 and will continue to Oct 4. On Sept 1, the church celebrated the ‘International Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation’ with ‘Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament’. The other three projects launched by Fr Simon Anand during this Season of Creation are their Flower, Fruit and Vegetable Gardens. In the video of the launch of these projects, one of the messages shared by Fr Simon is that “the church has a responsibility towards creation and she must assert this responsibility in the public sphere” (Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI). — By Francis Chris Loh and Magdaline Chiang

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