Canada - St Alphonsa Cathedral celebrated “Environment Day” on May 22, with outdoor cleaning, gardening, planting, playing, eating to make our premises eco-friendly and environment-friendly, as one family.
This was one of the noble initiatives which the parish council planned, organized, and executed efficiently.
The full-day program started at 9:15 AM with the Holy Qurbana by Fr. Tenson Paul. Thereafter, the official inauguration of the seedling (plant) planting was done by our bishop Mar Jose Kalluvelil and the in-ground gardening was inaugurated by our dear pastor Fr. Jacob Edakkalathur. The parishioners came with their family members and friends to take part in this noble initiative.
After the inauguration, the activities started as planned in 10 different departments such as In-Ground Gardening -1, In-Ground Gardening – 2, Front Entrance Planting, Alphonsa Hall Cleaning & Clearing, In-door Games for kids ( JK – Gr.8), Garage Sale, Brochure & Publicity, Litter Picking – Parking Lot & other areas, Seed-ling Preparation and First Aid & support.
The event created a great opportunity for all the parishioners to come together and relax with each other, a long period after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The happiness and the joy was evident from the face of all the participants. Moreover, without any exception, everyone including adults, youth, and kids fully enjoyed the program.
One of the main highlights of the program was the complimentary food ( Kappa, Beef, Burger, Chicken BBQ, Naragha Vellam, Morum Vellam, Chukku Kappi, etc…) which were prepared at the premises by the Food Committee.
All the students from Playschool – Grade -8 participated in several games and gifts were given to all. The Environment Quiz and Movie in the afternoon made the kids fully engaged and happy.
Another important event was the free seedling (plants) distribution for all the families and all other participants.
Garage Sales added great engagement of the families as branded suites, books, and other household items were secured at a cheaper rate.
The program ended by 5.00 PM with the Prize Distribution and Seedling (Plants) Distribution by Mar Jose Kalluvelil, Fr. Jacob Edakkalathur, and Fr. Tenson Paul. The program was a huge success as it was well planned and organized by the parish council, especially by the kaikkarans Mr. Raju Pynadath & Mrs. Regina Mathew.