Hands of hope stretch across the sand
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
On June 26, countless people across the globe joined hands at the water’s edge in “Hands Across the Sand.”
The symbolic call to protect coastal waters from the kind of pollution that has spoiled – perhaps for generations – the peerless environmental riches of the gulf, drew 1,500 people in Asbury Park alone.
The Monmouth County resort city was one of 30 coastal New Jersey towns participating in the event and it drew people from as far away as Bethlehem, Pa. including many Catholics active in causes that focus on water as critical in sustaining life.
Among them was Sister of St. Joseph of Peace Suzanne Golas who has long made sustainable water resources in the United States and around the world a focus of her ministry.
Sister Suzanne is a 2008 recipient of the diocesan Gaudium et Spes Award for years of service to ministries of charity and justice, founder of Waterspirit, and a member of the board of trustees of Clean Ocean Action.
Several days after the event, she shared her reflections on the event. “What surprised me about it is that we met people who traveled a distance to be there. One woman we met, for instance, had come from Bethlehem, Pa.
“She said she had to be (at Hands Across the Sand) because it was a historical day to come to the beach.”
Sister Suzanne said that symbolic actions such as Hands Across the Sand “do a couple of very important things. First of all, they make the movement concrete. They show that there are real people of all ages and they reinforce our commitment.”
The water crisis in the gulf, she said, is but one symbol of a world wide crisis which is being presented in a theological context in this summer’s programs at Waterspirit in Elberon.
“We’re putting the water crisis in a theological context, asking participants ‘who do we understand ourselves to be in relation to God, in relationship to the whole community of life.”
The Asbury Park event was hosted by Clean Ocean Action, Edison Wetlands Association and the Surfrider foundation.
Cindy Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action, called the gathering an “unprecedented call to action. The power is within our hands,” to rescind the expansion of oil drilling, she said. “People from all over are joining hands and taking a stand. We hope this sparks a change.”
Joseph Robertson, a Villanova professor and self-described “citizen lobbyist,” echoed Sister Suzanne and Zipf. He called the global event a growing indication of how public perceptions have changed since the April 20 accident that triggered the worst oil spill in history.
“Things have changed since the BP spill,” said Robertson, a member of Holy Cross Parish, Rumson. “What we have here now is a situation no one likes. There is no choice anymore but to protect what God created.”
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On June 26, countless people across the globe joined hands at the water’s edge in “Hands Across the Sand.”
The symbolic call to protect coastal waters from the kind of pollution that has spoiled – perhaps for generations – the peerless environmental riches of the gulf, drew 1,500 people in Asbury Park alone.
The Monmouth County resort city was one of 30 coastal New Jersey towns participating in the event and it drew people from as far away as Bethlehem, Pa. including many Catholics active in causes that focus on water as critical in sustaining life.
Among them was Sister of St. Joseph of Peace Suzanne Golas who has long made sustainable water resources in the United States and around the world a focus of her ministry.
Sister Suzanne is a 2008 recipient of the diocesan Gaudium et Spes Award for years of service to ministries of charity and justice, founder of Waterspirit, and a member of the board of trustees of Clean Ocean Action.
Several days after the event, she shared her reflections on the event. “What surprised me about it is that we met people who traveled a distance to be there. One woman we met, for instance, had come from Bethlehem, Pa.
“She said she had to be (at Hands Across the Sand) because it was a historical day to come to the beach.”
Sister Suzanne said that symbolic actions such as Hands Across the Sand “do a couple of very important things. First of all, they make the movement concrete. They show that there are real people of all ages and they reinforce our commitment.”
The water crisis in the gulf, she said, is but one symbol of a world wide crisis which is being presented in a theological context in this summer’s programs at Waterspirit in Elberon.
“We’re putting the water crisis in a theological context, asking participants ‘who do we understand ourselves to be in relation to God, in relationship to the whole community of life.”
The Asbury Park event was hosted by Clean Ocean Action, Edison Wetlands Association and the Surfrider foundation.
Cindy Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action, called the gathering an “unprecedented call to action. The power is within our hands,” to rescind the expansion of oil drilling, she said. “People from all over are joining hands and taking a stand. We hope this sparks a change.”
Joseph Robertson, a Villanova professor and self-described “citizen lobbyist,” echoed Sister Suzanne and Zipf. He called the global event a growing indication of how public perceptions have changed since the April 20 accident that triggered the worst oil spill in history.
“Things have changed since the BP spill,” said Robertson, a member of Holy Cross Parish, Rumson. “What we have here now is a situation no one likes. There is no choice anymore but to protect what God created.”