Mindful Action

Episcopal Church property can and should be a Creation Awareness Center:

• a place which is a gift to the neighborhood.
• serves as witness for God as Creator of All.
• manifests the spiritual life of the Episcopal community.

Here are a few ideas, some general, some specific, which your parish might use NOW to demonstrate our religious faith and our concern for the earth.

These ideas and programs encompass four main areas of activity:

Worship

Incorporate special days into the seasonal liturgies to celebrate God as Creator, emphasizing Christian responsibility in a time of ecological upheaval. Suggested days are Rogation, United Nations Sabbath, St. Francis, and Earth Day. Lenten or Advent activities also can be opportunities to be a witness for creation. (We have seasons celebrating God the Son during Christmas to Easter and God the Holy Spirit during Pentecost, why not have seasons of God the Creator sometime during the “green” season?). St. Francis Day could be a special day of feast, prayer, and thanksgiving.

Learning and Teaching

• Create an on-going group that works with other parish committees exploring ways the parish can respond to environmental concerns.
• Incorporate stewardship awareness into education programs such as Voluntary Simplicity for adults and youth.
• Inform the congregation of environmental issues and activities through
• articles in the Messenger.
• Establish an Environmental section in the parish library.
• Become informed about the interdependence of all the elements in bioregion and our watershed.

Day-to-Day Parish Operations

By resolution from General Convention all conventions, councils, conferences, and meetings must be examples of environmental responsibility by minimizing energy use, by recycling, and by demonstrating simpler life styles. Below are three different ways to incorporate environmental stewardship into a church plant, at social events and meetings and on church grounds.

In the church plant

• Build or remodel using techniques and materials that are environmentally efficient .
• Conduct regular energy audits with an eye to reducing fossil fuels use. Re-evaluate your lighting needs.
• Use compact fluorescent light bulbs for interior lighting. Install shields on the tops and sides of exterior lights so they illuminate only the intended area and do not contribute to light pollution.
• Install labeled recycling bins throughout the grounds.
• Recycle all discarded papers.
• Choose recycled paper towels for bathroom dispensers and general use.
• Keep dumpsters where parish members can drop off large quantities of recyclable paper and cardboard.
• Buy recycled paper for parish communications. Reuse office paper when possible.
• Use non-chemical cleaning products; buy products which can be diluted and reuse the containers.
• Install efficient plumbing fixtures.

At social events and meetings

• Use as little paper and plastic as possible in food and beverage service.
• When practical, ask parishioners to bring their own ceramic cups.
• If you use paper cups, contact a company that will recycle them.
• Use only plastics recyclable in your area (generally nos.1 and 2).
• Serve meals low on the food chain (less meat, more grains and legumes).
• Encourage walking, biking, use of public transportation, and car pooling.

On church grounds

• Landscape the grounds of churches, diocesan centers, conference centers, and camps with meditation benches and prayer walks. Just as the architecture, furnishings, and art in the interior of our churches demonstrate our understanding of the sacredness of God’s creation, so should the grounds.
• Landscape with native plants to reduce water usage.
• Keep your watering fixtures well-maintained and efficient.
• Use organic fertilizer and environmentally-safe pesticides.
• Add trees to paved parking areas to reduce heat emission
• Install, where applicable, self-guided nature walks to encourage meditation, prayer and mindfulness of the surroundings.

Remember, the economic decisions your PARISH makes have environmental consequences in your COMMUNITY!