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 Good News
- 94% of the SJA Cabaret's waste was recycled or composted.
All the "real trash" fit into two trash cans. The rest of the waste was
recycled or composted. Thanks to all who participated.
A Zero Waste Cabaret
Twelve St Joan “Ecospirits” showed up in force at this year’s Cabaret to
kick-off a "Moving to Zero Waste" campaign at St Joan of Arc Church. All the
recycling, composting, and trash cans were carefully guarded to ensure that
people put their discards in the right container. As expected, parishioners were
supportive and curious as our stewards of the earth answered questions and
helped guide their discards into planet-friendly options.
One person came up to me and said he was so grateful that we were doing this
because it had really bothered him in the past to see so much stuff thrown into
the garbage.
The Cabaret committee members were fabulous in their support. Approaching
them only one month before the Cabaret and asking if they would be willing to
buy composting products and make other changes, members of the Eco-spirituality
committee were thrilled that they said "YES!"
Read the full article here.
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Sustainable Fair Trade Market |
We at St. Joan’s are familiar with the mantra ‘We welcome you wherever you
are on your journey’. These sentiments can also be applied to the idea of living
with more social and environmental responsibility, which is the focus of the
upcoming Sustainable Fair Trade Market [Details]
to be held at St. Joan’s on Sunday, November 25. In fact, say its organizers, we
are all learning what it means to live our day-to-day lives in ways that are
considerate of the earth and in line with our values of social justice. We are
doing so one small step at a time and often think we could be doing so much
more. But it is those small steps, they say, that lead to big changes in our own
lives, our communities and in the world at large.
Janet Brown and Ann Mongoven, longtime parishioners of St. Joan’s and fellow
parents and home-schoolers, were first impressed with the possibilities of
promoting
Fair Trade principles when their kids were involved in a youth group at St.
Joan's that focused on sweatshops around the world. Called the Sweat Free SJA
Youth group, it was initiated by youth who had been on an SJA delegation to
St. Joan’s sister parish in
Guatemala, Tierra Nueva Dos (TN2).
Read the entire article
here.
 Maybe
Chicken Little had it right. The sky is falling: and the rivers are drying up or
they’re flooding, and ice caps are melting; animal species are disappearing
because food sources are moving too far away. For the first time in centuries
people may be emigrating –not immigrating, we know about that. But emigrating;
being forced from the lands they know because food and water sources are moving,
changing, becoming harder to find. Will Steger, explorer, has seen the melting
of the ice caps first hand. He talks about the experience and shows photos to
anyone who will listen and see. Al Gore made a documentary and it has become an
award contender, where he, with the aid of graphs and history, lays it all out.
Some people are saying it: we have a decreasing window of opportunity to act or
the damage may be irreparable and irreversible. Our planet earth is in trouble,
deep trouble.
Many of us, True Believers though we may be, are standing around wringing our
hands, saying to each other, “Ain’t it awful, Mabel!!” But not the members of
the Ecospirituality Committee. This group, small but mighty, are pressing on.
They’ve picked an area out of the many concerns involved in the larger issue of
global warming where they can DO something. Alternative fuel is their battle
cry– specifically Wind Power.
Read the entire article
here.
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Recycle:
Please use labeled receptacles for paper, glass, plastic, cans, waste and
cups. Doing so we will be ecologically responsible and a big help to
maintenance staffs as well. Thank you.