What would you like to know about St. Joan of Arc? Do you have a story about our parish or of general interest that you think others would like to hear? For story ideas, contact Jeff Rholl, jeff@stjoan.com.
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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.
You can see them every Sunday, standing out under the white tent in windy, rainy weather. In inclement weather, look for a table with a sign saying, Green Power and a whirligig, powered by the wind. In fair weather and foul, the volunteers are talking to the people about Wind Power. Mary Dymond, a team member of the Ecospirituality Committee, is explaining how St. Joan is building a wind turbine. Every time a parishioner signs up to use wind power for part or all of the kilowatt hours their homes are consuming, St. Joan is able to amass points to build that turbine. They’re more than half-way to their goal.
It’s getting mighty cold outside, but the volunteers have signed up to be there every Sunday until November. We can help them out, and do our part to save the planet, by stepping up and listening to what they have to say. Better yet, sign a pledge, then and there. It will cost a little extra on your electric bill, a few cents per kilowatt hour. “Why would we have to pay extra?”, one woman asks. “Because,” a volunteer responds, “Xcel Energy is being ‘persuaded’ by these pledges to become more involved in the environmental cause.”
People say, “I’m one person, what can I do?” Here’s an answer to that question. Go to the White Tent or find the Green Power sign. Ask questions. Sign up if you can, Then as the folks of St. Joan sing so often, “if two and two and fifty make a million, we’ll see that day come ‘round, we’ll see that day come ‘round.” So if one person signs up, and another and another and fifty more, we’ll see the day come ‘round when the air is cleaner. We will help to save the planet.
Here’s a cheer to the Ecospirituality Committee! Here’s to Tom Myott-Smith. Here’s to all of us who care, all of us who are willing and who are able to take a stand. Go to the white tent or the table, – tell your story, listen to what they have to say. There’s not much time left.
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