I saw a new heaven and a new earth. Then the angel showed me the river of life-giving water.
-(Revelation 21:1, 22:1)
Be the change you want to see in the world.
-Ghandi
Love does no harm to its neighbor
(Romans 13:10)
Who can I be a neighbor to?
(Luke 10:25-37)
Water flows from high in the mountains. Water runs deep in the Earth. Miraculously, water comes to us and sustains all life.
–Thich Nhat Hanh
Understanding the fact that we are essentially water is the key to uncovering the mysteries of the universe. If you reexamine the world around you from this new perspective, you will start to see things as you have never seen them before.
-Masaru Emoto
A Consistent Ethic of Life must be promoted. This places the sacredness of creation and the need to protect and enhance all human life, and the life of our planet on which we depend, as a basic and central moral point of reference.
-New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference
God belongs the earth and its fullness; the world and those who dwell in it.
(Ps 24:1)
Like the patriarch Noah, humanity stands responsible for ensuring that all nature can continue to thrive as God intended. After the flood, God made a lasting covenant with Noah, his descendants, and "every living creature." We are not free, therefore, to use created things capriciously. Renewing the Earth
-USCCB
[Humanity] is suddenly becoming aware that by an ill-considered exploitation of nature [we] risk destroying it.
-Pope Paul VI, Octogesima Adveniens, 1971
God saw all that had been made, and indeed it was very good.
(Genesis 1:31)
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
(Matthew 6:28)
God hear our prayer that we as a parish recycle in the hope that if we only keep what we need, there will be enough for everyone. We pray to the Lord. Amen.
O Word of God through Whom the Universe was Created, how awesome are your works! Forgive us for the times we fail to acknowledge this. Help us as we pledge this Easter season to find ways, large and small, to thank you through our daily actions of loving stewardship. Join us to you in continuing God's creation, we pray. Amen.
Lord, hear our prayer, as we ask that we as a parish may use this Easter journey to address how we live our lives in relationship to the global community. We pray to the Lord. Amen Say a prayer and thank everything that contributes to your meals (sun, rain, etc.)
Lord, hear our prayer that we as a parish learn to purchase our food from local farmers and business. We pray to the Lord. Amen.
More people seem ready to recognize that the industrialized world's over consumption has contributed the largest share to the degradation of the global environment. Renewing the Earth -- USCCB
The ecological crisis," Pope John Paul II has written, "reveals the urgent moral need for a new solidarity, especially in relations between the developing nations and those that are highly industrialized" (EC, no. 10). Only with equitable and sustainable development can poor nations curb continuing environmental degradation and avoid the destructive effects of the kind of over development that has used natural resources irresponsibly. Renewing the Earth -- USCCB
• Clean your furnace filter.
• Analyze your household energy use at http://www.energyguide.com/.
• Have an energy audit and implement some of the suggestions. Increase insulation, fix air leaks around doors and windows, seal heating and air conditioning ducts http://www.portlandgeneral.com/home/energy_savings/default.aspx
• Check out St. Juan Diego’s Kill A Watt energy usage monitor and determine how much electricity your appliances, rechargers, electronics, etc. are using.
• Disconnect one down spout and collect rain water for use in garden.
• Bring your lunch and pack your children’s lunches in reusable containers to reduce waste.
• Remove excess weight from your car. Remove roof racks when not needed. Take out anything extra that is not needed. An extra hundred pounds in your car can sap mileage by 1 to 2 percent.
• Curbside recycling.
Know what can and cannot be recycled curbside. If you’re not recycling everything curbside that you can, start now.
Pride Disposal,
Waste Management
• Recycle plastic
Recycle plastics that can’t be recycled curbside at Far West Fibers.
http://www.farwestfibers.com/Locations/Beaverton.html. They accept plastics # 1 – 7 as well as their lids, clamshell like containers, food containers, straws, rigid plastics like patio chairs, kids play structures etc. If you have a question about what they accept they can help you when you go in.
• Recycle Styrofoam blocks
Styrofoam blocks can be recycled at Pacific Land Clearing and Recycling (No food related Styrofoam)
http://www.plcrecycling.com/
• Donate or purchase materials from Scrap - the School and Community Reuse Action Project. http://www.epa.gov/radon/pubs/citguide.html
• Collect plastic at your school or in your neighborhood.
• Collect used batteries at your school.
• Pick up litter in your neighborhood and recycle what you can.
• Use biodegradable “doggy do” bags.
• Recycle aluminum.
• Recycle plastics.
• Bring plastics that can’t be recycled curbside to St. Juan Diego the 2nd Sunday of each month or to Far West Fibers.
• Use cloth napkins.
• Use plastic containers for sandwiches instead of sandwich bags.
• After cutting up peppers, onions, fruit, etc., for salads and meals, use plastic containers to store the unused portions instead of plastic bags and saran wrap.
• Avoid snack size servings of chips, yogurt, etc. Buy the bigger sizes and dish out the proper serving size.
• Recycle your yarn for another project.
• Throwing away junk mail and unrequested catalogues? Cancel them.
• Sign up for online billing.
• Use evite instead of mailing invitations.
• View the EPA’s household waste management software. http://www.epa.gov/seahome/hwaste.html.
• Time showers. Use less water by taking shorter showers.
• Have turn-off valve on shower head to turn off shower during soaping
• Replace your showerhead
Old showerheads can use 4.5 gallons of water a minutes. Newer ones only use about 2.5 gallons.
• Fix dripping faucets and leaky toilets.
• Turn off water when brushing teeth or lathering hands.
• Buy low-water toilets when replacing toilets in your home.
• Place a plastic bottle filled with water in your toilet tank. You’ll use less water with each flush.
• Only run your dishwasher and washing machine when there’s a full load and use the energy-saving setting.
• Use non-phosphate dishwasher and washing machine detergent.
• Be mindful of how much water you really need.
Most people tend to boil twice the amount of water needed every time they put on a kettle.
• Choose loose
Next time you buy fruit and vegetables put them in your basket loose instead of automatically reaching for a plastic bag. If you really need one, keep it and re-use it the next time you shop.
• Recycle any plastic grocery bags, produce bags, etc. in your store if you have extras.
• Re-use paper or plastic bags that you get when shopping.
• Telecommute once or twice a week.
You can reduce your carbon emissions from driving to work by 20% to 40%.
• Bring your own cup when going out for a coffee break.
• If your office provides coffee or soda use your own cup instead of their paper one.
• Consider installing a quality water filter and replace your water cooler.
• Use inter-office envelopes.
• Bring your lunch and put it in a reusable container.
• Computers: enable energy saving modes; turn off your computer at night.
• Buy reconditioned computers when yours needs replacing.
• Tuck a couple of scrunchable cloth bags in your hand back or car and use them for other shopping errands.
• Take a day of rest—no shopping, no work, no driving—once a week.
• Donate a box of books to the library once a year.
