Our Lady of Good Counsel Green Church Committee

Minutes for March 22 meeting

In attendance: Bishop Tom, Father Paul, Karen, Wanda, Salvatore, Katie

Regrets: Chris, Suzanne, John, Betty, Rose Marie

To begin, Father Paul lead us in prayer in reflection of World Water day and we each took turns reading a portion of the prayer service that was provided. There was time for quiet reflection to ponder “How might my daily actions reflect a greater consciousness of the vital role that clean water plays with creation?” Bishop Tom brought to light some of the issues we were unaware of in the Serpent River community, just 2 hours away from here, and their problems with quality drinking water from the river running through the town.

Next Father Paul went over when and how the group was started and who the founding members were: Rose Marie, Brian Hayes, Father Paul, and wondered who else and went over the mission statement for the Bishop.

We talked about things the church has implemented such as changing out the light bulbs for LED, collecting batteries, and that other things we have done can be found on the website. We have shared green initiatives with other parishes, and Rose Marie sent to other parishes from the CWL. Hosted a talk with Peter McLarty and more recently with Emily Cormier from the environmental sustainability dept, and John ??? from GFL about recycling. Members have also taken pledges to be environmentally friendly through the adopt a highway program, soon to be exchanged for adopting a street due to aging members and difficulties navigating the stretch of highway we have. Other things we have done as a group:

-Carrot planters for confirmation group – fun but not a lot of success with carrots growing. Perhaps an easier vegetable next time?

-using fans instead of air conditioning when possible in the church

-only using rooms the size necessary for the meeting

-including green tips of the month in the bulletin which Rose Marie has been wonderful at finding and submitting for us

-collecting hazardous waste

-pill bottles being collected for recycling and shipped to Matthew 25 in Ohio which uses them to ship medical supplies overseas

-the clothing swap which people donated clothing to rather than bring to a landfill, and were able to take clothing for free instead of buying new at a store. Leftovers were donated to Helping Hands.

Then we each went around the table and talked about how and when those in attendance had joined. Salvatore was relatively new in town and saw it mentioned in the bulletin and decided to see what it was about. He enjoys it and finds it reflective of his values so has continues to come; Katie began not long after and is enjoying the comradery and the good that the group does; Karen and Wanda both joined during a highway cleaning event and have stayed.

Green church initiative:

Bishop Tom talked about possible greening of buildings by using solar energy and heat pumps. It was mentioned that solar has gone down in price so is not as out of reach as it may have been. It won’t save money but will make a statement in the community. Geo thermal in the parking lot was also brought up because of the size of the parking lot being suitable. It would recoup a lot of heating costs. Green church initiatives should be about Environmental Stewardship. Jesus talks about the good steward – care for the common good is good for the common community.

Father Paul asked if there was anything the Bishop could recommend or say, and his reply was that we should develop our own expertise in the church community. He also talked about Pope Francis and Human Ecology and that environmentalists see humas as a pestilence. Is the world better without humans? NO. God loves us. The Garden of Eden had growth, and then had the intervention of the gardener who draws reserves from the environment and put it back in the form of waste. We all have the tools we need to love out neighbour. Bishop Tom frequently during Lent will not eat meat – difficulty right now because of travel, but typically would only eat meat if it were hunted because it is more ecologically friendly than mass farmed animals for meat.

He talked about how Sturgeon Falls was the #1 source of caviar but was then overfished. Sturgeon have died out and the industry died. Our extraction “killed the goose that laid the golden egg”.

One thing we can do is to reduce and control consumption patterns. Look at how what we consume affects the environment. Eat local when possible. The earth can regenerate, no problem. It can and it will, but this is about the people. The impact on livelihood is key. Environmental justice will do more than just keeping it pretty. Poor societies pollute more. Poor is more a focus on just getting the family fed and less on the environment. Wealthy people have the means to look after the environment and eat more sustainably.

Climate change is due to energy. Nuclear power is lower pollution. What can we do to educate? Themes. Concrete actions. Be greener, not to be trendy but to lead by example. Become local entrepreneurs. We as a while focus too much on vanity. Simplify when possible. Purchase from Mennonites.

We could put a greenhouse on the parish grounds. As a group we could connect with first nations environmental networks. Can help to make the connection with the cycles of nature. If you disrupt patterns you disrupt whole cultures. Pope Francis hates Ideological Colonialism.

The Irish potato famine was a disruption of the economy. Potatoes are originally from Peru. Good soil is needed for wheat. Poor farmers with worse soil could easily grow potatoes. So this famine was caused by injustice not fungus, to keep farmers poor. Irish were allowed to enter ecology and interact with the environment by being Protestant.

As a group we should not fall under the trap of being environmental activists. We need to keep a Christian focus. Overpopulation is only a problem if poor.

It was brought up, to clarify with the Bishop: If the green church committee were to apply to the city for a grant, he understood that the money would not stay with the parish? No this is not the case. A trust can be set up that the dioces applies for on behalf of the parish.

We need to unleash the entrepreneurial spirit, and become empowered to solve our own problems. Things are structures so the buck stops with the Bishop. We need a shift so he is at the bottom working up. The Bishop supports the church, who supports families, who support the community. Working from the top down, is command and control. From the bottom is, only works with common vision not micromanagement. We are empowered!