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INTENTION : |
We pray that we all will make courageous choices for a simple and environmentally sustainable lifestyle, rejoicing in our young people who are resolutely committed to this.
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Let us begin with our parishes.
Ten ways to green your parish
Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si' calls on all people and communities to care for our common home by taking action. "The effects of the present imbalance can only be reduced by our decisive action, here and now." (LS 161)
Parishes throughout the world are in a unique position to lead the way. There are more than 220,000 parishes across the globe. Most have multiple buildings and vehicles that contribute directly to the ecological crisis and climate emergency by using conventional fossil fuels for energy.
But many parishes around the world have found a way to operate their soul-saving businesses differently. They've switched to renewable energies, such as solar, wind, or geothermal, or made other life-giving changes.
Those changes have been better for our common home and better for the parishes' pocketbooks, as many have saved money by making such adjustments.
Here are ten inspiring steps parishes worldwide have already taken to care for creation and make their parish more sustainable.
1. Form a creation care team
Forming a creation care team, also known as a green team, can be a great way to incorporate caring for creation and working against the climate crisis into the everyday work of the parish.
It is good to identify environmental issues of concern in the parish, such as the climate crisis, droughts, environmental justice, or parish energy use
2. Eliminate energy waste
Perhaps the least expensive form of energy savings is our actions, such as turning off a light when leaving a room. It costs nothing.
Instead, what is required is to turn things down or off when they are not being used. Energy savings of as much as 10 per cent can be achieved simply through conscious and continuous efforts to use less energy.
3. Monitor your energy usage
The greatest energy savings benefits are achieved through directly monitoring energy use and reporting it transparently to the parish at large.
Energy use at parishes typically includes direct combustion of fuel for transportation; and electricity for lighting, refrigeration, communications, computers, and other electrical appliances.
These two types of energy use are usually easy to monitor because the cost of energy has to be paid monthly.
4. 'Lock in' energy savings step by step
It can be a challenge to help conserve energy, but low-cost devices, such as programmable thermostats and light and motion sensors, can help.
5. Commit to divesting from fossil fuels
For years, Catholic institutions, including parishes, dioceses, archdioceses, and religious orders, have made the prophetic decision to divest from fossil fuels.
In June 2020, the Vatican fully endorsed the decision to divest through its first-ever set of comprehensive environmental guidelines. The guidelines frame is investing in fossil fuels as an ethical choice, on par with other significant ethical choices.
The guidelines suggest that Catholic institutions' ethical commitments should lead to "taking care not to support companies that harm human or social ecology (for example, through abortion or the arms trade) or environmental ecology (for example, through the use of fossil fuels)."
Pope Francis also has strongly spoken out about the need to transition away from fossil fuels and for Catholic institutions to lead the way.
6. Transition to renewable energy
In the landmark 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, countries agreed that the transition away from fossil fuels should be nearly complete by 2050.
Hundreds of parishes and religious communities have already led the way by installing solar panels or relying more on wind or geothermal energy.
There has never been a better time to make the switch. Past economic barriers to renewable energy sources, such as higher costs to solar panels, have all but diminished as the price of solar has dropped drastically.
7. Inspire parishioners through dialogue
Laudato Si' creates a marvellous opportunity to start or continue conversations about caring for God's creation in parishes.
There are numerous ways parishes can help Catholics better understand Laudato Si', which reminds us that "everything is connected" and places millennia of Catholic teaching in the context of today's ecological crisis and climate emergency.
Among the ways:
- how we interpret the Scriptures,
- Celebrate creation through special liturgies, devotions, prayer services
- Educate members on the themes of Laudato Si'
- Promote lifestyle choices that are respectful of creation and compatible with a stable global climate
- Work towards social and environmental justice in solidarity with the poor
- Foster personal conversion and holiness, primarily through the virtues of temperance and prudence
8. Empower parishioners to take action
Thousands of parishioners around the world are leading the way in their churches. The parishioners on six continents have become Laudato Si' Animators, champions for Catholic action on climate change.
Passionate people from six continents come together during the course to learn about the root causes of the climate crisis and the core tenets of Laudato Si'. To finish the programme, they take action in their communities with a final project.
The air sensor not only informs parishioners of air pollution in the area; it also serves as a visible reminder that the Catholic Church views air pollution as a real problem affecting everyone's health and that it's something that needs to be solved.
9. Help spur ecological conversions
In Laudato Si', Pope Francis states the need for all of us to undergo an ecological conversion "whereby the effects of [our] encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in [our] relationship with the world around [us]." (LS 217)
As parishes and their leaders have done for centuries, they can help Catholics more deeply connect with our Creator through special liturgies and homilies, devotions such as Holy Hours and the Rosary, music and artwork, and a plethora of other ways, all of them held with the intention of helping parishioners understand the need to care for God's creation.
"This COVID-19 pandemic is allowing us to really look through and reflect on a lot of preconceptions that we are carrying, and that's [where] we're trying to lead our brothers and sisters, to that sense of ecological conversion."
10. Engage in faith-based advocacy
Laudato Si' calls for public pressure to bring about decisive political action by embracing these concepts:
- urgent need for a drastic reduction in green-house gas emissions
- need for enforceable international agreements
- greater responsibilities of high-emitting industrialised nations to provide solutions to the problems they have caused
Parishes are also encouraged to take part in local efforts that work against the ongoing climate crisis.
© 2018 Copyright
The Global Catholic Climate Movement Policy
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