Blog Action Day

I registered my personal blog with this action and realized I have a bit to say about the church and the environment as well. The Green Bible is a great resource to get you started on a journey into what it means to be faithful stewards of our planet. It saddens me what little changes can be made in churches, that could go a long way in taking care of this world God gave to us. We've been entrusted by God to take care of God's creation. How often, though, do we consumes hundreds of styrofoam cups of coffee on a Sunday Morning? How many plastic boxes of cookies? As I sit here the lights are still on in a completely empty fellowship hall. How many bulletins and inserts are printed and promptly thrown away? So, my challenge to the litugically minded is to take a look at the service you partake or prepare. Could you provide reusable mugs and set up a system - or just one with a giving heart- of folks to wash them after the service? Encourage folks to bring their own mug? At one church I served we gave away travel mugs w/the church logo during our stewardship campaign and then to 1st time guests. We encouraged folks to bring them back on Sunday for their coffee. It not only reduced spills, but we didn't buy so many throwaway cups (this way the trustees and the finance committee like you more). [Are you using fair-trade coffee? not a climate issue, but a justice issue] Does every single body need a bulletin? Is there a reason to take the bulletin home- is it good for more then an hour? What if you didn't print a bulletin at all? Or just enough for guests?