As I mentioned last week, Pope Francis and leaders of other churches throughout the world, have declared the time between September 1 and October 4 as the Season of Creation. This year, Pope Francis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, and Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, issued a historic joint statement which calls on all Christians and their communities to address the “unprecedented threat of climate change and environmental degradation.”
To help us in addressing climate change, I thought I would suggest a theme for each week during the season. Last week, I urged you to pray for creation and consider signing petitions for our leaders urging bold action ahead of the important UN meetings on the climate scheduled for this fall. If you haven’t signed yet, please read my prior article at tinyurl.com/laudato-si-in-action.
Season of Creation 2021 Calendar of Events at St John the Evangelist
The Saint Francis of Assisi ministry at St John’s is very excited to share with you our 2021 Season of Creation Calendar. All events are open to all. More details will be shared as they become available.
- Tue, Sept 21 at 7pm former King 5 weather forecaster Jeff Renner will be hosting a live virtual presentation for us entitled “Climate Change and Faith-Care for our Common Home”. Jeff is an Emmy-award winning science journalist and meteorologist and has participated in climate discussions at the White House, the Vatican, the Swiss High Altitude Observatory and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. In addition, Jeff humbly leads his Care for Creation team at Mary, Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Sammamish. Read more info and RSVP at tinyurl.com/jeff-renner-soc
- Wed, Sept 22 at 7pm: Season of Creation Rosary at St John’s church.
- Fri, Oct 1 at 7pm: Stations of Creation at St John’s church.
- Sun, Oct 3 at Noon: Blessing of the Animals at St John’s school yard. Led by Father Crispin.
For this week, the theme will be using less energy. I suggest you take an audit of your energy usage, both at home and when travelling outside your home. First, in your home, are you cooling your home unnecessarily during hot weather? Opening windows and using fans and heat pumps instead of inefficient air conditioning is always a good way to reduce your energy consumption when it’s hot. When it’s colder, you might consider putting on a sweater or a blanket rather than turning the thermostat up. Everytime you can pause and ask yourself “does the heat really need to be on”, is a win for the climate.
And if you are like us and live in an old drafty house with an older model gas-powered furnace, and you can afford it, maybe it’s time to think about getting a home energy audit. We just got an audit and are now working with vendors to add insulation and replace our furnace with an electric heat pump.
What about your energy usage outside your home? First of all, batching up trips in your car is always an energy saver. That is, instead of separate trips to the grocery store, hardware store, bank, and pharmacy, maybe you can hit them all on one trip. Better still, can you walk, ride your bike, take the bus, or share a ride with a family member or friend?
And when it’s time to replace your car, why not consider an electric car, or if that’s not possible a hybrid? Can’t afford a new electric/hybrid? How about buying a used Nissan Leaf or Toyota Prius, both which are very affordable these days?
We have assembled a great calendar of events for this year’s Season of Creation, including a special virtual event featuring nine-time Emmy winning meteorologist Jeff Renner. See the calendar earlier in this post.
Working together, we can help take care of our common home.
Paul Litwin
Saint Francis of Assisi at St John the Evangelist 