Episcopalians join 10/10/10 global work parties
Episcopal News Service. October 6, 2010 [100610-01]
Lynette Wilson
Flooding in Pakistan, record rainfall in Latin America, the Deep Water Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a dead climate bill in the U.S. Senate -- severe storms and environmental disasters have dominated headlines this year.
On Oct. 10 -- 10/10/10 -- millions of people, including Episcopalians, will take actions, large and small, to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and combat climate change by joining a Global Work Party.
Organized by 350.org in partnership with hundreds of organizations worldwide, 10/10/10 is poised to become the largest-ever day of carbon cutting action in history, with more than 6,600 events planned in 188, according to 350.org's website.
"Participation in 10/10/10 connects us to people across the globe," Michael Schut, the Episcopal Church's economic and environmental affairs officer, told ENS. "It's empowering, too, to do something physical to express concern about climate change.
"It helps build community, it draws attention to the need to reduce carbon emissions and it sends a message to leaders around the globe that citizens are taking action … our leaders need to establish policies that will actually set specific emission reduction targets."
An international organization that's focused on building a movement to unite the world around solutions to the climate crisis, according to its website, 350.org seeks to create "a new sense of urgency and of possibility for our planet." The number 350 represents 350 parts per million CO2, or the safe upper limit of CO2 in the atmosphere agreed upon by some scientists, climate experts and governments. The current level of CO2 in the atmosphere is 390 ppm.
In an effort to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, Trinity Cathedral, in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, encouraged its parishioners to take part in a "coal challenge" aimed at keeping 7 million pounds of "dirty coal" out of the atmosphere, said Richard Horton, chair of Trinity's Green Team, in a telephone interview.
Sponsored by Repower at Home, participants Oct. 6 had reduced their usage by 6.8 million pounds of coal toward their Oct. 10 deadline of 7 million.
"Coal fire power plants are the single largest source of carbon; if we can get our 1,000 members to cut emission we'll have made a major impact," Horton said, adding that even in Ohio, one of the United State's largest coal producers, parishioners recognize the need to conserve energy and reduce emissions from coal-fired power plants.
Popular actions that reduce the amount of household energy used include using the cold wash cycle for laundry, setting the computer on an automatic sleep cycle and switching from incandescent to compact florescent light bulbs, according to Repower at Home.
On Oct. 10, Trinity's Green Team plans to offer tours of the cathedral -- one of the greenest buildings in Cleveland -- and to offer 60-watt equivalent compact florescent light bulbs in exchange for incandescent bulbs that visitors wish to replace, Horton said.
At the Community of the Holy Spirit's Bluestone Farm in Brewster, New York, visitors can expect an overview of life on the farm; to rake leaves to be used as mulch in the 1-acre garden where the sisters grow everything from fruit trees to cabbage, garlic, carrots, onions and potatoes; and to help with food preservation by slicing and drying husk cherries, said Erin Martineau, one of the sisters' resident companions.
Rather than host a work party that requires physical labor, St. Nicholas Episcopal Church in Richfield, Minnesota, decided to ask its congregation of about 130 members, mostly senior citizens, to write letters to elected officials demanding action on climate legislation.
"It's an older congregation and we thought to get people out to do something might be difficult, so we thought we could write letters … Dear Amy [Sen. Klobuchar] or Dear Al [Sen. Franken]," said Terry Houle, a vestry member, in a telephone interview.
St. Paul's Cathedral in San Diego, California, started its 10/10/10 work party early by participating in a Sept. 25 "I Love a Clean San Diego" event, clearing weeds and removing litter in Balboa Park, said Grace Van Thillo, co-convenor of St. Paul's Simpler Living ministry.
On 10/10/10, parishioners will take part in a work party called "Zero Carbon Gardening–Composting for Peace," at the Friend's Center Peace Garden in San Diego, where they'll help to harvest fruit from trees and donate it to organizations that feed the homeless; share in a vegetarian pot-luck lunch, and be invited to take two free classes, one on zero carbon gardening and one on composting.
Participating in 10/10/10 is a "natural outgrowth" of the kinds of things the cathedral's Simpler Living ministry engages in, including Godly Play environmental education-related teachings year-round, said Van Thillo, in a telephone interview.
Grace Episcopal Church in Amherst, Massachusetts, is planning a two-part event to celebrate the Global Work Party. During coffee hour after the 10:30 a.m. service on 10/10/10, they will screen "The Story of Stuff," a 20 minute animated film that portrays the hidden environmental cost, from manufacture to disposal, of buying stuff. After the film, they will discuss consumerism -- its allure, costs and false promises.
And later, parishioners will join with other Amherst residents to clean up Puffer's Pond, a popular recreation area.
"Because of the unusually hot, dry summer, the pond is way down and full of tree limbs, and the trail is a mess. It's a symbol of the kind of drought expected with climate change," said the Rev. Margaret Bullitt Jonas, Grace's priest associate, adding that part of the purpose of the clean up is to show people the kind of impact they can have and send a message to people in power.
On Oct. 18 Grace plans to organize a work party to increase the parish's energy efficiency, including insulating water pipes and weather-stripping windows, in compliance with the recommendations of an energy audit previously conducted by a local firm.
"There's a good consciousness in the parish about energy efficiency, addressing climate change and saving money," said Bullitt Jonas in a telephone interview, adding that 10/10/10 provided the momentum to carry out the audit's recommendations.
Faith communities have worked closely with 350.org, and its founder Bill McKibben, an author, environmentalist and Methodist, since its beginnings as a rally in 2007. And the Episcopal Church has made priorities of climate change, economic and environmental justice, and renewable energy by passing a number of environment-related resolutions, most recently at the 2009 General Convention in Anaheim, California.
On Oct. 5, the Episcopal Church announced a partnership with GreenFaith, a national religious environmental group, to assist churches' efforts to reduce their carbon footprints.
"Participation is simply a continuation and extension of actions and policies the church has already taken. For example, General Convention has passed policies in support of strong carbon emission targets; they endorsed the Genesis Covenant, a commitment on the part of Episcopal institutions to reduce energy use by 50 percent over 10 years; they have passed resolutions expressing that climate change is underway and we have a responsibility to care for all creation," Schut said. "And we have actually measured our own carbon footprint and are making plans for how to reduce that footprint."