Care of the Earth and all of Creation are deeply held values of our Sisters, so we invite you to join us and “reduce, reuse, recycle, and repurpose” the natural resources entrusted to us by our loving Creator God. Our newly formed Sustainability Committee, comprised of Sisters and Motherhouse staff, has goals to reduce waste, energy consumption, and greenhouse gas production throughout our community, and wants to share some actions we’ve taken that you might also try at home or work:
- Posting colorful signs below light switches in the Motherhouse as cheerful reminders to turn off lights when rooms are not in use
- Placing recycling containers in the guest rooms at the Motherhouse
- Developing worksheets for Sisters and staff to use at home to track water, heat, and electricity use
Educating ourselves and others about how easy it is to both waste – and save! – large quantities of water (Did you know that a faucet that drips just once per minute can waste up to 2,700 gallons of water per year?) - Using cloth, rather than paper napkins in our dining room
- Providing reusable, rather than disposable cups on our volunteer work days
- Reusing bottles, rags, and bags when appropriate
- Offering reusable straws as gifts at our annual Faith.Field.Feast farm-to-table dinner, and serving meals on compostable bamboo plates
- Providing self-serve water and coffee stations at events rather than pitchers and carafes on tables, and as a result, reducing the amount of coffee and water used by half
- Phasing out plastic products used at special functions and replacing them with paper products that will eventually decompose
During this spring and summer, our Committee will focus on water conservation. We hope you’ll follow our new #SustainableSaturday series of posts on Facebook and Instagram and learn about simple changes you can make in your home, workplace, and community to become a better steward of God’s wondrous Creation. Read more about why we believe it’s important to care for God’s Creation.