EARTH DAY à la Carte
Choose what’s right for you: there’s something for EVERYONE!
Bless our native plants with rain and sunshine – that new life may spring up, contributing to the interconnected natural cycle that supports all life on this Earth. May our new plants, our Oregon grape and our coffeeberry, be blessed and provide food for insects for hungry birds.
But ask the animals, and they will teach you; the birds of the air, and they will tell you; ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of every human being. Job 12:7-10
Bless us all that we may be truly at one with the integrity of all Creation. Strengthen us as inhabitants of your magnificent garden, our sacred Earth, to speak up when it is being abused and misused, to stand firm in our conviction to be faithful contributors to the health of our common home.
We pause to pay respect to the land on which we gather. Our church sits in an ancestral homeland of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, a sovereign people. Christian colonizers forced their ancestors into missions and seized their land. We grieve the loss of indigenous lives, the destruction of indigenous culture, and the commodification of indigenous land. God calls us to a right relationship with this land and its past, present, and future caretakers. May we live in solidarity with them and repair Creation with all.
“Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruit with colored flowers and herbs” – St. Francis
What do you do right now that you feel good about?
Many of you already take steps to help Creation:
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- Walk, bike, or bus instead of drive to curb climate change.
- Eat less meat and are mindful of the source to protect animals from abuse.
- Avoid toxins in the home.
- Think carefully about how much you travel by air.
- Grow and buy organic produce. Here is a purchasing guide.
- Avoid plastics and packaging.
- Plant native plants.
Tell us on this list what you already do. Also, tell the world! Sign up on the Episcopal Church’s website and put St. Francis’ on the map. As of now, our church is not listed since no one has signed up.
Join St. Francis’ Environmental Study Group
We are coming back as a group to talk about what we can do at St. Francis’ to follow our patron saint about Creation. Sign up here to join. We will work closely with California Interfaith Power & Light whose mission is “to be faithful stewards of Creation by responding to global warming through the promotion of energy conservation, energy efficiency and renewable energy. This ministry intends to protect the earth’s ecosystems, safeguard public health, and ensure sufficient, sustainable energy for all.” We are Christians. We are Easter people, and believe in hope, new life, and better life for all. May our actions reflect our beliefs.
Enjoy Nature!
Go ahead and enjoy the outdoors! Gardeners rejoice! Did you know that being in nature lowers your blood pressure, elevates your mood, and regulates your immune system? The microbes from native plants reduce your risk of chronic inflammatory disorders such as asthma, eczema, Crohn’s Disease, Type I diabetes, and multiple sclerosis. Phytoncytes which plants give off decrease our stress hormone cortisol. One of the bacteria in soil called mycobacterium vaccae raises our happiness hormone serotonin. Finally, bird watching, or simply basking in the wonder of nature, releases dopamine, the chemical in our body responsible for pleasure.
Compostable cutlery, plates, cups, and napkins
Let the vestry know that you approve of having the church kitchen stocked only with compostable cutlery, plates, cups, and napkins. In fact, anyone who uses the kitchen, even renters, would be required to use these products. World Centric gives a big discount to non-profit faith communities, as they are a “benefit corporation”. This may require a higher rental fee, but it will save the church money by not paying for trash disposal and save the planet.
Lead the leaders
SB 467
Dear Governor Newsom . . . sign this letter to promote Senate Bill 467 which would halt all new fracking permits in California and mandate 2,500 ft health-and-safety setbacks between fossil-fuel extraction and homes, schools, and other vulnerable sites.
Stop Line 3
Enbridge’s oil pipeline Line 3 in Minnesota, if completed, will release 193 million tons of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere every year, as much as the 12 largest power plants in the US combined! Line 3 would make more than 200 water crossings threatening clean water relied on by more than 15 million people.
Many First Nation Water Protectors and supporters in Minnesota are putting their bodies on the line to keep this from happening. Now is the time to pressure the banks financing this destructive project to stop!
Sign this petition. https://
OR
| Tell President Biden to Stop the Line 3 Pipeline! |
Our children and our grandchildren will look in our eyes and ask:
“Where were you when the stakes were so high?”
They will ask us, “What was it like?”
And we will tell them.
We will tell them, not just how we felt.
We will tell them what we did.
Kamala Harris, 2020 Democratic Convention
SPECIAL THANKS TO BEVERLY POPEK, TRISTAN POPEK, BUFFY FRANCISCO, CLAUDIA QUINN, COLBY ROBERTS, FR. ERIC METOYER, FRED DICK, JANET GIANNINI, KATHERINE MCKEE, KAYSEA RAY, LENA STRAYHORN, LISA NAPOLI, RANI FISCHER, AND CHAITRA & SANDEEP BHATKASHI