The purpose of this blog is to be an archiving place for articles and additional information on our Sustainability Project. ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ The purpose of the Sustainability Project at St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Ann Arbor, is to educate parishioners on the effects of warming trends globally that have the greatest impact on the poorest among us and on future generations. ... our front page is at: www.stfrancisa2.com/sustainability
Friday, September 2, 2011
St. Francis Parish and School Blazing Trails for the Environment!
St. Francis Parish and School have been honored for a third four-year term as members of Community Partners for Clean Streams, a program of the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner's office to support and preserve our county's water resources; you may have noticed the "No Dumping, Drains to River" signs painted near parking lot drains. To retain our membership we went through an operational audit by the Commissioner's staff, and developed our own Environmental Policy Statement, approved unanimously by the Parish Finance Council in September, 2011; a copy of that statement follows.
As reported earlier this year, the Parish and School were again awarded a "Waste-Knot" Award for 2011, by Washtenaw County, Department of Planning and Environment, marking our twelfth consecutive year that we have been so honored! The award stated that our "waste reduction and reuse, recycling, use of recycled products, and education efforts are outstanding". A wide variety of items, including laser printer cartridges, pizza boxes, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, and wood pallets, are collected for recycling, and recycling containers are conveniently located throughout the School and Parish Office. Re-usable items that are no longer needed by the Parish or School are typically taken to the Re-Use Center of Recycle Ann Arbor, or offered to local social service agencies, and, during the growing season, organic waste is collected and delivered to the Drop Off Station located on Ellsworth Road. We are proud and pleased to continue to be among the leaders in our community in these important efforts.
This is from a Forum article published in September 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
St. Francis Parish Environmental Policy Statement
St. Francis of Assisi Parish
Environmental Policy Statement
Our patron Saint, St. Francis of Assisi, believed that nature itself was "the mirror of God." He preached the duty of all people "to protect and enjoy nature as both the stewards of God's creation and as creatures ourselves." Following the path of our patron, St. Francis of Assisi Parish (Church and School) recognizes that our daily operations impact the environment, and pledges to protect and improve the environment through best management practices wherever possible. St. Francis of Assisi Parish will work to integrate environmental considerations into our business decisions and to adopt environmentally-friendly alternatives throughout our operations wherever possible.
*Published Sept 2011 by St. Francis Finance Council
Our patron Saint, St. Francis of Assisi, believed that nature itself was "the mirror of God." He preached the duty of all people "to protect and enjoy nature as both the stewards of God's creation and as creatures ourselves." Following the path of our patron, St. Francis of Assisi Parish (Church and School) recognizes that our daily operations impact the environment, and pledges to protect and improve the environment through best management practices wherever possible. St. Francis of Assisi Parish will work to integrate environmental considerations into our business decisions and to adopt environmentally-friendly alternatives throughout our operations wherever possible.
*Published Sept 2011 by St. Francis Finance Council
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Links
Join Our St. Francis Parish Sustainability Project
Sign-up Here! Engage with and join in the efforts of our emerging Sustainability Team to care for God's creation, while connecting with others at St. Francis Parish.
Resources & Organizations With Whom We Affiliate
"Catholic Theological Foundations for addressing Climate Change" provided by Gary Koenigsknecht, our resident Seminarian, summer 2012, at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Parish, Ann Arbor.
"Catholic Theological Foundations for addressing Climate Change" provided by Gary Koenigsknecht, our resident Seminarian, summer 2012, at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Parish, Ann Arbor.
RECYCLE - Environmental Protection: Earth911.com Users can enter their location and the materials they want to recycle, and it provides a list of local places that will take the recycling. It also provides a map, fee information, and other helpful info.
Our St. Francis Efforts from our Peace & Justice
Catholic Social Teaching Applied - articles we have written --- Plus, other items we have written and blogged
- 2011-10-02 Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi - Part I, written by Dick Brown
- 2011-03-25 Catholic Social Teaching (CST) Challenge and Scripture document - by Kelly Gauthier
- 2010-09-19 Hunger and Care of Earth - 2nd article 2010-09-12 Hunger and Care of Earth - 1st article
- 2010-04-11 on PEACE
- 2010-03-01 on ENERGY EVALUATION and EFFICIENCY
- 2009-11-15 on Care for God's Creation.
- 2009-11-08 on who-are-the-poor?
- 2009-06-00 on Sustainable Technologies
- 2007 Advent Shopping - Seek Simplicity for Christmas
- 2003-04-20 on Environment.
- 2002-12-25 on Poverty
St. Francis Parish Sustainability Project
Beyond a reasonable doubt scientists have established that climate change is occurring, it's due to human causes, it poses significant risks to our well-being, and it can be addressed through changes in energy technologies, public policies and the actions of individuals. The Catholic Church accepts the science and takes the same position.
Here's what you can do:
1. Educate yourself. Go to the Sustainability page on the Parish website: stfrancisa2.com/sustainability
2. Join your fellow parishioners as we build a Sustainability Project here at St. Francis. Contact Scott Wright (734-821-2121).
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