Environmental Guild
Recycling can be seen as another way to care for God’s creation. No doubt you have heard many times that making a conscious effort to reduce, reuse, and recycle our resources is good for the environment, but it is important to remember that these same efforts benefit people as well. With a little extra effort we can leave the world a better place for those who come after us while we continue to serve those around us.
To me, the example of Christ tells us that no good can come without sacrifice, and while we cannot hope to match the good He has done through His sacrifice, there are ways we can change how we live to improve our stewardship of the world’s resources.
The Environmental Guild is working to suggest ways, beyond just recycling, to balance the needs of the St. David’s community of today as well as tomorrow. We hope that some of these suggestions may even help lower the demands on the church’s operating budget by minimizing the need to buy disposable goods and by lowering our use of water. Look for our posters around the church describing how you can contribute to this effort to extend stewardship to all of God’s creation now and in the future.
One such suggestion is for the increased use of reusable items to replace paper and Styrofoam cups, plates, and bowls. Many coffee drinkers are used to bringing their favorite commuter mug to work, why not bring it to church as well? Or use a ceramic mug from Café Divine? Yes, this does increase the need for water to clean the mugs, plates, and bowls, but there is plenty of energy and water used to produce disposable items as well. Let’s not forget that a reduced demand on our municipal landfills can save taxpayer dollars as well as our local environment.
In the end, good stewardship of resources is about caring for God’s gift of creation, and working together, there is much that the St. David’s community can accomplish.
