As of February 2024, our church was certified by the Presbytery as an Earth Care Congregation. This required the Earth Care Team, made up of Karin Bennett, Alison Binder, Coleen Smith, Amy Taylor and Marilynn Pysher, to take actions and record activities in the areas of Worship, Education, Facilities and Outreach. A 13 page application was then completed and submitted to the Presbytery with points earned for the activities in each of the four areas. Work is ongoing as the church must be re-certified yearly to retain Earth Care status.

Among other things: Eco Tips are put in the bulletin regularly, speakers are brought in periodically, and a bulletin board has been put up in Fellowship Hall where all can share Earth Care ideas and information.

If we as Christians can't be better stewards of this beautiful earth, who can? We encourage all to do everything possible to follow good Earth Care practices at all times. We owe it to ourselves, our loved ones, our community, our planet, and our God.

ECO TIPS FOR OCTOBER

Use as much of that pumpkin as possible!

During the Halloween and Thanksgiving season, billions of people massively buy this fruit. If you’re going to buy pumpkins, buy them organic when possible.

1.3 billion pounds of pumpkin get tossed out and rot in America’s landfills.

40% of consumers buy fresh pumpkins to hollow out and carve, but 60% of those don’t use the flesh, which contributes to the approximately 63.1 million tons of food waste generated annually in the U.S.

Use the flesh to cook some yummy, healthy recipes.

Bake the seeds for a few minutes in the oven to eat as a snack.

Once the season is over, instead of throwing the pumpkin or its rind away, compost it. When left to decompose in a landfill, pumpkins will produce methane gas, a greenhouse gas with much higher destructive properties than carbon dioxide.

Avoiding food waste is a part of embracing a more conscious lifestyle.