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Environmental Conservation

 

 

At TPC we have been growing in our understanding of stewardship.  We are entrusted with gifts and the beauty of creation itself.  Part of our stewardship is financial and part is environmental.  We need to do a better job as a church family in stewarding our utilities.  Please remember to turn off lights when you leave a room or meeting.  If you see a light on, turn it off or let staff or session know it's on.  We now have timers on heating and air conditioning.  Don't let water run.  Recycle. We all need to do what we can to conserve energy.

 

Watch for future updates as we grow in our awareness of environmental conservation.

 

 

Green Task Force

 

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)

 

God’s creation is ours to care for.  With this in mind, earlier this year the session decided that Tustin Presbyterian Church should place a greater emphasis on environmental conservation.  To facilitate this intention, the session adopted five of six covenants designed by California Interfaith Power and Light (http://www.interfaithpower.org/covenant.htm):

 

  • Educate our congregants on energy production and usage in relation to global warming.

  • Conduct an energy audit of our buildings to identify sources of energy waste. 

  • Make energy efficiency improvements to our congregation’s buildings. 

  • Analyze, reduce, and offset our greenhouse gas emissions with the goal of becoming a     non-polluting congregation. 

  • Support public policies that contribute to our goals.

The session created the Green Task Force to find ways to reach these objectives.  The task force members are: Helen Anderson, Loretta Herter, Bernie Jeltema, Pam Roeth, and John Turner, with our pastor, Dr. Rebecca Prichard presiding.   

 

Because the Tustin Community Preschool uses TPC facilities, the task force was able to get a grant from the California Preschool Energy Efficiency Program.  With this grant, many improvements have been made at our church.  The main air conditioning units have been checked and adjusted so they run in a more energy-efficient way.  About 150 incandescent lights were replaced with fluorescent bulbs.  The ballasts and fluorescent tubes of 214 lights have been changed to a new type that is about 40% more efficient and lasts longer.  Motion sensors were installed in bathrooms and the office Xerox room, so that lights turn off when a room is not in use.  The grant covers 80% of the cost for this work, and we expect to recoup our 20% of the cost in less than a year with lowered electric bills.

 

Also, the task force placed baskets in the narthex in which to deposit used Bulletins for recycling.  “Green Tips” have begun to appear in the Bulletin and the Parish Press.  New recycling bins have been placed in our facilities.   The task force is looking for ways to minimize the use of plastic plates and avoid Styrofoam materials at church events, and we’ve discussed ideas to reduce waste in the Church office. 

 

If anyone has suggestions or ideas to reduce waste or further our conservation goals, please contact someone on the Green Task Force.   Thank you.

 

 

Enjoy Organic Produce from CSA

 

In 2006 the U. N. Food and Agriculture Organization reported that the meat industry contributes more greenhouse gas emissions than all forms of transportation combined.  Cows constantly produce methane.  According to National Geographic's "State of the Earth 2010": "Livestock grazing occupies fully a quarter of the planet's land surface, eroding soil and displacing wildlife.  Grain-fed animals consume thousands of gallons of water and produce an equal amount of waste for every pound of meat produced." Farm waste leads to air, water and soil pollution.

 

Eating veggie one day a week is something individuals can do to support our planet without waiting for governments to enact new policies.  To this end, Sir Paul McCartney has launched "Meat Free Monday" in the UK.  And as mentioned in our previous Green Task Force article, “Meatless Monday” is a new movement afoot here in the U.S. Please go to www.meatlessmonday.com for more information.

 

For those at TPC who might like to try eating veggie one day a week, or who would simply like to have freshly picked, organically grown produce, Tanaka Farms in Irvine is introducing a new SMALL veggie/fruit combo box for $18.  It will include two kinds of fruit, and three to four types of veggies, such as broccoli, carrots, onion, lettuce.  If you’ve been hesitant to buy the big boxes, you may now obtain farm-fresh produce in a smaller quantity.  The original large boxes, and the fruit only box, will still be available for $25 each.

 

We take orders on the first Sunday of each month at the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) table in the Courtyard. Orders must be paid for in advance.  Tanaka Farms delivers the pre-ordered boxes to TPC every Sunday for customers to pick up after church.  The next orders will be taken on August 1.

 

 

Green Tip: Double Do-Good Recycling

 

 

Recycling for a cause is doubly beneficial — for the planet and as charitable donations. Here are some places you can recycle things you no longer need (source: Vegetarian Times, April 2010 issue):

 

BICYCLES:  Why let a bike rust away in your garage when a kid could be riding it?  The International Bicycle Fund (ibike.org) offers a directory of youth bicycle recycling programs.

 

BOOKS:  Check out AdoptALibrary.org for a list of libraries and organizations that accept donations.  Southern California-based Bookends (bookends.org) accepts children’s books for Los Angeles-area schools.  Books for Africa (booksforafrica.org) sends books to kids in Africa and The Global Book Exchange (bookexchange.marin.org) ships them all over the world.

 

CAMERAS:  The New Orleans Kid Camera Project (kidcameraproject.org) collects digital cameras and video equipment to help kids in New Orleans recover from the emotional impact of Hurricane Katrina through photography-oriented art therapy. 

 

CARS:  Hundreds of charities accept used cars to sell at auction.  Donate Car USA’s website (donatecarusa.com) lists many of those by state.

 

CDs:  Send unwanted CDs and DVDs to DiscsForDogs.org, which will resell them and give all the proceeds to the Erie County, N.Y. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to care for stray cats and dogs.

 

DRESSES:  Why keep an old prom dress you may never wear again when you can donate it to make a girl in need feel special?  DonateMyDress.org is a comprehensive site that lists dress-donation centers by state.

 

MP3 PLAYERS:  Recycle for Breast Cancer (recycleforbreastcancer.org) will take your MP3 player, as well as electronics, appliances, and furniture.  Prepaid shipping labels are available for many of the items, and proceeds from the recycling go to fight breast cancer.

 

 

The Green Bible

 

You may have heard of this New Revised Standard Version printed with environmentally friendly soy-based ink on paper with 10% post-consumer content.  Its cover is made of all-natural 100% cotton/linen.  Most important is that THE GREEN BIBLE highlights in green ink the scriptures that speak directly to how we should think and act as we confront the environmental problems facing our planet.  Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote the Foreward to THE GREEN BIBLE.  Here is an excerpt:

 

"We're made to live in a delicate network of interdependence, for we are made for complementarity.  I have gifts you don't have.  And you have gifts that I don't have.  Thus we are made different so that we can know our need of one another.  And this is a fundamental law of our being.

 

"All kinds of things go horribly wrong when we flout this law — when we don't ensure that God's children everywhere have a supply of clean water, a safe environment, a decent home, a full stomach.  We could do that if we remembered that we are created to be members of one family, the human family, God's family.

 

"We must act now and wake up to our moral obligations.  The poor and vulnerable are members of God's family and are the most severely affected by droughts, high temperatures, the flooding of coastal cities, and more severe and unpredictable weather events resulting from climate change.  We, who should have been responsible stewards preserving our vulnerable, fragile planet home, have been wantonly wasteful through our reckless consumerism, devouring irreplaceable natural resources.  We need to be accountable to God's family.  Once we start living in a way that is people-friendly to all of God's family, we will also be environment-friendly."

 

 

 

Recycling in the Kitchen Area

 

We have new, wheeled, recycling bins provided by CR&R, our Tustin trash service.  Anyone using the kitchen is asked to separate recyclable from waste items.  Look for the colored sign taped to each bin  for a list of items that can be disposed of  in that  bin.  Please note also the black boxes labeled for “cash redemption (CRV) cans & bottles only”.  These will be picked up by our recycling partner, Sean, from Foothill Continuation School.

 

All other waste, such as food, food stained paper items, used paper hand towels, waxy cardboard, dishware, cellophane wrappers, non numbered plastics, etc., go into the current black trash bins for placement in the dumpster.  The goal:  to decrease waste, and increase recyclables.  A big thank you to those who are already following these new guidelines in the TPC Kitchen!

 

 

Ringing 350 for Creation

 

On Saturday, October 24, 2010, Tustin Presbyterian Church participated in the International Day of Climate Action organized by www.350.org. The number 350 stands for 350 parts per million, which many scientists and national governments are saying is the safe upper limit for CO2 in our atmosphere. At present, earth’s atmosphere contains 390 ppm of carbon, and it’s rising. Already glaciers, a source of drinking water for hundreds of millions of people, are disappearing. Drought is becoming more common and sea levels are rising.  An article in the August 3, 2009 issue of Newsweek states, “The loss of Arctic sea ice ‘is well ahead of’ what the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change forecast, largely because emissions of carbon dioxide have topped what the panel projected.” Scientists now believe the Arctic may be ice free in the summer by as early as 2011. For more information, please go to www.350.org.

 

What can we do? That’s what Ringing 350 for Creation is all about. We participated in an international event to bring awareness that each of us must reduce our carbon footprint to help lower the atmosphere’s CO2 level to a safe 350 ppm. The timing is advantageous: October 24 came six weeks before crucial UN meetings in Copenhagen, where representatives from every nation will finalize a new global climate change agreement. People from more than 1,000 communities in more than 100 nations took part in creative activities, such as children planting 350 trees in Bangladesh, and 350 scuba divers diving at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

 

What activities did our Ringing 350 for Creation offer? Our pastor, the Rev. Dr. Rebecca Prichard, wrote a “Caring for Creation” liturgy with help from the Rev. David Dolan.  The liturgy includes brief scripture readings, responsive readings, and some singing, all interspersed with the ringing of bells — a total of 350 rings.  The program took place outdoors near the Deodar Cedar Tree in front of the sanctuary.  At the service, drought-resistant plant seedlings and little bird feeders made of seed were given away.  A potted tree will be donated to the City of Tustin and planted in Peppertree Park on November 1.

 

Others are welcome to use the liturgy that was followed here in Tustin.  The version of the liturgy attached is the one that would be used by the participants.  A version for the leaders and a more detailed script are also available.  Editable copies of all versions are available on request.  For more information, please contact Rebecca Prichard at pastor@tustinpresbyterian.org.

 

The following are some pictures from the Ringing 350 for Creation event at Tustin Presbyterian Church:

 

 

 

 

The following are pictures from the planting of the Deodar cedar tree in Peppertree Park on November 1, 2009:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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225 West Main Street, Tustin, CA 92780-4319  (714)544-7070  www.tustinpresbyterian.org