BULLETIN BLURBS WITH GREEN IDEAS

Area Catholics are full of ideas for "going green." For instance, in the bulletin for St. Thomas the Apostle parish in Delmar, Jeanne Schrempf, retired head of the former diocesan Office of Evangelization, Catechesis and Family Life (now the Office of Catholic Faith Formation), writes:

"In the third chapter of 'Laudato Si',' Pope Francis reminds us that 'neglecting to monitor the harm done to nature and the environmental impact of our decisions is the most striking sign of a disregard for the message contained in the structures of nature itself. When we fail to acknowledge as part of reality the worth of a poor person, a human embryo, a person with disabilities - to offer just a few examples - it becomes difficult to hear the cry of nature itself; everything is connected. Once the human being declares independence from reality and behaves with absolute dominion, the very foundations of our life begin to crumble.'

"For all parishioners and families:

• Be conscious of the needs of our food pantries and special collections during the summer. Many are providing breakfast and lunches for children who might normally receive these meals during school days, but not in the summer months.

• Follow the story of our pastor's visit to our sister parish in Mexico and learn of ways we can be in solidarity with it.

• Follow the development plans for greater use of the Hudson shoreline in the Town of Bethlehem and consider being active in this initiative."

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Barbara DiTommaso, retired director of the diocesan Commission on Peace and Justice, offers a reflection in the parish bulletin for St. Vincent de Paul Church, Albany:

"At one time, merchandise in many stores was organized and displayed on horizontal counters, with a sales clerk nearby to help customers. In order to increase profits by hiring fewer workers and to pack more goods into a given amount of space, vertical displays as we know them today replaced the counters. This necessitated more packaging to hang and display products.

"Today, packaging is a major source of trash. Resources of plastic and paper intended to be used only once will outlast our lifetimes in a landfill. Their manufacture uses fossil fuel and trees, thereby releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and contributing to climate change.

"In a homily, Father [Leo] O'Brien, [now-retired pastor,] once asked us to see this as a reflection of ourselves as consumers and waste-producers. He said that we're used to throwing things away, but there is no more 'away.' Away is here.

"Our common home -- this living, miraculous, fragile planet -- has limits. Once we saw that first photo of Earth from space, we have been called to stewardship of this finite globe.

"When you're shopping, along with considerations of price and quality, try letting packaging be a factor in your decision whether to purchase an item or not:

• Rather than individually packaged fruit or desserts for lunches, choose the family size and repack it for work or school in reusable containers.

• If possible, choose a product whose packaging can be reused or composted.

• You might keep a few plastic containers of various sizes in a bag in the car and take the bag with you into restaurants so styrofoam containers won't be needed for leftovers.

"Our small, daily choices make a difference -- first of all, in ourselves, when we question what the culture presents as the only way to do something; and in the lives of people whose share of the Eatrh's resources will never reach them if others use and waste more than their fair share."[[In-content Ad]]