Want to learn about small changes you can make to help safeguard the environment? Come to Our Mother of Consolation Catholic Church in Chestnut Hill for a Sustainability Fair on Oct. 2.
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Want to learn about small changes you can make to help safeguard the environment? Come to Our Mother of Consolation Catholic Church in Chestnut Hill for a Sustainability Fair on Sunday, Oct. 2.
The free event, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., will feature eco-friendly giveaways from local organizations, including Weavers Way Co-op, The Rounds zero-waste refill and delivery service, Back to Earth Compost Crew, Philly Seed Pods, Rabbit Recycling and PosiGen Solar.
Local organizers were inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si, otherwise known as the Global Catholic Climate Movement, said Kit McGovern, a member of the Church’s Climate Ministry.
“Our individual actions can accumulate and have an effect world wide,” McGovern said, adding that this is their first such event.
The idea, she said, is to introduce the community to small ways of making big change.
Does composting sound too time consuming and complicated? Back to Earth Compost Crew will pick up your compost and return rich soil to your doorstep. Need something organic in a hurry? The Rounds makes bicycle deliveries of organic products in reusable containers.
For the event, organizers are requesting that fair-goers bring used men’s large-size T-shirts and pillowcases which the church will repurposed into grocery bags for the congregation’s food distribution program.
The Church’s Climate Ministry is a grassroots organization and every member contributed to the Fair’s success, including Chestnut Hill resident Barbara Sheehan.
Sheehan volunteered her public relations skills, creating press releases and social media. “Whatever I can do to help,” Sheehan said.
“We are part of nature, part of the environment and we know that the people who are most harmed by climate change are the people who can least afford to adapt to it,” said Donna Foley, a healthcare chaplain with the Sisters of Saint Joseph and chairman of the fair.
Headlines echo Foley’s concerns: the hurricane devastating Puerto Rico, fires on the West Coast, floods in Pakistan.
“Our hope for our little corner of Chestnut Hill is that people will begin to see sustainability as part of their daily lives,” Foley said. “We’re inviting our neighbors to think about how they get energy for their house and how we can recycle more.
“We can work across traditions,” Foley added. “Every faith has a relation to nature, even those who are secular.”
Bring the kids. Bring your curiosity. And bring a friend.
Our Mother of Consolation Catholic Church is at 9 East Chestnut Hill Ave.
