Going Green for Lent – Some Resources
There is an abundant sense of place to this State we call home. From the mountains to the sea, with woods and lakes interspersed, people pull together to maintain and protect their corners of the state. In our earlier post about small steps to care for our common home, we covered everyday things we can all do, combined with others make a positive impact for our environment – God’s creation.
In this post, we want to provide some resources to help us jumpstart our collective efforts. Some listed will be familiar, no doubt. Others may spark some new action. Let’s go!
Meet your farmers at the Portland Winter Farmers Market on Saturdays from 9am-1pm, at our neighbors on 631 Stevens Ave right in the Stevens Square Community Center. SNAP is welcomed; purchases are matched 50%! The Market Info Booth will give you more details. Learn more at https://bit.ly/PtldFarmersMarket
On Sundays from 10-2 South Portland hosts their Farmers Market. In the winter, they are in the old Hamlin School Gym at the City’s planning and development building. From May to October you’ll find them at 496 Ocean Street (in Mill Creek area),
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Repurpose!
Clean out your wardrobe. Donate items you haven’t worn in a long time; you’ll reduce waste and provide stability for our neighbors through our local nonprofit Goodwill Northern New England .
Maine Needs has a variety of opportunities to volunteer, donate goods and supplies. They’re on Forest Avenue near USM.
Homeboy Industries, the world’s largest gang rehabilitation and reentry program, founded by Fr. Greg Boyle, SJ has a mail-in Electronics Recycling program called Homeboy Recycling.
You can also responsibly recycle electronics (including chords and cables) through Goodwill. Learn more about how they handle all aspects of computer donations . Best Buy offers Electronics, Appliances and Fitness Equipment Recycling and describe it here: https://bit.ly/RecyclingBestBuy
Not sure what goes where? Visit Riverside Recyling online to learn.
And, if you’d like some books, article, videos or more to deepen your eco-knowledge, the Social Justice and Peace Commission has also built this initial library of recommended publications on the environment.
Books
• On Care for Our Common Home Laudato Si’ (Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment)
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html
• Finding God in a Leaf: The Mysticism of Laudato Si’ by Brian Grogan SJ
• At Home on Earth: Foundations for a Catholic Ethic of the Environment by Msgr Charles M. Murphy
• Climate, Catastrophe, and Faith: How Changes in Climate Drive Religious Upheaval by Philip Jenkins
• A Dream of the Earth by Fr. Thomas Berry
• An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming by Al Gore
• The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry
• New Collected Poems by Wendell Berry
Documentaries
• An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming
• 2040
• David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet
Videos
• Climate Change: It Changes Everything: https://www.crs.org/resource-center/climate-change-it-changes-everything
• Catholic Climate Covenant video resources:
https://catholicclimatecovenant.org/resources?tid=17&audience=All
• We’re Cooked, Part 1: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/01/opinion/climate-sustainability-agriculture-lobby.html
• Gulf of Maine, Explained: The Warming of the Gulf of Maine https://gmri.org/stories/gulf-maine-explained-warming-gulf-maine/
• Gulf of Maine, Explained: Sea Level Rise https://www.gmri.org/stories/gulf-maine-explained-sea-level-rise
Other Publications
• Catholic Relief Services Publications: https://www.crs.org/climate-change
Thank you for your interest and for joining our shared purpose of caring for our common home here in Maine – and beyond. God’s counting on us.