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Peace, Justice and Care of Creation

 
 
 


Welcome to the site of the Peace & Justice, Care of Creation Committee of St. Monica-St. George Parish Newman Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. 
 
Here you will find the latest news and information. 
We strive to raise awareness in our parish by offering 

For questions, comments or to join us for a meeting, you may send an email under "Contact"  or call the parish office at 513-381-6400. 

We hope you enjoy your visit and encourage you to check back often for updates!


 

Feast of St. Francis

 
 
 
 

ACTION ALERT!!!
Take Action Now! Contact your Senator now (http://actioncenter.crs.org) and urge that any climate change legislation considered in the Senate allocate $3.5 billion of funding generated by the bill to international adaptation programs starting in 2012 and increase rapidly to $7 billion annually by 2020 so that people living in poverty around the world can be protected from the effects of climate change.
 

 
 

UPCOMING MEETING DATES!! NEW MEMEBERS WELCOME!!!
 
Jan. 24, 2010
Noon to 1:30 PM
Library
 
March 28, 2010
Noon to 1:30 PM
Library
 
 
Ohio Interfaith Power and Light
  Ohio Interfaith Power and Light

Ohio Interfaith Power and Light is an affiliate of The Regeneration Project's national Interfaith Power and Light campaign. Our mission is to empower a religious response to climate change and to promote energy conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. We focus on tangible results in religious communities - putting our faith into action. For more information on OIPL, click here.

In August, 2008, St. Monica-St. George had an energy assessment taken for our parish.  This assessment helped us to discover places where we could improve on our energy consumption.  To see this report, click here.

Cool Congregations Update
 
Congratulations to the contestants who have achieved all 5 steps of the St. Francis Pledge.  In a small group setting we prayed together, learned about climate change, assessed our carbon footprints,  acted to make changes in our lifestyles and homes and advocated with our Senators to address climate change to ensure that emerging nations have the funds necessary to adapt to changes from climate change. 
 
We used the Low Carbon Diet by David Gershon.  
 
Stay tuned as we work to achieve our pledged actions over the course of the next twelve months.  The Cool Congregations Contest is part of our membership in Ohio Interfaith Power and Light.  To learn more go to www.coolcongregations.com or www.ohipl.org 
 
Here is our parish asssessment of our energy usage.
 
 
 
 
Our Parish Participants in the Cool Congregations Contest!
 
 
Cool Congregations Contestants (from left to right):
Maggi Yocis,Tom and Sally East, Jeanne Clark, Cindy Lewis, Leslie Clark, and Nell Wulff
 
Tom East-How many Cool Congregations Contestants does it take to change a light bulb?
 
Sally East, Dan and Cindy Lewis
 
 
Mission
The Mission of the Peace, Justice & Care of Creation Committee is to inspire parishioners of St. Monica-St. George Parish Newman Center to live the gospel message of justice through education advocacy, charity and solidarity.

Archdiocese of Cincinnati Social Action Office
The Catholic Social Action Office and Commision seek to empower Archdiocesan parishes, schools, Rural Life Conferences and other faith communities in the diocese to bring forth the Gospel call for peace ane justice by:
  • developing and/or supporting education and action efforts;
  • maintaining efficient, collaborative networks;
  • nurturing a spirituality of peace and justice
 

St.Monica-St. George now has a bike rack!

Thanks to St. Clare Parish School, who donated it to  us and Chad Muhlenkamp who brought from St. Clare's! 


ST. FRANCIS PLEDGE
 
This year, St. Monica-St. George will be taking the St. Francis Pledge to "to live our faith by protecting God’s Creation and advocating on behalf of people in poverty who face the harshest impacts of global climate change." (from St. Francis Pledge website)
 

The St. Francis Pledge

I/We Pledge to:

  • PRAY and reflect on the duty to care for God’s Creation and protect the poor and vulnerable.
  • LEARN about and educate others on the causes and moral dimensions of climate change.
  • ASSESS how we-as individuals and in our families, parishes and other affiliations-contribute to climate change by our own energy use, consumption, waste, etc.
  • ACT to change our choices and behaviors to reduce the ways we contribute to climate change.
  • ADVOCATE for Catholic principles and priorities in climate change discussions and decisions, especially as they impact those who are poor and vulnerable. 
To take the pledge and for more information on how to reduce your carbon footprint, go to the St. Francis Pledge Website.
 
 
NEW WINDOWS IN OUR CENTER!!!
Our new windows will help reduce the SMSG carbon foot print.  The double pane construction is energy efficient which will save energy in summer and winter.  The windows can be opened to capture God's natural air conditioning reducing the need for running energy using air conditioning.  Also, note the size of the glass in our windows have been reduced by putting a panel at the top, another energy saving feature. 
 
 
Other websites to help you learn what you can do!
Marianist Environmental Education Center
The Marianist Environmental Education Center (MEEC) is an environmental education community in the Catholic tradition. In Mary's hope-filled spirit, we preserve and act in communion with the land and educate other communities in sustainability through ecology-based simple living, social justice and spirituality.
 
Empowerment Institute
Empowerment Institute’s Green Living Program helps individuals lower their environmental impact through adopting more resource efficient lifestyle practices.
www.empowermentinstitute.net (Low Carbon Diet by David Gershon)
 
Equal Exchange
Equal Exchange encourage consumers to purchase fair trade items, thus ensuring small farmers earn a living wage and use sustainable farming methods
 
 
Climate Wizard
TNC has introduced a new on-line tool that combines the latest scientific data and climate models with geographic information systems (GIS), statistical analysis, and web-based mapping to show the current situation and 50- and 100-year climate projections related to temperature and rainfall in the entire US and individual states - www.climatewizard. org 
Lawn Reform Coalition
A new Lawn Reform Coalition recently launched their new website - www.lawnreform.org,  This new resource includes Flickr photos of lawnless gardens, a Facebook group, printable materials for use in communities, a speaker bureau and a soon-to-be-released feature-length documentary.  Promotes native plants /wildlife and sustainable gardening practices.
 
 
 
 

YouTube Video

 
 
 
PUT ON YOUR CALENDAR NOW!
 
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27th
9AM to 4PM
University of Dayton
Kennedy Union
 
Sponsored by
Catholic Relief Services
Catholic Social Action Office
University of Dayton
 
For more information, contact the Social Action Office, 421-3131 Ext 2660.