Lent 4.5: Buying less, wasting less

The parish is offering a seven-week program called Lent 4.5 Christian Simplicity to discuss practical ways to abstain from habits and choices that harm the earth. The discussions are at 7 p.m. Mondays in the Parish Activity Center.

The ''4.5'' in the title refers to the number of acres each person on Earth would receive if it were divided equally among all people. Based on a measuring tool called Global Footprint, people in the United States use an average 22.3 acres to support their lifestyle.

This is the second of Lenten practices posted on the blog but you can find additional information on the Lent 4.5 website

You also should plan to attend our 4.5 session ad 7 p.m. Monday in the Parish Activity Center.

Lenten practice for the week is consumption

Everyday life is sustained by materials from the Earth - food, clothes, cell phones, appliances and even toilet paper. In the United Sates each of us daily consumes 120 pounds on average. But we live on a finite planet. There is only so much timber for paper, steel for cars, silica for computers and other materials to go around. The more we consume, the less is available for others. On average, one American consumes as much as 2 Japanese, II Indians, or 18 Haitians.

Christian simplicity doesn't mean giving up everything good. It does mean cutting back, reducing harm, choosing wisely, and acting on Gospel values whenever purchasing or disposing of anything.

If There is Only One Thing You Can Do ... Stop Junk Mail
Stop unwanted junk mail. The average adult receives 41 pounds annually. 19 billion catalogs are distributed, requiring 53 million trees and 56 billion gallons of water to produce. Visit www.41pounds.org to stop unwanted junk mail. Less mailbox clutter means less pollution and less waste going into landfills.

Check the box of the steps you can take this week.

Avoid Unnecessary Consumption.
☐ Shop less. Resist the urge to shop as entertainment. D Replace recreational shopping with Sabbath time.
☐ Ask: "Do I really need it?" - then set a 48-hour waiting period to eliminate impulse buying. Greed drives much of the consumption which depletes God's creation.
☐ Reuse stuff. Our disposable culture encourages tossing out what easily could be fixed or reused.
☐ Use paper responsibly. Conserve, print on both sides, set default margins wider, and use recycled paper.
☐ Clean closets. Discover what's forgotten. Donate anything not used for two years.

What to Buy? Where to Buy?
☐ Buy conscientiously. Understand the environmental and social impacts of products you purchase with the Better World Shopping Guide book.
☐ Buy in bulk. Reduce packaging waste that fills the planet with trash.
☐ Buy products from environmentally and socially responsible companies. Is the company a polluter or good steward of God's creation?
☐ Buy Fair Trade products to ensure a just wage for workers and artisans around the world.

Trash
☐ Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. 1st: reduce your consumption. 2nd: use reusables, forgo disposables like paper napkins and towels.3rd: recycle by returning waste naturally to the Earth. 75% of trash can be recycled.
☐ Pay bills online. This minimizes paper consumption, saves trees and
reduces fuel consumed by vehicles that transport paper checks.
☐ Join the Zero Waste movement, an anti-garbage strategy.