This spring we started offering compostable cups and paper products at coffee hour—and the trash can in Sue Dickerman Hall has been converted to a compost collector. With this change we hope to have waste-free coffee hour and events. (Of course, if you can bring your own travel mug that is even better, and you can also borrow and wash and return one from our “ugly mug” collection any time.)
To keep up with this new system we need a monthly “compost captain” to educate folks at coffee hour and make sure the compost trash gets taken to the Black Earth Compost can next the dumpster each Sunday. The compost captain for September is Joanie White. Could you be the captain for October or November? It’s a simple task that only takes a few minutes and helps keep our hospitality low-waste. Contact Mary Memmott (508-788-1826, or memmottm@gmail.com) for more details.
If you like the idea of composting your food and paper waste, you can sign up for Black Earth compost collection at home for a reasonable fee. They are now offering home pick-up in many local towns and cities including Framingham, Natick, and Ashland. Learn more at blackearthcompost.com.
Composting at your home and church is a great start for sustainability―but we know that to change how we all use our one Earth, we need change at all levels. The UCC has been calling for action for global warming since at least 2007, when the General Synod released a resolution on climate change. The text of that resolution urged “state and local governments to support and invest in energy conservation and, specifically, in sustainable, renewable and affordable systems of transportation.”
To make sure our local government officials pay attention to this need for change, we need to get involved. One way you can do that is to attend the First Parish Climate Action Team’s “City Council Candidates’ Forum on Sustainability” on Friday, September 27 at 7:30 p.m. at Scott Hall, First Parish UU, 24 Vernon St. (Framingham Centre Common). You can also keep up with elections at all levels by signing up for reminders through the Environmental Voter Project, which works to turn environmentalists into committed voters. Their simple mission is to encourage environmentally concerned citizens to engage with politics and vote in every election. So bring your coffee mug, or compost one, or help compost for all―and then make sure you vote for candidates who will protect the Earth like you do!
Mary Memmott for the Green Team