Parishes are finding that reducing their carbon footprint is not only an environmental issue but a spiritual one, too.

Parishioners at Mary Immaculate Church in East Los Angeles meet monthly in convivencias, or town hall meetings, to discuss parish initiatives. Last autumn, when they learned that 38 million water bottles annually are sent to U.S. landfills, their vote on what the parish should do wasn't even close. Plastic water bottles are now banned from the campus.

In Chicago third-grade "garbologists" are keeping track of how well their school, St. Monica Environmental Academy, is recycling.

In Annapolis, Maryland a retired state senator has helped his parish divert its parking lot's polluted runoff away from a nearby stream and into rain gardens, where it will percolate through the soil, nourishing thirsty plants.

Parish by parish, Catholics are building a new commitment to creation care. Add all these actions together and the result is hope.

The movement isn't limited to Catholic faith communities. Interfaith Power & Light helps churches, mosques, and synagogues green their facilities, conserve energy, educate about climate and energy, and advocate for climate and energy policies both at the federal and state levels. In 2000 the group counted just 100 member congregations. Now there are 10,000 member congregations in 29 states.

At the same time secular environmentalists are realizing that technology alone can't solve the environmental crisis. "No other group of institutions can wield the particular moral authority of the religions. . . . The potential of the faith communities is simply enormous," former presidential adviser Gus Speth told a group of religious leaders and environmentalists at a 2008 Yale Divinity School conference on religion and the environment.

Because of the Catholic Church's tradition of social teaching and Pope Benedict XVI's powerful call for sustainability, Catholic parishes are uniquely situated to be co-creators in what the U.S. Catholic bishops call "renewing the earth."
In the same way that the environment is both local and universal, so is the church, giving parishes an effective platform to address environmental challenges. "I'm optimistic," says Walter Grazer, former director of the environmental justice program for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. "We've come a long way. It helps that Pope Benedict has been focused on this issue, addressing it consistently and in a variety of venues."

That said, no two parishes are going to be on the same greening timetable or track.

Ramon Posada, chair of the Creation Sustainability Committee for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, notes that while one parish is installing solar panels, another may be worrying about that hole in the roof. Still, the cumulative effect of environmental action in parishes should not be underestimated.

The fact that, for instance, St. Bartholomew Catholic Faith Community in Wayzata, Minnesota has instituted a successful recycling program and is now looking to reduce its energy bills is not just a morale booster or a way to attract a new generation of parishioners-although going green may also do those things. Its actions are part of a greater, crucial whole.

According to Energy Star, a government-based program that labels energy-efficient appliances, if all of the nation's 307,000 congregations cut their energy consumption by 25 to 30 percent, they would save nearly half a trillion dollars and 13.5 billion kilowatt hours of electricity. That's a lot of coal, oil, and gas saved for the future. Best of all, Energy Star says most congregations can cut their energy use simply by investing in efficient equipment, facility upgrades, and maintenance. The choice is whether to pay for wasted energy or for upgrades.

Start small

Sandra Bowen, a parishioner at St. Gertrude in Chicago and a member of the parish's fledgling green team, observes that parishes often start with recycling, but each parish's leadership determines how the program will develop. Some begin with in-depth study-say, of the pope's new encyclical. Others jump into immediate action. "You go with where the people are," she says.

At St. Bartholomew in Minnesota, the green team began with just eight or nine parishioners who, with help from the local utility, set up an information display and gave away compact fluorescent lightbulbs after Mass a couple years ago. "We just kept asking, ‘What can we do to make this greener?' " says Jennifer Shaltz, the chair of the team, which included a sixth-grader from the parish school.

They decided that recycling was the perfect starter project after the school's fifth-grade teacher joined the team and said she wanted recycling to be part of her class' science curriculum.

Recycling started in the parish offices, then later in the school. Knowledgeable fifth-graders staff the trash containers during lunch hours-but kids catch on quickly. It's recycling at coffee and doughnuts after Mass that has provided the best teaching moments. "People can get nervous about even minimal change," says Shaltz. "But we showed how easy it was. People tell us, ‘This is so wonderful that you're doing this.' "

"This is not hard," says Shaltz. "It's not a tough thing when there are enough people caring."