40 DAYS OF CREATION CARE LENTEN CALENDAR

South Street Christian Church is a Green Chalice Congregation, a designation given by our Disciples Home Missions’ Green Chalice Program to recognize congregations for taking steps to be good stewards of God’s creation.  For us those steps include recycling, conserving water and electricity, and planting a community garden.  This year’s suggestions for daily Lenten activities come from our Green Team.  Because Sundays are not included in the 40 days of Lent, for those days we have suggested reading scriptures that talk about creation.

Day One:  Wednesday, February 17 – Visit the Disciples of Christ Green Chalice website today.  Learn what Disciples are doing to care for the earth.

Day Two:  Thursday, February 18 – Turn out the light when leaving a room.  It will save money!

Day Three:  Friday, February 19 – Install at least one efficient light bulb in your house.  Switching to energy efficient lighting is one of the fastest ways to save money on your electric bill.

Day Four:  Saturday, February 20 – Recycle something today.  According to the EPS, in 2018, the US produced 292.4 million tons of municipal waste.  Recycling reduces waste going to landfills.

First Sunday in Lent:  February 21:  Read Psalm 8

Day Five:  Monday, February 22 – Try to not use a paper towel today; use cloth towels and wash them instead.

Day Six:  Tuesday, February 23 – Avoid plastic straws today.  A 2018 study estimated that 8.3 billion plastic straws can be found on the word’s beaches.

Day Seven:  Wednesday, February 24 – Try using reusable grocery bags this week.  According to www.biologicaldiversity.org, plastic bags are used for an average of 12 minutes and take 500 or more years to decompose.

Day Eight:  Thursday, February 25 – Eat food that was produced locally.  How close is local?   Many consider foods grown and consumed in a 100 mile radius as locally produced.

Day Nine:  Friday, February 26 – Share with a friend or family member what you love best about the earth.

Day Ten:  Saturday, February 27 – Visit the National Parks website to see the beautiful preserved wild places of America.

Second Sunday in Lent:  February 28:  Read Psalm 19

Day Eleven:  Monday, March 1 – Take a virtual tour of Yellowstone National Park.

Day Twelve:  Tuesday, March 2 – Check your tire pressure and if needed, inflate them to the manufacturer’s recommendations.  Proper tire pressure results in better gas mileage.

Day Thirteen:  Wednesday, March 3 – Seal off leaky doors.  Use a “door snake” or even a rolled up towel at the base of your exterior doors to help keep heat in.  You will save money and your house will be warmer!

Day Fourteen:  Thursday, March 4 – Unplug small kitchen appliances when not in use.  Many still draw electricity even though they aren’t being used.

Day Fifteen:  Friday, March 5 – Set a timer for 5 minutes before you get in the shower and see if your shower times are longer.

Day Sixteen:  Saturday, March 6 – Give thanks for the people who grow our food.

Third Sunday in Lent:  March 7:  Read Psalm 33

Day Seventeen:  Monday, March 8 – Give thanks for the people who harvest our food by machine or by hand.

Day Eighteen:  Tuesday March 9 – If you can, use cold water for your laundry this week.  It will help your clothes last longer!

Day Nineteen:  Wednesday, March 10 – Turn the heat dry off on your dishwasher and let dishes air dry instead.  It will save expenses of heat drying.

Day Twenty:  Thursday, March 11 – Put out some bird food and enjoy watching them, too!

Day Twenty-One:  Friday, March 12 – Avoid styrofoam.  One styrofoam cup can take at least 500 years to decompose.

Day Twenty-Two:  Saturday, March 13 – Clean out your clothes dryer filter after each use.  It helps your dryer be more efficient.

Fourth Sunday in Lent:  March 14 – Read Psalm 89

Day Twenty-Three:  Monday, March 15 – Donate gently used toys, clothes and shoes.  It helps our neighbors and saves space in landfills.

Day Twenty-Four:  Tuesday, March 16 – Take a walk at the Nature Center or other favorite outdoor space.

Day Twenty-Five:  Wednesday, March 17 – Learn something about an animal you like.  See how they fit into the world eco-system.

Day Twenty-Six:  Thursday, March 18 – Learn something about an animal you do not like.  See how they fit into the world eco-system.

Day Twenty-Seven:  Friday, March 19 – When panda bears are born, they are about the size of a stick of butter.  But they grow quickly.  Watch pandas play in the snow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLtEi1fLIw8 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGpYs8Bexak

Day Twenty-Eight:  Saturday, March 20 – Write down something you can do to help the earth.

Fifth Sunday in Lent:  March 21 – Read Psalm 102

Day Twenty-Nine:  Monday, March 22 – Use a mug or reusable water bottle instead of buying water in plastic bottles.  It will help save our oceans!

Day Thirty:  Tuesday, March 23 – Turn off the water while you are brushing your teeth.  According to an EPA blog, you can save up to 200 gallons of water per month!

Day Thirty-One:  Wednesday, March 24 – Create a mosaic from items you find outside.

Day Thirty-Two:  Thursday March 25 – Save your leftovers and use them in another meal.  Leftover veggies can become soup or nacho topping.  You can put small amounts of leftover in a muffin tins and heat up for a “Muffin Tin Meal.”

Day Thirty-Three:  Friday, March 26 – Have leftover envelopes from bills or letters?  Use them for reminder notes or your grocery list, then recycle.

Day Thirty-Four:  Saturday, March 27 – Consider participating in this year’s earth hour today:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGpYs8Bexak

Palm Sunday:  March 28 – Read Psalm 104

Day Thirty-Five:  Monday, March 29 – Give eco-friendly gifts.  Consider donating to a not-for-profit in someone’s honor.

Day Thirty-Six:  Tuesday, March 30 – Consider turning down your home and hot water thermostat one or two degrees. It will help save money and energy.

Day Thirty-Seven:  Wednesday, March 31 – Write a prayer of thanks to God for the gift of our planet.

Day Thirty-Eight:  Thursday, April 1 – Commit to making one eco-friendly change in your life this year.

Day Thirty-Nine:  Friday, April 2 – If your family tradition calls for plastic Easter eggs, don’t throw them out.  Save and reuse them next year.

Day Forty:  Saturday, April 3 – Try natural dyes for your Easter eggs this year:  https://www.allrecipes.com/article/natural-easter-egg-dyes/

Sunday, April 4:  HAPPY EASTER!