October Highlights
Parish Green Team and Saint Monica Preparatory Environmental Club Join Forces!
Integral Ecology Labyrinth
During the Our Lady of Angels’ Regional RECongress, the Saint Monica Prep Environmental Club and Green Team built a labyrinth from single-use plastic bottles to inspire reflection on caring for creation. Walkers contemplated:
- How does my plastic use affect my relationship with Earth, others, and God?
- Does my community suffer from plastic waste?
- What am I leaving for the next generation?
Learn more about the labyrinth here.
Green Ambassadors in Action
At the Always Beginning Luncheon, volunteers, including 7th graders, practiced waste separation with reusable dishes, reducing trash significantly. Green Team member Sarah Grace noted, "I was filled with hope seeing volunteers eager to reduce waste."
Contact usgreenteam@stmonica.net to join the next luncheon on December 6.
Green Ambassadors
Green Ambassadors help reduce waste by:
- Using reusable dishware
- Eliminating single-use plastic bottles
- Separating organic waste from landfill waste
- Using 100% fiber-based materials for events
Training resources available here.
Thanksgiving Feast – November 27
Help us achieve Zero Waste by bringing reusable water bottles. Volunteer to set up waste systems or guide others.
Donate gently used coats for guests starting November 1. Learn more about the ethics of fast fashion here.
Eco Craft & Cookie Swap Social – December 12
Join us at 6:30 PM in the Grand Pavilion. Bring old magazines for upcycled crafts and a dozen cookies to share.
Get Inspired
Visit the Hammer Museum to see "Breath(e): Toward Climate and Social Justice," a free exhibition exploring the intersection of environmental art, equity, and justice. Learn more.
Sept 8. Pancake Breakfast
Volunteers needed after all the morning masses!
It takes a village to pull off a zero-waste event. There are a variety of jobs from cracking eggs to doing dishes. Sign up here to help after one or all the masses.
JustFaith: Sacred Water Visits Wilmington
Participants from JustFaith Sacred Air participated in Communities for a Better Environment’s “Toxic Tour” of the front line neighborhoods in Wilmington. The goal of the trip was to increase our awareness of the low-income communities of color that are most directly impacted by multiple sources of toxics and pollution. The tour included visits to neighborhoods adjacent to five refineries, the port, and several of the 1,000 active oil wells next to their schools and community centers. We heard from neighbors actively fighting for better plant maintenance and buffer zones around active wells in order to protect their families. The strength of these families is evident every day as they struggle to put food on the table and, at the same time, hold industry and government officials accountable for toxic pollution in their neighborhoods. Click here to read a feature article in the Huntington Post regarding our Toxic Tours.
We are grateful for the deeply moving experience through participation in the JustFaith Sacred Air Program. For more information about JustFaith or the trip please email greenteam@stmonica.net.
April is Earth Month. Calling all families to protect the earth for our children and grandchildren.
Starting Palm Sunday through April 30 we encourage St. Monica families to respond to the climate crisis with faith, advocacy, education and action. We ask you to join the global movement and courageously commit to specific steps that will produce a better future for our common home.
Creation Care is an important part of our Catholic tradition, evident in Genesis and carried through to St. John Paul II’s "Peace With God the Creator, Peace with All Creation" and Pope Francis’ Laudato Si. Now is the time to protect the earth for our children and grandchildren. Take this sheet home and discern with your family where you can take meaningful action on the road to integral ecology.
The U.S. Council of Bishops welcomes you to enroll in the Laudato Si’ Action Platform.
Create your family action plan and share it with the world!
Here’s how:
- Fill out the Family Action Plan Worksheet. It’s okay if you only have one action.
- Go to LaudatoSiActionPlatform.org and navigate to the “enroll” button.
- Scroll down to “create your account” and enter your information.
- Once you have created an account, navigate in your Action Platform dashboard and click on “upload your plan.” You can also see other families’ plans for inspiration. Alternatively you can email your plan to greenteam@stmonica.net.
Praise be to you, our Lord, God of all Creation!
The Laudato Si’ Action Platform was developed by the Vatican to:
- Uphold life and the dignity of each human person
- Support families and future generations
- Love the poor and vulnerable
- Advocate for basic rights and a just economy
- Be in solidarity with all, as one human family
- Care for all of God’s creation
Fun Facts!
Pope Benedict’s Popemobile was a hybrid.
There are 2400 Solar Panels on top of the Vatican’s Audience Hall.
Green Team x JustFaith: Sacred Air: Climate and Energy
Every Monday | Jan. 29 - Mar. 18
7 p.m.
Zoom
For decades, JustFaith programs at St. Monica have been providing knowledge and the tools that inspire action to address the root causes of injustice. Join the St. Monica Green Team as we host Sacred Air: Climate and Energy. We will explore the impact of the climate crisis on God’s creation and God’s people and discern ways to restore the health of our planet and those who live on it.
Chasing Carbon with Tim Kohut
Thursday, Dec. 14
7 p.m.
Zoom and Caruso C
Calling all energy enthusiasts!
Pope Francis’s latest letter Laudate Deum urges us to move toward renewable energy and divest from fossil fuels. This urgency was reinforced this week in the release of the Fifth National Climate Assessment, a congressionally mandated report. Both documents warn that reducing our planet-warming pollution is not happening nearly fast enough to meet the nation’s targets.
In this working meeting, Tim Kohut, Director of Sustainable Design at National Community Renaissance (National CORE), will help us explore how we can optimize our energy usage at St. Monica. Tim will share examples of how his organization is approaching decarbonization, dramatically improving operational economics while greatly benefiting the lives of working class residents who live in National CORE’s communities. National CORE believes that by proving that decarbonization can be accomplished in economically disadvantaged communities, it can be accomplished anywhere.
CONNECT: Fall Soups and Fellowship
Thursday, Oct. 26 
6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Room TBD
Is it time to get out the gourd recipes? Join us for a trio of fall soups and vote on which recipes the Green Team will make for Fridays during Lent. We will also discuss Pope Francis’s new encyclical Laudate Deum and hear from special guest Mary Garbesi, who will help us tackle climate anxiety, reflect on Creation care, and help develop our personal actions plans.
LEARN: “The Letter” Movie Screening
Wednesday, October 4
6:30pm-8:30pm
Caruso A/B
In partnership with the Archdiocese Office of Life, Justice, and Peace, we will host a screening of “The Letter, A Message for Our Earth.” This film builds on our pope’s call to care for our planet through the experiences of four individuals from around the world whom he personally contacted. They bring perspective and solutions for the poor, the indigenous, the youth, and wildlife into a conversation with Pope Francis himself. Attend regularly or volunteer with us!
VOLUNTEER: Zero-Waste Pancake Breakfast
Sunday, September10
8:30am – 12pm 
Grand Pavilion
We’re taking the (in)famous Primetime Pancake Breakfast and making it zero waste! We need volunteers to help after all morning Masses: dish angels, pancake flippers, and recycling educators. Don’t worry; you will be trained!
LEARN: Youth Environmental Summit: If Not Now
Sunday, September 16
9am-3pm
Grand Pavilion
Young people aren't the future; they're the now. Gen Z is becoming more influential in the decision-making space, so it's more important than ever to amplify these young voices as they grow into adult change-makers. 
At St. Monica Green Team 2023 Youth Environmental Summit, IF NOT NOW, we'll explore how students can lead their school and parish environmental groups to effectively develop and champion policies that help their campuses be more environmentally aware and active.
Green Team & Gazpacho
Date: Thursday, June 29
Time: 6:30–8 p.m.
Location: On campus, Caruso A/B
As our ministry season comes to a close, the Green Team celebrates a year of hard work with a summer social: Green Team and Gazpacho. Fresh faces and seasoned veterans alike can join us for a night of food, fellowship, and fun as we wrap up this year and prepare for the upcoming one. We'll talk about how you can get involved in the next three months and help you meet like-minded Green Teamers.
Gazpacho and baked goods provided. As always, bring your own water bottle!
Click HERE to RSVP
Celebrate Laudato Si’ Week
Laudato Si' Week, May 21-28, gives us an opportunity to begin to reflect on what a Laudato Si’ Action Plan could look like for our parish. Join us after Mass on May 21 to learn more and celebrate the start of Laudato Si’ Week.
Laudato Si’ Week Events
- Stop by the Green Team table after morning masses on May 21 to get your free kitchen pails for composting organic materials (the City of LA and City of Santa Monica residents only, while supplies last.)
- Come to the Composting/Recycling workshop on May 25, 6–7:00 pm. Learn what goes where in the three-bin systems (Recycling, Green Waste for Composting, and Landfill). Register here!
- Come to the Action Plan kick-off meeting on May 25, 7–8:30 pm. It’s time to Act. Register Here!
- Follow along on Instagram this week as we feature one goal per day.
Pope Francis says, “Nature cannot be regarded as something separate from ourselves or as a mere setting in which we live.” (LS 139) Our treatment of the natural world is deeply tied to poverty and other social, and ethical issues. Laudato Si reminds us that in order to live our faith we must start to hear the cries of the poor and the earth as one cry. That is the holistic spirit of Laudato Si’.
What is a Ladauto Si’ action plan?
The Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development has developed 7 themes/goals to provide focus areas for reflection and action. That which gets measured, gets done! It’s time to hold ourselves accountable to the cries of the poor and the cries of the earth. The entire parish is encouraged to participate in the network of solutions necessary to solve this complex, ecological crisis.
The Laudato Si Action Platform provides tips and examples for families and parishes to create unique, bold plans to respond to the ecological crisis. Sample plans are available here.
Which focus area speaks to you? The St. Monica Green Team would like to hear from you!
Season of Creation 2022: Listen to the Voice of Creation
From September 1, the Day of Prayer for Creation, to October 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, we celebrate the Season of Creation. During this time, we are called to reflect on the gift of God's Earth and the call to be His stewards. This year's theme is "Listen to the Voice of Creation”, which urges us to hear God in nature and others, especially those most vulnerable to climate change and environmental crises. To read more about the season and movement, click here. To join our mailing list, email greenteam@stmonica.net!
David Hines Volunteer of the Year: Elizabeth Johnstone
Congratulations to our very own Elizabeth Johnstone, winner of the David Hines Volunteer of the Year award! Your commitment to the Green Team is truly incredible.
Upcoming Events
9/29 and 10/6, 6:30pm | Film Club & Green Team: “Don’t Look Up” Screening and Panel Discussion
Part 1: Join the “Screen Team” (Film Club & Green Team) on September 29 at 6:30pm for a screening of “Don’t Look Up”, a metaphor for the climate crisis we are currently facing. It is a love letter to scientists, changemakers, and solution seekers, and a rallying cry for global climate action. The film will be shown in the Grand Pavilion.
Part 2: Sometimes the reality of climate change can feel overwhelming but, unlike the characters in the film, we can choose how our story ends. If we choose to talk openly, listen to one another, and take action together, we can write a new ending to our story. On October 6 at 6:30pm, the Green Team will host a Zoom panel of climate experts and a discussion of the big themes of “Don’t Look Up”, including environmental justice, civic engagement, and hope for the future!
Click here to RSVP for the panel!
10/1, 8am | Season of Creation Morning Prayer
Join us for a Season of Creation morning prayer and reflection at the beach lot 7N (just south of the California Incline) on Saturday, October 1 at 8am. Bring a blanket or a chair, welcome the morning, and give thanks for creation with us.
Feast of St. Monica Beach Cleanup Success!
On August 27, the Green Team hosted a community beach cleanup to celebrate the feast of St. Monica. With over 30 parishioners in attendance and almost 30 pounds of trash collected, we can definitely call it a success! If you would like to be a part of our next cleanup in a few months, please send us an email at greenteam@stmonica.net.
Congratulations Green Team for Winning a Creation Care Small Grant!
Green Team has been awared a grant to continue the work of their Youth Climate Summit!
Click Here to read the full article!
Green Team General Meeting
Food Waste-free Lent
Join us each week for tips, resources, and more on how to live a food waste-free Lent!
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Lent Week 1
Prayer and Reflection
As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food." Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat."
"We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered.
"Bring them here to me," he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
Matthew 14:15-20
We may not be able to multiply loaves of bread and fish to feed the hungry but can we reduce waste in our lives? Approximately 1/3 of the food produced globally is wasted each year and around 40% of this waste occurs in the U.S. (Yale Climate Connections). What can each of us do this Lent to reduce waste? As Pope Francis say about this waste, ‘whenever food is thrown out it is as if it were stolen from the table of the poor.’” Laudato Si’ 50
Take Action
- During this first week, take notice and record how much food you personally waste, whether it is by not finishing what is on your plate and throwing it away or by letting food sit too long in the fridge. Do you cook too much? Buy too much? Look for trends – Do you really finish the whole box of spinach? Is anyone eating the leftovers? Reflect about why food is wasted? Be mindful during food buying, preparation and eating – and ordering.
Use this daily chart to track your waste this week. Reflect on what you learned. Be honest in order to have the largest impact on yourself.
- Start Lent with a clean slate. Use all foods that are on the edge of spoiling in meals this week, and clean out any foods that have already spoiled. Try these food scrap recipes to help you use up food you have left in your fridge. Consider instituting a weekly leftover night for dinner. Create fun new meals out of our leftover food, and save yourself time on cooking.
Resources
- Dowload the Ignatian Spirituality Network's Fact Sheet on Food Waste
- Here is a great resource for Santa Monica residents make sure any leftover food scraps end up in the green organics bin, not the trash: CLICK HERE.
- Residents of the City of Los Angeles can check out these resources: CLICK HERE.
Keep us Posted
We would love to hear about your #LentenFoodWasteFast journey! Tag us on Instagram @stmonica90403!
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Lent Week 2
Organize your fridge and store your food in a way that will prevent it from spoiling.
Prayer & Reflection
“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest.” –Leviticus 19:9
The Bible encourages the idea of gleaning, a practice in which farmers left food that had fallen when harvesting so that people who were hungry could collect, or glean, what was left behind in order to be fed. In this spirit, we take to heart what Pope Francis said of wasted food: “Whenever food is thrown out it is as if it were stolen from the table of the poor.”
Take Action: Prevent Food Waste at Home
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Highlight what needs to be eaten first
Label a spot in your fridge with an “eat this food first sign.” Place food that needs to be consumed soon in this area so that everyone will know where to look first for a snack or meal ingredients. Print one of our signs, or create your own!
- Make fresh berries last longer
Berries can contain mold spores that cause them to spoil faster. Raspberries are unique so don’t wash them before storage, and follow these tips to extend their shelf-life.
- Preserve leafy greens
Remove rubber bands or twist ties. Wash and dry them completely with a salad spinner. Put a paper towel in the bottom of a large plastic container to absorb moisture, then pour in greens, and seal with a lid.
- Separate fruits and vegetables
Fruits emit ethylene gas that can ripen and spoil vegetables quickly if stored together. Use these tips to store fruits and veggies correctly.
Resources
- Check out the ultimate guide to organize your fridge for more tips and a diagram of the best places to store your food.
- Redistribute your excess food. If you live in Santa Monica, you can drop off this food at Community (Free)dge Ministry in Venice. (Free)dge is a sharing mechanism that aims to reduce food insecurity and food waste and thus build a stronger community. It promotes equal access to healthy food through the installation of community fridges (public refrigerators) that are used to share food and ideas at the neighborhood level. For more information, see https://www.veniceucc.org/freedge
- Start a food share table at work or school. Talk to an administrator about creating a food share space in the cafeteria or break room where people can leave what they don’t plan to eat for others to take. At the end of the day, leftover food can be washed and reused the next day or donated to a local food hunger organization.
- See FoodKeeper which offers storage tips for fresh and frozen foods and also has a feature that allows you to set reminders on your phone calendar to use food that will expire soon.
Socials
Food waste is responsible for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions annually. (U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization)
Check out these daily reflections from Lent 2020 on food, faith, and climate inspired by the Lenten Food Waste Fast.
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Lent Week 3
Prayer and Reflection
I recently read a story about a woman who liked to bake banana bread to share with her office. The recipe she used was one she found while watching a news show in which a mother baked the bread as she spoke about losing her child to opioid addiction. My friend prays for the woman's child each time she bakes the bread, turning the act of cooking into a prayer.
Tips and Tools:
This week think about who you will be cooking for and what you will need.
Resources
- Keep us Posted: We would love to hear about your #LentenFoodWasteFast journey - Tag us @stmonica90403 and @ignatiansolidarity
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Lent Week 4
Practice mindfulness and gratitude as you prepare and eat meals this week.
Prayer and Reflection:
The Chilean poet Pablo Neruda is well known for the many odes he wrote to different foods. Take time to read one of his poems and then compos a short ode to a type of food that you appreciate. Share it on social media using #LentenFoodWasteFast and tag us on Instagram @stmonica90403
Tips and Tools:
Tips this week are meant to increase connection with and gratitude for our food, reducing the likelihood that we will waste anything in the process.
- Eat mindfully: Eat one meal mindfully each day, taking time to notice and savor the texture, smell, taste, and color of the food. Ponder the rain and soil that sustained it as it grew and all of the people and resources that helped it to arrive on your plate. Related mindfulness reflection
- Pray for someone as you prepare a meal this week: Select a recipe from Catholic Relief Services’ Meatless Meals from Around the World, and pray for the people from the country your meal originates as you prepare the food. Or select a favorite family recipe and pray for a special intention in your own life as you cook. Related cooking prayer reflection.
- Share a meal: Be intentional about sharing a meal with members of your household this week. If you are unable to be together, consider having a phone or Skype date with someone as you both eat a meal.
“We know that approximately a third of all food produced is discarded, and ‘whenever food is thrown out it is as if it were stolen from the table of the poor.’” Laudato Si’ 50
Keep us Posted:
We would love to hear about your #LentenFoodWasteFast journey! Tag us on Instagram @stmonica90403 and @ignatiansolidarity
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Lent Week 5
Food waste goes far beyond your kitchen. Take some time to learn more about the supply side of food waste.
Prayer & Reflection:
We till the earth,
We tend the ground.
Sowing hope and peace
Where none is found.
In selfless love
God's life abounds
We till the earth,
We tend the ground.
Take time to listen to a new hymn, Tend the Ground, inspired by "Laudato Si': on Care for Our Common Home." Notice how you feel as you listen to the song. Are there particular lyrics that speak to you?
These daily reflections on food, faith, climate and our lives will provide spiritual sustenance for the Lenten journey. They are inspired by the Lenten Food Waste Fast at the Ignatian Solidarity Network.
Tips and Tools:
Resources:
Got 90 minutes? Watch the inspiring documentary, Biggest Little Farm, available via most cable providers and/or for rent on Amazon Prime/iTunes. (Trailer) Film synopsis: “The Biggest Little Farm follows two dreamers and their beloved dog when they make a choice that takes them out of their tiny L.A. apartment and into the countryside to build one of the most diverse farms of its kind in complete coexistence with nature.”
Socials:
As a result of the 1.3 billion tons of food wasted every year worldwide, 45 trillion gallons of water are also wasted. This is 24 percent of all water used for agriculture. When we throw food in the trash, we’re throwing away all of the resources that went into growing, harvesting, packaging, and shipping the food such as water, gasoline, land, and pesticides. (NPR)
Keep us Posted:
We would love to hear about your #LentenFoodWasteFast journey! Tag us on Instagram @stmonica90403 and @ignatiansolidarity
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Lent Week 6
Why compost?
Composting food scraps and other organic material is one additional way that we can prevent food waste. When food is thrown away and breaks down in the landfill, it produces methane which is a greenhouse gas 26-28 times more potent than CO2. Composting prevents the release of methane gas by keeping food out of the landfill. The composting process allows organic material to break down in a way that stores carbon in the soil that is produced. When the compost is ready, it can be used to enrich plants in your own garden, reducing the need for fertilizers or pesticides.
On January 1, 2022, every Californian is required, under SB 1383 and a new local ordinance, to recycle food scraps, along with our yard or green materials. Santa Monica now accepts all food scraps and organic waste like coffee filters, in the green bin.
Prayer & Reflection:
Then the angel said to the women in reply,
"Do not be afraid!
I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified.
He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said."
...Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid.
Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee,
and there they will see me."
Matthew 28: 5-6, 10
"If a healthy soil is full of death, it is also full of life: worms, fungi, microorganisms of all kinds ... Given only the health of the soil, nothing that dies is dead for very long."
Wendell Berry, The Unsettling of America, 1977
Tips & Tools:
Resources:
For more information regarding Santa Monica’s new mandatory organics recycling visit the website.
If you would prefer to compost at home, read the article “How to Compost at Home: A Beginners Guide to DIY Fertilizer."
Socials:
Food waste that decomposes in landfills releases methane, a greenhouse gas that is at least 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide. (The Washington Post)
Keep us Posted:
We would love to hear about your @stmonica 90403 #LentenFoodWasteFast journey! Tag us on Instagram @ignatiansolidarity or use the hashtag.
Intro to a Food Waste-Free Lent Featuring Neal Shapiro - Recording
Monday, Feb. 28 | 6:30 p.m. | Via Zoom
Launch into Lent by learning more about food waste! Watch our recorded panel with tips and information from Neal Shapiro about how to live food-waste free!
Click Here to Watch the Video!
Winter 2021
Intro to a Food Waste-Free Lent Featuring Neal Shapiro
Monday, Feb. 28 | 6:30 p.m. | Via Zoom
Launch into Lent by learning more about food waste! As we prepare for our physical and spiritual fast, join the Green Team as we dive into the City of Santa Monica's new ordinance on compost and how to reduce food waste. The panel will feature Neal Shapiro, Senior Sustainability Analyst and Zero Waste Team Supervisor at the Resource Recovery & Recycling Division for the City of Santa Monica. Our talk will kick off the Lenten Season and introduce you to our 6-week "Food Waste-Free Lent" program.
Recording Coming Soon!
Celebrate World Wetlands Day
Wednesday, Feb. 2
We celebrate World Wetlands Day to raise awareness about the Earth’s beautiful wetland ecosystems. Though wetlands are critical for biodiversity, climate mitigation, freshwater availability, world economies and more, we are losing them three times faster than forests due to overdevelopment and deforestation.
Read more about the importance of the wetlands, especially our Ballona Wetlands!
Click Here to Read: Celebrate World Wetlands Day by Elizabeth Johnstone.
Friends of Ballona Wetlands Clean Up and Tour
Friday, Feb. 4 | Restoration Clean Up Day
Saturday, Feb. 5 | Tour of Ballona Wetlands | 10:00 a.m.
Celebrate World Wetlands Day by participating in a Friends of Ballona Wetlands cleanup! Friends of Ballona regularly offers volunteer opportunities to participate in creek cleanups that remove debris that would otherwise end up in the wetlands.
Fall 2021
Youth Climate Summit 2021: Our Actions, Our Earth, Our Home - Oct. 2, 2021
We are proud to report the success of our first annual Youth Climate Summit: Our Actions, Our Earth, Our Home! On Saturday, October 2, we cappedoff the Season of Creation by hosting 50 middle and high school students who were passionateabout environmental activism in their communities. We provided them with the resources to livemore sustainably and sparked meaningful conversations about what it means to be anenvironmental advocate. From the feedback wereceived, the students left the summit with plansof action and a greater understanding of theintersectionality of environmentalism and faith.
Click below to watch Chace Beech from Spectrum 1 News on the Youth Climate Summit!
Summer 2021
Celebrate: National Honeybee Day (Aug. 21)
Celebrate National Honeybee Day on it's twelfth anniversary. While the holiday has gained more popularity since its first recognition in 2009, the general consensus around the honeybee is still lukewarm despite the species’ dire endangerment in America. While it may be so easy to overlook these small insects, honeybees are one of the most important insects to our society. So take some time to give back to the bees this year and make a buzz about National Honeybee Day!
Read the full article, And He Saw that it Was Good, written by Elizabeth Johnstone, CLICK HERE!
Celebrate: The Santa Monica Mountains!
Over the past decade, the city of Santa Monica has led the way in sustainable tourism, boasting eco-friendly attractions such as Heal the Bay Aquarium, Tongva Park, and our local Farmers' Market.
One of our most heralded spots is the Santa Monica Mountains, which pioneer sustainable mountain tourism—a scarcity in today's nature-visiting scene. As COVID restrictions lift and outdoor plans increase, consider visiting this mountain range to picnic, hike, view wildflowers, and birdwatch, among many other activities. The National Park Service writes more about what you can do in the SaMo mountains - Click here!
Celebrate: National Clean Beaches Week from July 1-7!
Even if you don’t have time for a cleanup, you can still take much-needed action.
Learn how to care for our coastline in 3 easy ways in an article by Elizabeth Johnstone - Click Here!
Goals for a Greener St. Monica
St. Monica Catholic Community is certified as a Santa Monica Green Business and will renew its certification in the Summer of 2021. St. Monica is also working to reduce its carbon footprint through more sustainable purchasing and waste reduction in areas such as printing, hospitality, and energy. These steps are not only good for the planet, but they will also result in cost savings for our parish.
The Green Team is committed to work with and support St. Monica in these endeavors.
Spring 2021
Safe Beach Cleanup Success 
On Saturday, Apr. 17, the Green Team hosted a successful decentralized cleanup. Members of the St. Monica community went out and cleaned our beaches, neighborhoods, and parks. Thank you to everyone who participated in our cleanup and beautified the city!
Cel 
ebrating 51 Years of Earth Day
From a spark that created a movement, Earth Day continues to inspire! The St. Monica Green Team celebrated Earth Day on Apr. 17 by inviting parishioners to clean their local neighborhood or beach. It has never been more important to care for our common home.
Read a history of Earth Day written by Meredith McCarthy - Click Here!
What’s the deal with Laudato Si’?
Overcome by the beauty of God’s creation, St. Francis of Assisi once proclaimed, “Laudato si’, mi’ signore”, meaning “Praise be to you, my Lord”. Nowadays, we often don’t have moments like St. Francis. Wrapped up in the hustle of life, we forget that the Earth is truly a gift from God. In 2015, Pope Francis reminded the world of this in his second encyclical, Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home, inspired by St. Francis’s canticle. In it, he describes the suffering our planet has undergone and how we can all take action to stop it. As the season of Easter and Earth Month begin, take a moment to pause and reflect on Pope Francis’s encyclical. Read the English translation - Click here.
Rethink Spring Cleaning
The weather is changing, and summer is on the horizon. What comes to mind? Tidying up? Cleaning out your closets and drawers? Shopping? The Green Team offers you three perspectives to consider first - Click Here!
Rethink Mother's Day
What better way to celebrate Mother’s Day than to honor our mothers and love our Mother Earth! Read some tips to keep your Mother’s Day environmentally friendly by Meredith McCarthy - Click Here!
Catholic Conversations: The Spirituality of Laudato Si’ 
On Thursday, May 20, the Green Team hosted Catholic Conversations with Fr. Emmet Farrell and Patricia Grace from the Archdiocese of San Diego. They gave a beautiful presentation on the spirituality of Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si’: on Care for Our Common Home.
For the last 4 years Fr. Emmet has been the director of Creation Care ministry for the Diocese of San Diego, leading a team of fellow volunteers to promote and educate about Pope Francis's 2016 encyclical. Patricia Grace is a lawyer, master’s level social worker, and secular Franciscan with a long personal and professional history of advocacy for the poor and marginalized, yet she holds that her credentials for presenting this workshop are the proverbial calluses on her knees.
Recording of Catholic Conversations: The Spirituality of Laudato Si’ - Click Here to Watch!
Winter 2021
Rethink Lent
Lent invites us to remember the 40 days that Jesus spent fasting in the desert as we reflect, repent, fast, and listen to God. In the spirit of Pope Francis’s invitation this Lent, let’s commit to overcome our indifference to the climate change crisis and its victims. Let’s pray and fast for a renewal of our relationship with all of God’s creation and with our brothers and sisters who live in poverty and are already suffering the impacts of climate change.
What can we do besides limiting meals and consumption? Pray. Here are various ways to pray for Creation:
- Start the day putting ourselves in God's presence and reflecting on the spirit of Lent with this prayer adapted from the Divine Office. “Lord, look upon us and hear our prayer. By the penance and good works you inspire, help us to discipline our appetites and to be renewed in spirit. So that we may be better stewards of creation, help us to live simply even when our desires are great. And help us to love greatly, even when we are not loved. Grant this through our Lord, Jesus Christ, your son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.”
- Throughout the day, pray the Rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, or the Divine Office.
- Read Scripture, especially those passages referring to Creation Stewardship and Environmental Justice.
- Read thoughtfully about creation stewardship - Click here to get started.
- Add these intentions to your daily prayers:
For an urgent solution to the climate change crisis.
For the grace to grow in virtue, which helps us be better stewards of creation.
For easing the suffering of the poor and those affected by disease and severe weather.
For the Church, that it may use its prophetic voice to help solve the environmental problems we face.
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looking for a graphic designer to create an engaging and informative design for signage on our three-bin waste system across campus. If you’re interested in collaborating on this project, please email us at greenteam@stmonica.net.
reduce methane gas generated at landfills. Methane is almost 30 times more potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.
From Genesis to Laudato Si'
More recently, in encyclicals by current and past popes, we are called to recognize our mutual responsibility to restore the damages inflicted on earth. Pope Francis shook the world in 2015 with his letter to the Catholic community, titled Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home. It was the first time a major faith leader publicly acknowledged our environmental crisis and reminded the faith community of our responsibility to creation. His powerful language includes:
