Spirit of Christ will host a “Faith and Climate Change” conference on November 13 & 14. There will be nationally-known speakers and a rich variety of topics to choose from, whether you’re interested in spirituality or practical actions to take or something in between.

Please follow this link: to the Colorado Interfaith Power and Light (CoIPL) website to see all the details and register. This is a great opportunity to extend your knowledge and to see what Christ may be calling you to do to in response to the to problem of climate change.

Pope Benedict’s new encyclical Caritas et Veritate calls on Catholics worldwide to honor the environment and conserve resources as part of a commitment to simpler living. A renewed commitment to stewardship is one of the actions that he calls for as a Catholic response to the challenges of globalization.

Human beings legitimately exercise a responsible stewardship over nature, in order to protect it, to enjoy its fruits and to cultivate it in new ways, with the assistance of advanced technologies, so that it can worthily accommodate and feed the world's population. On this earth there is room for everyone: here the entire human family must find the resources to live with dignity, through the help of nature itself — God's gift to his children — and through hard work and creativity. At the same time we must recognize our grave duty to hand the earth on to future generations in such a condition that they too can worthily inhabit it and continue to cultivate it. This means being committed to making joint decisions “after pondering responsibly the road to be taken, decisions aimed at strengthening that covenant between human beings and the environment, which should mirror the creative love of God, from whom we come and towards whom we are journeying”

The Catholic Coalition on Climate Change (endorsed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) has launched the Catholic Climate Covenant. Individuals and communities are urged to take the St. Francis pledge: http://catholicclimatecovenant.org/the-st-francis-pledge/. The feast of St Francis will be a great time to join. Take the pledge and sign up for emails from the CCCC.

Recycling receptacles are available in the Spirit Center, The John XXIII room, Holy Family B and the east entrance. We recycle bottles and cans, which should be drained and rinsed. Food and trash cannot be recycled and must be kept out of the containers or the entire contents may go to the landfill instead of being recycled. Trash includes any food wrapping, plastic bags, tissue, paper towels and Styrofoam.

Earth Stewards encourages you to check out a Kill-A-Watt meter from the parish resource center to take home and measure your electric appliances and electronic devices. See if your TV uses as much as your toaster, etc. Calculate your household carbon footprint. Find out how much juice your “vampire” devices are really sucking up. Check out the EPA’s explanation of energy vampires. http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2008/10/27/qotw-what-are-your-energy-vampires/

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops say in their 2003 reflection on food, farmers and farmworkers, For I was Hungry & You Gave Me Food: "Catholic teaching about the stewardship of creation leads us to question certain farming practices, such as the operation of massive, confined animal-feeding operations. We believe that these operations should be carefully regulated and monitored so that environmental risks are minimized and animals are treated as creatures of God."

Get ready for the fall & winter fireplace season by having your chimney checked and cleaned. A clean chimney is safer and better for the environment. Check for the air quality status before lighting your fireplace and observe burning restrictions unless your have a gas fireplace or a wood fireplace with a catalytic converter.