“We cannot allow our seas and oceans to be littered by endless fields of floating plastic. We need to pray as if everything depended on God’s providence, and work as if everything depended on us.”
Pope Francis
In response to Pope Francis’ call to work to end the threat that plastic poses to our planet, the staff of Angela Hospice were invited to participate in a new initiative.
In the effort to make Angela Hospice an even greener place, today, Earth Day, all plastic utensils, stirrers and Styrofoam cups were replaced by silverware, coffee mugs and wooden stirrers.
The Mission Integration committee’s Sustainability of the Earth: Justice and Peace team invited staff to do some spring cleaning and donate any unwanted silverware and mugs to the staff kitchen. For two weeks, Earth Day facts were emailed to the staff to inform them of the need for change and to help motivate them to donate. New protocols around kitchen etiquette were developed to maintain cleanliness and staff safety given concerns around COVID-19.
By Earth Day, almost 60 mugs and approximately 100 pieces of silverware were collected; team members chimed in with suggestions of other ways to protect the planet; and words of encouragement were shared in support of the new initiative.
In the past Angela Hospice has purchased recycling bins, replaced bottled water with pitchers for meetings, and provided a place in the staff kitchen for people to store personal mugs for convenience… Next up, the plastic bag collection!
