Carbon Fast 2015

Our practical challenge today is to do a water audit at church. This can be a fun activity to be done with the youth or Sunday School.  You will need a notebook or paper to make spreadsheet.   Running water: Find the water meter …. Take a reading Turn off all other water users Fill pot/bucket by running water for 30 seconds Take another water reading Calculate how much water is running through the pipes, in litres/minute or litres per second If hosepipes are used for gardening or washing cars or paving, find out for how many minutes and calculate the amount of water used per day. Enter onto your spreadsheet   2 Toilet and basins for hand washing Lift the cistern lid Hold water tap off and flush the loo Keeping the intake water closed off, use your measuring bottle to fill the cistern, measuring how much water is used. Find out how many times a day the toilet is flushed, and calculate the amount of water that is used during the day. Repeat for any other toilets. Wash your hands in the basin, and calculate the amount of water you use.   Kitchen water use Calculate the amount of water used for an event – e.g. a church service on a Sunday If cooking a meal, how many pots and using your measuring bottle, calculate how much water is used to cook food. Kettle/urn – how much water does the kettle/urn hold – use your measuring bottle to find out How many times is the kettle boiled to make enough tea? For washing up, what size sink or bowl is used (use your measuring bottle to calculate the volume) How many bowls, sinks of water does it take to wash up the pots? Are the pots, cups, plates etc. rinsed as well? Where does the water go? Down the drain or onto the vegetable garden? For washing cloths and for washing the floor: how much water per week (no of buckets) and no of times the floor is washed per week. All this information is added onto your spreadsheet PLACE WHAT AMOUNT OF WATER USAGE PER WEEK e.g Hall Toilet Cistern 5 liters per flush  5 x 200 flushes = 1000 liters   This audit is provided by the South African Faith Communities Environmental Institute (SAFCEI) www.safcei.org

“why do we need to be constantly filled with the holy spirit – because we leak?” Today our challenge is to fix leaks. A leaking pipe can waste thousands of liters of water and land you with a huge water bill Check your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter changes at all, you probably have a leak. Identify toilet leaks by placing a drop of food coloring in the toilet tank. If any color shows up in the bowl after 10 minutes, you have a leak. (Be sure to flush immediately after the experiment to avoid staining the tank.) Check to see if your toilet is leaking from the valve seal. http://www.conserveh2o.org/how-to-videos-water-conservation/how-find-toilet-leak Examine tap  gaskets and pipe fittings for any water on the outside of the pipe to check for surface leaks. Old and worn tap washers and gaskets frequently cause leaks in faucets. Many tutorials are available online for how to fix a wide variety of faucets. Here are a couple of examples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGAUkiGfOq4   Receptive, flowing people are the ones who change the world and transform history. Their possibilities are limitless, because they do not let any seeming barriers stop their path; in fact they well up from within until they can surmount any obstacle. “Be like water” is a good piece of advice. Richard Rohr

Holy God, three in one. Give me your perspective as I wash these clothes. Creator, Father, Thank you for providing the clothes that we wear and for all the resources and technology we use to wash them. Help us to remember all the skill and effort of the people who designed and assembled these garments. Bless them, wherever they may be. Jesus, Make us more like you. Give me your humility as I serve my loved ones. May we find our identity in you and not in these clothes. Help us to be good stewards of what you’ve given us, but not to treasure them beyond their purpose. Holy Spirit, Use this task to remind me that you’re continually cleansing me and my loved ones. Prepare us for tomorrow as we put on our clean clothes, that we may have a fresh start to serve and honor you. Amen.  http://voxveniae.com/a-prayer-for-doing-laundry/ Today we look at how to save water while we are doing our laundry. If we make changes to our regular habits we can save a lot of water and also energy When washing by hand, make sure that the water you use is poured onto the garden (flowers and grass if soapy) or vegetables if it is your rinse water Hang up towels and re-use them for longer. Use Less Hot Water. Saving money in the laundry room has to start with hot water usage because turning cold water to hot water is the most energy-intensive part of the laundry process. Use warm or cold water when possible, and you instantly save on water energy costs. Run Full Loads. Rather than running many small loads of laundry, save them to run larger, fuller loads instead. Every time the machine is used, you’re consuming water, so consolidating washes will be more efficient. Use Size Cycles. When you need to run a small load for some reason, take advantage of the washer’s “small load” option/setting, which will use less water because it is washing fewer items. Skip the Extra Rinse. Many washing machines have an option for an extra rinse cycle, so skip this step to save water. Use the right amount of soap in the first place, and you won’t need it anyway. Insulate and Lower the Temperature on Your Hot Water Tank. Your hot water tank will function most efficiently when it’s insulated, so be sure to insulate it well — especially if you have an older model. When it comes time to upgrade your washing machine ask for an energy/water efficient one.  

Today our action is to shorten our shower. We do this in solidarity with those who have access to less than 20 liters of water a day. Did you know that every minute you are using between 7-10 liters of water.  Many people take a ten minute shower without even thinking about it.  Time your shower and see how you can cut it down. The best is to wet yourself, turn off the tap while you are soaking and shampooing  and then rinse off. Why not have a competition with your family  to see who can shower the quickest? Then write down the number of liters you have saved. As we reflect today it is good to reflect on the imbalance of those who have several showers in their house and those who only have a bucket of water to wash from. St Francis of Assissi came from a wealthy middle class family. If he had been born today no doubt they would have had many toilets and bathrooms.. His father was among the first generation of the new propertied business class. Francis recognized that his father’s obsession with money and property had destroyed his father’s soul, and so he set out on a very different path. Francis concluded that the only way out of such a world was to live a life of voluntary poverty or “non-possession.” He refused to be part of the moneyed class because he knew that once you owned something you’d have to protect it, and for some reason, you would inevitably try to get more of it. Francis said, “Look, Brothers, if we have any possessions, we will need arms to protect them. . . . Therefore, we do not want to possess anything in this world.” Francis felt that in order to find a way out, he had to live in close proximity and even solidarity with the excluded ones in his society. He literally changed sides. He had been born among the upper class in Upper Assisi. In the lower part of town lived the lower class. Francis not only moved to the other side of town, but he actually moved to the plain below Assisi where there was a leper colony. The word “leper” did not always refer to the contagious disease. Rather, the lepers in both Jesus’ and Francis’ times represented the excluded ones, the ones whom society had decided were unacceptable, unworthy, or unclean for a number of reasons. Francis told us to identify not with the upper class and the climb toward success, power, and money, but to go to where Jesus went–to where there was pain, to the excluded ones. We were to find our place not in climbing but in descending, not at the top but at the bottom, not among the insiders but with the outsider. What an upside down world! In our focus on saving water , let us consciously identify with those who do not have access to water – to find out place not in climbing but in ascending It seems to me the Franciscan worldview is now desperately important if the 7.4 billion of us are going to exist happily together on this one limited planet. Voluntary simplicity is now essential for social survival. Francis warned us where we were headed eight hundred years ago.   Rev Rachel Mash Adapted from Richard Rohr.

Today our challenge is to stop using the hosepipe and to take up the watering can. Yes you can!! Hosepipes use 7 liters per minute and we tend to spread the water all around the plants rather than watering directly onto the plants. Just as our plants need frequent watering, so do our souls. It is important to develop a daily prayer routine that works for you.  One such helpful routine is the Prayer of Examen, developed by St Ignatius of Loyola 500 years ago. Many Christians and many spiritual directors use this simple prayer exercise. Why? In our world of information and activity overload, I believe taking some moments for quiet reflection is critical to our spiritual life, regardless of our particular temperament or devotional preferences. This practice was developed specifically for followers of Jesus with busy lives rather than monastics with countless hours to spend with God. Not much has changed in the past 500 years in this regard… And what is it exactly? Questions. Not magic questions, but very good ones. They are intended to allow you to sit with God and think back over the day in some particular ways. You can do this purely by thinking/talking with God, or journaling your reflections. As with all prayer practices, remember this is a tool, not the goal. So don’t feel overly constricted by the specifics when it comes to how long you spend with this or trying to “answer every question.” You will need a quiet place 10 minutes (or more!) These Examen questions a journal (optional) How to do this Be still and become aware of God’s presence Review the day with gratitude When did I sense your presence the most in my day? When did your presence seem farthest away from me in my day? How were you loving me in my day? How were you loving me even when your presence seemed far away? How did I respond to your love in my day? Pay attention to your emotions Choose one feature of the day and pray from it Look toward tomorrow. You will probably feel that you can’t make the time to do this. But, DO THIS. The timing is what gets most people. Maybe try doing it in one of the following times: after you’re done working for the day, but before leaving work; stop somewhere between work and home for doing this; do as soon as you are able when getting home from work but before beginning your evening routine; first thing after dinner or putting kids to bed; or as a way to ending the day before bed. If mindfulness or the thought of slowing down just for a moment in your day sounds appealing, you may love this. And if the mention of “sitting and thinking with God in silence” terrifies you, it just might be a helpful way to grow in your prayer life by giving it a go. Not much has changed with Ignatian spirituality over the last 500 years, but there is one major change!!! You can now get an app for free on Google play http://reimaginingexamen.ignatianspirituality.com/ Arthur www.kingofhearts.co.za

“Hey there! All who are thirsty, come to the water!” (Isaiah 55:1a, The Message) The Minimum amount of water needed to survive in the 24 hour period is 4 litres. Imagine those in refugee camps, in drought situations for whom 4 litres is all they are allocated. And now have a look around your home.  You probably have several taps in your house, cold water in the fridge and at work.  At the slightest twinge of thirst you can satisfy the craving. When was the last time you were really thirsty? It was probably during some kind of recreation – a jog or hiking, or because you ate too many salty chips. We do not know what it means to thirst – really thirst for life giving water. The World Health Organisation indicates that water poverty is defined as having less than 20 liters per day for all your needs – washing clothes, using the toilet, cooking, drinking etc. I want to set you a challenge today. Try to survive on 20 liters of water. Measure them out into a couple of buckets and use them for all of your needs. Give thanks that you can just get them out of a tap and imagine the many millions of people who walk long distances to fetch water. Grey water is important, not just when there is a water crisis. It makes no sense economically or environmentally to pour drinking quality water down the toilet.  This water has been treated at great cost. We can all make small changes, by re-using water from our showers or baths in the toilet.  Or we can consider putting in a rain tank or grey water system to make larges life style changes. This understanding of physical thirst also helps us to understand the living water that God offers us.. If you are thirsty for God, even the least bit, God invites you, welcomes you, yearns for you to come to the waters, to the flowing, bubbling, effervescent fountain of eternal life. Stop for a moment, in the midst of your busy day, and consciously drink in God’s presence. Renewal flows continually from God. “Come,” God invites us. “Come thirsty and drink deeply.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-peter-m-wallace/thirsty-for-god-a-meditat_b_819784.html   Follow Rev. Peter M. Wallace on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pwallace Mark Hertsgaard, author of the book Hot: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth,