Sustainability Committee
Vision
Our Catholic tradition has a long history of weaving reverence for God's creation into our spirituality, including the work of numerous Saints, our two most recent popes, and the U.S. Bishops: "All people on this globe share a common ecological environment that is under increasing pressure. Depletion of soil, water and other natural resources endangers the future. Pollution of air and water threatens the delicate balance of the biosphere on which future generations will depend. The resources of the earth have been created by God for the benefit of all, and we who are alive today hold them in trust. This is a challenge to develop a new ecological ethic, that will help shape a future that is both just and sustainable." --from Economic Justice for All US Catholic Bishops, 1986
Our charism as a Jesuit parish to "find God in all things," deepens the invitation to constant ecological conversion.
SFX Sustainability hopes that SFX will become a leader among other churches in Kansas City, as we seek to implement our dream of environmental sustainability for our parish, our Church, and our world.
The Plan
SFX Sustainability's purpose is to guide the parish to live in harmony with God's creation as inspired by Scripture and Church teaching.
To that end, SFX Sustainability shall:
1) Promote the connection between the Catholic Church's theology and the imperative that we revere creation by sustaining and protecting it.
2) Provide educational opportunities for the parish through films, discussion groups, seminars and other activities that illuminate ways to lighten our footprint on Earth.
3) Provide concrete examples and opportunities for action to reduce our impact on Earth as individuals and as a parish.
4) Inform, guide, and support the St. Francis Xavier staff to include environmental stewardship as a factor in decision-making.
5) Guide & support environmentally responsible restoration/renovation efforts at SFX.