Members of the 2018 Green Team stand in front of the bicycle rack that their native plant sale made possible

The Green Team launched on January 14, 2009.  We are committed to helping the St. John XXIII community—both the parish and its members—be good stewards of God’s Creation. We do this by providing information about ecological practices and encouraging people to make simple changes in their lifestyle. Our goal is to develop opportunities to get people involved not only at the parish level, but in the community where they live.

Past activities have included arranging guest speakers for adult faith enrichment opportunities and hosting  a native plant sale. Funds from the sale were later spent on purchasing the bike racks on the north side of St. Nicholas Church.  In December 2019, we partnered with Collective Resource to compost all the food waste that was generated during the weekend holiday fest.

Our meetings depend on the projects that are upcoming. We welcome the ideas and help of anyone  who is interested in ecology, conserving and preserving our environment!

For more information about the Green Team, please contact Carol Michelini at 847.492.8389 or [email protected].

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Additional Resources

Community Resources

• Catholic Climate Covenant
• Citizens’ Climate Lobby
• EarthBeat (NCR)
• Evanston Ecology Center
• Faith In Place
• Franciscan Action Network
• Friends of the Earth
• Green Faith
• Ignatian Solidarity Network
• Interfaith Power and Light
• Jesuits – Environmental Justice
• Laudato Si Movement
• Citizens’ Greener Evanston
• GoGreen Illinois
• Meatless Monday
• Guide to Going Green at Home
• What and How to Recycle
• Plant-Based Diet for Sustainability (from Ingredion)

Recommended Books

• All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis, by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson; Katharine Wilkinson
• Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, by Robin Kimmerer
  
• Care for Creation–A Franciscan Spirituality of the Earth, by Ilia Delio, O.S.F.
• Climate Crisis and the Global Green New Deal: The Political Economy of Saving the Planet, by Noam Chomsky and Robert Polin
• Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming, by Paul Hawken
• Ecology at the Heart of Faith: The Change of Heart That Leads to a New Way of Life on Earth, by Denis Edwards
• Food & Faith: Justice, Joy and Daily Bread, edited and compiled by Michael Schut
• Love God Heal Earth, by The Rev. Canon Sally G. Bingham
• Saving Us: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World, by Katharine Hayhoe
• The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier and More Creative, by Florence Williams
• The Ten Green Commandments of Laudato Si', by Joshtrom Kureethadam
• This Changes Everything: Capitalism Vs The Climate, by Naomi Klein
• Thomas Berry: Selected Writings on the Earth Community, edited by Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim
• Under the Sky We Make, by Kimberly Nicholas

Ways to Make Difference in Caring for Our Common Home

• Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle
• Calculate your Carbon Footprint
• Be energy efficient
• Move to a more plant-based diet
• Say NO to single use plastics
• Use less water
• Use energy efficient appliances and lights
• Garden in a climate friendly way
• Adjust your driving routine
• Petition policy makers
• Vote knowledgeably
• Write to local newspapers
• Stay informed and up-to-date on Climate issues
• Form a study or action group
• Join the community’s CathCap Program to offset driving and flying carbon effects
• Talk, Talk, Talk to family, friends, co-workers, neighbors about climate change