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Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE)

Press Mention Southeast Green February 10, 2013

SACE Referenced Web article

6 Lent Programs to Green Your Faith

By Simon Mahan · Southeast Green

In this mention

Simon Mahan of SACE contributes a blog post highlighting six Lenten programs that encourage environmental stewardship and carbon reduction during the Christian season of Lent. The article features programs from various faith organizations, including the Catholic Climate Covenant's Carbon Fast and Interfaith Power and Light, which SACE partners with to promote clean energy. The piece encourages readers to adopt environmentally conscious practices over the 40-day Lenten period.

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Full transcript

6 Lent Programs to Green Your Faith

Written by Simon Mahan, SACE

Category: A Greener Faith

Created on Monday, 11 February 2013 11:46

Lent is a Christian season that begins this week, on Ash Wednesday, and ends on Easter Sunday. Sweets, cursing, booze, and other vices are popular items from which Lenten observers tend to abstain. But instead of thinking about "giving up" something, what about "doing" something that has a positive impact on the environment and your community instead?

There's some really fascinating environmentally-minded programs for Lent for a variety of denominations.

  • The Catholic Climate Covenant put together a Carbon Fast calendar for Lent a few years ago. Daily items range from reducing ones food waste, electricity consumption to getting involved in the climate discussion. All activities are designed to reduce your carbon footprint. While the dates aren't current for 2013, the advice is still good and relevant. Check it out here.
  • Lent 4.5, a program based on the fact that each person can only fairly use 4.5 acres to support himself/herself even though residents in the developed world use many more, breaks the season into weekly themes including Food, Consumption, Water, Energy and Transportation. This program includes a dose of data and information, scripture and real-world activities to implement "creation care." Check it out here.
  • Similar to the Carbon Fast, the Energy Fast contains 40 days of Lenten activities from the Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati. The Energy Fast borrows some wisdom from St. Francis of Assisi, considered by many to be the patron saint of ecology. Check it out here.
  • Interfaith Power and Light, a non-profit organization that SACE partners with to promote clean energy, has posted a blog on different activities regarding a "low-carbon Lent." Check it out here.
  • The Evangelical Environmental Network had a blog series last year covering the seven weeks of Lent. Check it out here.

So, what will you be doing over the next 40 days?

Simon Mahan appears courtesy of Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.