Green Chalice

Green Chalice Program


The purpose of the Green Chalice Program is to encourage and assist local congregations/DOC Offices and Assemblies who wish to live out their faith by caring for creation. This program is designed to recognize congregations for being good stewards of God’s creation. It also aims to empower congregations/assemblies with ideas and resources to enable them to walk gently on the earth.

The program has two tiers. The first level is to become a Green Chalice Congregation/Assembly. The second level is to become a CERTIFIED Green Chalice Congregation or Assembly.  

 

Becoming a Green Chalice Congregation

Step 1: Form a Green Team

The first step simply requires someone to gather other church members who are passionate for creation who will commit to meeting regularly to examine the church’s practices and to facilitate change.

Step 2: Sign the Alverna Covenant

The second step requires that your green team reads and signs the Alverna Covenant as a sign of your commitment.  

Step 3: Make three changes

The third step puts your commitment into action. Make three changes that will move your congregation toward better caring for God’s creation. For example: recycling, using real dishware, stopping the use of Styrofoam, changing to efficient light bulbs, installing programmable thermostats, starting a community garden, committing to serving local foods, etc.

 

 

We are now a Green Chalice Congregation


Here are some of the things that we have done to better care for God's creation: 

  • Started a community garden - we donate the produce to the Well of Life Food Pantry
  • Installed a new heating and cooling system (which is much more energy efficient)
  • We recycle paper in the church office
  • We recycle cans and donate the proceeds to Habitat for Humanity
  • We recycle communion cups
  • We are using real dishes more often instead of paper plates
  • We encourage the congregation to keep the lights off when a room is not in use
  • We have switched to mostly electronic delivery of our newsletter
  • We have stated using coffee mugs on Sunday mornings instead of styrofoam.
  • We have done a carbon footprint assessment of our building. 
  • We have formed a "Green Team" which will continue to think about ways that we can better care for God’s creation