First Presbyterian Church has been designated an "Earth Care Congregation!" What does this mean?
The Earthcare Pledge
1. Our worship and discipleship will celebrate God’s grace and glory in creation.
2. Our education will encourage and support each other in keeping and healing the creation.
3. Our facilities will be managed, maintained, and upgraded to respect and cherish all creation.
4. Our outreach will encourage community involvement and public policy to protect and restore the earth.
We are stewards of God's creation -- our choices (even in small matters) make a difference. Several upcoming events are related to our Earth Care status!
Our Current Earthcare Committee
Jim Dunning
Liz Drews
Mikala Ewert
Claire Gannon
Lindsay Laube
Mike Mills
Tim Nieman
Sue Wagner
Frankie Weinberger
Becky Wurzer
Caring for ALL Creation
Contact Us with any questions about Earth care or fill out our Get Involved form if you're interested in learning more about more ways to help care for our earth
Earth Care Projects and Announcements
Ways We Can All Make a Difference
1st Harvest from the Garden!
The Zucchinis have started to arrive and are beginning to be delivered to the local food pantry!
No Mow May 2023
First Presbyterian Church Participated in No Mow
May. Our Lawn may have looked a little
unkempt to you, but we were busy
feeding the pollinators.
Earth Care: Eco-Friendly Cleaning & Paper Products
First Presbyterian Church of Eau Claire is an Earth Care congregation. As an Earth Care congregation, several projects have been completed, and more are being planned. These endeavors fit in well with our mission statement which includes “care for all creation”.
An upcoming plan will be to upgrade church cleaning and paper products to environmentally friendly brands. In the next few months you may gradually notice these around the church. In preparation for making this change, supply sources were researched and compared. We would like to share these findings with you and encourage you to make your home more eco-friendly as a way of caring for creation.
The NRDC (National Resource Defense Council) issues an annual scorecard for home tissue products like toilet paper, paper towels and facial tissue. A score of A+ to F is given, based on a scoring system for type of fiber like post-consumer recycled fiber, and chemicals such as chlorine used in the paper products. An article “The Issue with Tissue” from September 15, 2021 explains and references the scorecard, The Issue with Tissue 2021 Scorecard. It can be found on the NRDC website. Several brands scored at A+ or A are available at local stores as
below:
-Green Forest toilet paper, paper towels, facial tissues, napkins: Woodman’s (A+)
-Who Gives a Crap 100% Recycled toilet paper: Eco Minded, 2919 Mall Drive, Eau Claire (A+)
-Seventh Generation toilet paper, paper towels: Woodman’s, Festival Foods (A)
Green cleaning and household supplies are also available locally, as well as online. Here are several local and online sources:
-Seventh Generation laundry detergent, dishwasher powder, cleaning supplies, paper products:
Festival Foods, Woodman’s
- Dr. Bronner’s liquid and bar soaps, toothpaste: Festival Foods, Menomonie Food Co-op
-Eco-Minded: shampoo & conditioner bars, laundry soap sheets, cotton mesh bags for bulk produce, bamboo toothbrushes, toilet paper, facial tissues, and many more eco-friendly products
-Coffee Grounds: cotton and linen reusable coffee filters
-All Green Janitorial Products: www.all-greenjanitorialproducts.com
-Grove Collaborative (multiple eco-friendly cleaning & paper products): www.grove.com
-Bars for Shampoo, Conditioner, Moisturizer, Deodorants: www.ethique.com
-A+ recycled toilet paper, facial tissue: www.whogivesacrap.com
If you like foaming hand soap, here is an easy recipe to refill them. Fill empty foam soap dispenser with water, leaving 1 inch at the top. Then pour in Dr. Bronner’s liquid castile soap. The dispenser can be re-used for years.
Caring for God’s creation is an important part of the mission of the church, as well as our personal calling to be good stewards of this precious planet. These are just a few ways we can fulfill that mission and calling. If you have other environmentally-friendly tips, please share them with us.
