By BECCA LOWRY
We are living in a rapidly changing world, so it is crucial that we try to be as green and eco-friendly as possible. I talked with some people from three different places of worship on the Upper Cape about how they are making efforts to go green and to teach others about how to better respect our environment.
Falmouth Jewish Congregation
Falmouth Jewish Congregation with rooftop solar panels
I had a lovely chat with Pamela Rothstein, Falmouth Jewish Congregation’s director of lifelong learning, who told me that they installed their rooftop solar panels about 10 years ago. Before the panels were installed, the congregation had what is called an “eternal flame”—or Ner Tamid in Hebrew—a type of lamp in a synagogue that is never supposed to go out. Ms. Rothstein said that for several years they have gardened to provide food for the Falmouth Service Center and to encourage people to grow their own food. She also told me about a holiday, Tu BiShvat, which fell on January 17 this year and is about marking the beginning of the new year for trees and rededicating ourselves to the environment.
According to Chabad.org, Tu BiShvat “marks the season in which the earliest-blooming trees in the Land of Israel emerge from their winter sleep and begin a new fruit-bearing cycle.” In addition, the site said, “We mark the 15th of Shevat—the Hebrew month corresponding to January and February—by eating fruit, particularly from the kinds that are singled out by the Torah in its praise of the bounty of the Holy Land: grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates. On this day we remember that ‘man is a tree of the field’ (Deuteronomy 20:19), and reflect on the lessons we can derive from our botanical analogue.” I was raised Protestant, so I had never heard of this holiday until Ms. Rothstein told me about it, but after I read more about it, it made me wish everyone celebrated the Earth in such a beautiful way!
As part of Ms. Rothstein’s job, she teaches students all about environmentalism and how to sustain our planet and ourselves. On its property, the congregation has established a school garden, perennial beds and pollinator gardens. Also, they have had a specialist in insects come in to teach the students about how important insects are to a healthier earth. The congregation also supports Farming Falmouth, a secular group that promotes agriculture in Falmouth, as well as Hazon, one of the major Jewish environmental groups. According to Hazon.org, the group’s mission is to lead “a transformative movement weaving sustainability into the fabric of Jewish life to create a healthier, more sustainable and more equitable world for all.”
When working with students, Ms. Rothstein said she emphasizes the biblical concept of stewardship and how they can do those practices each day, and they also look at environmental stewardship and what action can be taken to reduce waste.
Waquoit Congregational Church
Waquoit Congregational Church’s Parish Hall with rooftop solar panels
The Reverend Nell Fields, the minister at Waquoit Congregational Church in Falmouth, started our chat by saying that making a tactical change, such as recycling or no more polystyrene cups at coffee hours, is not so hard. What can be more of a challenge is making an adaptive change, that is, making sure that creation care is at the forefront of everything we do. That means no more plastic bottles and changing who you are inside.
The church has had solar panels on the Parish Hall for more than a year, and it always does an Earth Day celebration. What stood out to me most was the Blessing of the Animals, which they do every September. Ms. Fields told me how important animals are to their mission and that they want to recognize the sacredness and holiness in each animal. Speaking as someone who absolutely loves animals, especially dogs, I thought the idea of a blessing was very sweet. She said that while most of the animals that people bring in are dogs, at times she has also seen chickens and even a donkey! What I found positively adorable is what Ms. Fields told me about when she is blessing the dogs: she dips her hand in the holy water and does the cross on the dog’s head—and sometimes the dog drinks out of the holy water bowl.
Lastly, Ms. Fields told me about a recent Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve lecture about a dead zone that was found in Falmouth’s Childs River, which feeds into the bay. A dead zone is a place where nothing lives, because there is too much nitrogen in the water. One cause of this is ineffective septic systems that allow nitrogen to seep into the groundwater. She also told me about the Waquoit Walkers, a group that every Monday walks different trails around Falmouth and enhances the participants’ relationship with nature.
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Of Falmouth
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Falmouth with rooftop solar panels
I had a wonderful chat with Lew Stern, the leader of the Green Sanctuary Program at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Falmouth. He told me the fellowship’s commitment to the environment is not only to the fellowship but also to the Cape Cod and the global communities. He is a member of the Faith Communities Environmental Network, which consists of 34 faith communities on the Cape and islands. They work together on ecological justice and other initiatives with Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative, the Cape Cod Climate Emergency, the Cape Cod Climate Action Network and the Massachusetts Climate Action Network. The fellowship will host an Earth Day service on April 10.
The fellowship, Mr. Stern said, will take part in the Association to Preserve Cape Cod’s Be the Hope program, which is aiming to plant 1,000 native white oak trees. The plantings are 2-year-old saplings, and all the money raised goes to college tuitions for future arborists on Cape Cod. Within eight years, the trees will be 20 feet tall, and within 20 years they will be fully mature and will support more native animals and bugs than any other plant. I was astounded to learn that they support more than 500 species on the Cape; they are that crucial. Besides its work with the trees, the fellowship has had solar panels on its roof since 2008, and this year it plans to take out the gas furnaces and remove any fossil fuels within six months.
Mr. Stern told me that when they fight for ecological justice, they are not just fighting for the environment, they are also fighting for the people who can’t fight for themselves, the most marginalized people. They don’t want anyone left behind, he said. The children who are part of the fellowship learn a great deal about the climate and how fragile it is. He told me the children and the youth group have planted seagrass on the Cape, and the children will also help in planting the 1,000 trees.