Congregations can become aware of their environment and reduce their dependence on oil and fossil fuels with the help of KAIROS’ Re-energize Campaign. Supported by the Presbyterian Church, KAIROS has created an initiative to educate, inspire and assist congregations, groups and individuals to take action. One of the most practical – and fun – suggestions is a 100-mile congregational meal.
Katharine Masterton, of the PCC’s Justice Ministries department, said the campaign is an important initiative that congregations should strive to take part in – especially with Earth Day approaching on April 22.
“Sharing meals is a traditional part of church-family fellowship,” said Masterton. “The invitation to God’s table is for all people, and 100-mile meals are an opportunity to share food and fellowship while finding out more about where our food comes from, and how its journey to our table impacts people and the environment.”
The campaign has several parts that suggest ways to “change yourself, change your community, or change the world.” Congregations will find “change your community” particularly helpful, which not only offers the 100-mile meal idea, but also features worship materials, instructions on hosting a workshop, tips for taking a carbon Sabbath, and a “Power Down Day” where a group commits to not use fossil fuel-powered electricity for 12 hours.
According to the KAIROS website, “100-mile church dinners and picnics are events that enable congregations to provoke discussion and awareness. Churches can become leaders in demonstrating that locally grown food is a viable alternative to the global supermarket.”
The idea comes from The 100-Mile Diet, a book by Alisa Smith and J. B. MacKinnon, two British Columbians who, for one year, only ate foods grown within 100 miles of their home.
Having congregations participate in something similar helps them realize that “a tremendous amount of fossil fuels is required for large-scale commercial farms, processing and packing facilities, cross-country and international transport, as well as the operation of ever-expanding supermarkets,” notes KAIROS. “Consuming locally grown foods requires 17 times less oil and gas than a typical diet, in which each ingredient has traveled an average of 1,500 miles.”
“It’s seasonal and it’s local,” said Janette McIntosh, a member of West Point Grey, Vancouver, and an environmental aficionado. “There is less packaging, less energy required, and less transportation costs and pollution, plus, you can become re-acquainted with what it is exactly that is being produced in a particular season within this local distance.”
McIntosh said the first book that got her involved in the eat local initiative is Pick of the Crop: Seasonal Recipes Inspired by Canada’s Public Markets, by Jennifer Stamper, and noted that many other cook books have now come out that are regionally specific.
The 100-mile project includes numerous suggestions on how to make the meal work, and how to build on the environmental focus in other areas of your church and its work. Ideas for grace and a list of resources are also included.
