Faithfully yours - One small step—one giant footprint

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Published on Monday, August 27, 2018

By Neil Strohschein

Neepawa Banner & Press

During my time in Prince George, BC, I spent four months as Minister-in-Residence at St. Giles’ Presbyterian Church. I was filling in for their minister who was on medical leave.

Just prior to the first service on a chilly February Sunday, I was approached by some members of their Ladies’ group. “Please announce that we will no longer be using Styrofoam cups for our Sunday coffee hour,” they said. “We want to reduce the amount of trash we produce each week.”

That was 30 years ago—and the congregation was very supportive of the decision. Additional volunteers showed up during the early service to help set out the coffee urns and ceramic mugs. Others stayed behind to help wash the mugs and put everything away. By working together, they reduced the number of Styrofoam cups taken to the PG landfill by roughly 125 per week.

By itself, this small act did little to reduce the gross tonnage of waste that the whole city produced—but that wasn’t the point. The city’s landfill was nearing capacity. City Council had asked residents and businesses to reduce the amount of trash they produced. This was one part of that church’s response to the city’s request and it was implemented immediately.

What these people didn’t realize was the impact that their example would have on their guest minister. I didn’t realize it myself until a few weeks ago when I thought of this event.

Now don’t get me wrong. As you know, I grew up on a mixed farm in central Alberta. My mom was reducing, reusing and recycling long before it became fashionable. We washed and reused everything—tin foil, bread bags and anything else made of plastic or glass. Christmas wrapping paper was carefully removed from gifts, folded and put away until the following year. My mom was a child of the Great Depression; these activities were second nature to her.

We weren’t organic farmers, but we believed in using organic fertilizer. Every year I spent an entire week hauling that fertilizer out of our corrals, from behind the barn, and wherever else I could find it—one spreader load at a time, until the whole job was done. My dad spent hours in his fields, looking for places where the crop wasn’t as good as it could have been. Those were the places to which the organic fertilizer (cow and pig manure) was taken. One application made a significant difference in the amount of grain we harvested from those plots the following year.

As a farm boy, I was taught to revere, respect and care for the land—because it was our source of food. We knew that if we took good care of the land, it would take good care of us. That hasn’t changed. Today, it is even more important for every person to do what he or she can to help look after this planet on which we live.

I have no argument with government initiatives that promote responsible use of the earth’s resources. But legislators set policy. They don’t do the work. The work is done by ordinary people like you and me who choose to care for our world like our parents cared for theirs.

Each of us must decide how we will practice and promote environmental stewardship. Ours may be one small step; but when combined with those of others, it will help create one giant footprint of change, the effects of which will be felt long after we have returned to the earth ourselves.