Category: Justice and peace

  CO2 emission from moving 1 passenger 1 mile: plane 210g, car 146g, ferry 137g,   train or coach 30-65g

45% of flights in Europe are less than 500km

A return flight London – New York adds 1.2t to a person’s carbon footprint

The global warming effect of long-haul flights is worse than short-haul due to their high altitude (‘radiative forcing’)

Electric cars are better than petrol or diesel cars in terms of CO2 emissions but require ‘conflict minerals’ in the manufacture of their batteries

Sources: www.tyndall.ac.uk, Wikipedia: environmental impact of aviation, www.eta.co.uk/environmental-info/air-travels-impact-on-climate-change/

Flying less has the biggest impact on your individual carbon footprint

Reducing car mileage from 15,000 to 10,000m per year saves over 1t of CO2

Share car journeys:  www.sheffield.ac.uk/parkingservices/sharing, https://www.blablacar.co.uk/ride-sharing/sheffield/, https://liftshare.com/uk/community/southyorkshire

Have a look at:  www.nextgreencar.com, www.ecopassenger.com, www.eta.co.uk, www.sustrans.org.uk

For European train travel: www.seat61.com, https://loco2.com/

Home delivery is climate friendlier than everyone driving to the supermarket

Reduce food-miles by buying locally produced food (see ‘shopping’ sheet)

Walk, cycle, and use public transport

Everything we buy carries its own environmental footprint: natural and other resources (land, water, fertilisers, pesticides, fossil fuel, minerals, etc.), energy inputs, by-products during manufacture, packaging, transportation, use of the product, and ultimate disposal.

This linear process is very wasteful

As consumers we can help turn this into a circular process where nothing ends up wasted but is a resource for a new product. This way a huge amount of resources and energy could be saved.

Therefore

Buy less

Buy local, 2^nd hand and recycled

Borrow & share, give away

Avoid unnecessary packaging

Fix, mend, reuse, repurpose, upcycle, recycle

Buy seasonal, local food and avoid out-of-season, fresh produce which has been flown in from overseas:

Sheffield veg-box schemes: Regather, Moss Valley Market Garden, Beanies Wholefoods, Sheffield Organic Growers, …

Visit the farmer’s market at the Scout Hut in Broomhill

Buy loose rather than prepacked and bring your own bag/container: Unwrapped (Crookes), most greengrocers, zerowastenear.me/loc/sheffield/

Bring your own cup and most coffee shops will give you       20 to 50 pence off your take-out coffee

Refill your water bottle at home rather than buying water bottles on the go

Recycle empty ball pens, felt pens, and printer cartridges at ‘Good Taste’ fairtrade shop in Broomhill

Repurpose old jeans: www.diyncrafts.com/repurpose (search for jeans)

New T-shirts from old ones: www.rapanuiclothing.com

Avoid cheap ‘Fast Fashion’: most of it ends up as waste as charity shops are often unable to re-sell it

Resources: www.wrap.org.uk/, www.terracycle.com/en-GB

How you invest your money shapes the world

Apply your ethical beliefs to your investments even if it means smaller financial returns; social and environmental returns benefit the wider world

Divest from financial institutions which invest in fossil fuel extraction

Invest in banks, building societies, insurance companies, pension schemes, credit unions, and community projects which work for positive environmental and social change

Increase your impact by telling your old bank why you are moving your money

Examples

The Co-operative Bank

Ecology Building Society

Charity Bank

Triodos Bank

Some smaller Building Societies

Local credit unions

Community energy projects like: www.egni.coop.

www.abundanceinvestment.com

www.investing-ethically.co.uk

Ethex/Energise Africa

The Downing Crowd

Resources: www.ethical consumer.org

www.communityenergyengland.org

A quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions come from food production

 58% of this from animal products      

Half of this from beef

Growing protein-rich plants needs much less land and resources and produces a fraction of greenhouse gases

Worldwide an estimated one third of food is lost or wasted; much of it before it reaches the shops as it doesn’t have the right shape or colour

Food waste costs the UK around £17 billion a year (£470 to an average household)

www.cat.org.uk, www.bbc.co.uk/science-environment-46459714, www.bbc.co.uk/science-environment-46384067

Eat less meat:

especially beef and lamb

Reduce the size of meat portions; use it more as flavouring than the main component of a meal

Eat less dairy, especially hard cheese

Try vegetarian recipes: Beans, nuts, pulses, tofu are rich in protein

Avoid food waste:

Include wonky fruit and veg when you go shopping.

Many foods can be safely used after the best before date

Turn left-overs into a tasty meal: stir-fries, omelettes, casseroles, bakes, tartes, salads, soups …

Leafy tops of carrots, beetroot, radish are good in soups

Favour local, seasonal, and organic food:                       see ‘shopping’ sheet

https://thefoodworks.org/ (this is in Sheffield), www.cat.org.uk/lauras-larder,www.aberfoodsurplus.co.uk,  Michael Pollan: Food Rules

In 2017, carbon dioxide emissions from power stations accounted for about a fifth of all CO2 emissions in the UK

Electricity consumption peaked in 2005 and has slightly reduced since then

The increase in renewable electricity production in the UK has facilitated the closure of two coal power stations in recent years

Electricity accounts for 16% of carbon emissions of the average UK household

Sources: Dept. for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, 2017 UK GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, PROVISIONAL FIGURES (29 March 2018), www.carboncalculator.co.uk/averages.php

Switch to a renewable energy supplier, preferably one that also invests in new renewable capacity

e.g. Ecotricity, Good Energy, Octopus Energy, Bulb, LoCO2

www.cable.co.uk/energy/guides/green-energy/, www.ethicalconsumer.org/energy

Invest in community energy schemes

www.communityenergyengland.org

Crowd funding platforms like Triodos, Abundance, etc.

At home

Switch appliances off rather than leaving them on standby,

LED bulbs use less electricity than Halogen bulbs,

Use a washing line rather than a tumble drier,

Check energy ratings when buying a new appliance,

Turn off the dishwasher at the beginning of the drying cycle and open its door instead.

www.cse.org.uk, www.carbonfootprint.com/energyconsumption.html

Present Sian (chair), Eva, Stephen, Tim, Susanne. Sarah B (minutes)

Apologies Sarah L, Margaret

Matters arising from previous minutes

Very positive feedback about the Lenten reflections – although some would appreciate a larger and more distinct font.

May Day Trek – poorly attended by the parish.

S2 Food Bank – we have received a certificate of thanks for our contributions.

Diocesan Environmental Policy

Unfortunately this was received by us at rather short notice. It seems unclear whether the policy will remain in this rather confused format, or will be edited before being launched. What form will the launch take? There were some comments on the scope of the policy –Individual comments to be sent to Eva a.s.a.p.

Creation Service

It was agreed that this would be a service (as opposed to a Mass) – at 7.30 on Friday 18^th October. The format will be readings, prayers and music (suggestions from the Cafod booklet), to last about 30 minutes and to be followed by cake etc, coffee/tea. On each table there will be a copy of the Quiz and “10  practical things to do to make a change”. To help estimate numbers for catering purposes, tickets will be sold at £2.00 – proceeds to fund a ?bird box/bee hotel or similar in church garden. People will also be asked to sign a petition to the Prime Minister.

Eva will liaise with Richard re the involvement of the music and the youth groups  – and find a date in August for a meeting with him, others interested and any of J&P group who can attend- principally to structure the service, plus other arrangements.

Eva will also circulate to us likely overseas cake recipes to practice.

Stephen will liaise with Fr Kevin;  will add information to the newsletter e.g.tickets, cake, nearer the time.

Susanne and Stephen will produce the “10 things to do”.

Susanne will produce the tickets.

Tim will edit down the Quiz.

Sarah will contact Anne Shepherd re advertising the event to the Hallam council of Churches, and will gather signatures for the Cafod petition.

Meeting to finalise arrangements – Wednesday 16^th October.

A.O.B.

Panto Tim has offered to help with the script.

Attendees: Sarah B, Susanne, Stephen, Sian (chair), Tim, Eva (minutes)

Apologies: Sarah L

Foodbank
The S2 foodbank has a Facebook page where the most needed items are posted, although this is not always up to date. Sarah B agreed to inform the parish when there were specific requests for items.  There is an ongoing need for direct debits and standing orders. Sarah B will ask the foodbank fi there is a need to increase these and if so put a note in the bulletin about this.

CAFOD

The current CAFOD campaign is “Our Common Home”. Some events to support this campaign have been advertised in the bulletin. We discussed the possibility of having a Creation celebration later in the year. This would possibly be on 11 October (Friday) and include a Mass or service, a shared meal and a quiz about climate change.

Several actions were associated with this:

1. Stephen to contact Father Kevin to discuss the date and option of Mass or service
2. Eva to research food recipes for shared meal to reflect cuisines of countries particularly effected by climate change such as Bangladesh.
3. Eva to check CAFOD website for resources such as video to show on the evening, the quiz and climate dice game.
4. Sian to contact musicians once date agreed to have music at the Mass/service.
5. A note will be put in the bulletin to encourage other parishioners to be involved in preparations.

Lent

The Lenten reflections distributed each week at Mass appear to be well received. Eva agreed to ask for feedback at the Parish AGM next week.

Assist

Tim reported that Assist has a range of support for destitute asylum seekers and had their own night shelter.

May Day Trek

Parishioners will be taking part in this year’s May Day Trek. This has been advertised in the bulletin.

Future plans
Possible activities for next year include:

• Presenting a film about refugees in Sheffield (Moving to Mars)
• Having a Dream auction, possibly supporting a charity other than CAFOD, for example the Foodbank.

Date of next meeting

3 July 2019, 8pm, St Francis Presbytery. It was agreed to put a note in the bulletin about this and mention that there will be discussions of climate change related activities to encourage new members.

Attendees: Sarah B, Susanne, Stephen, Sian (chair), Tim, Eva (minutes)

Apologies: Sarah L

Foodbank

Collections over the Christmas period were very good. Usually supplies go down in January and February and a note has been put in the bulletin to remind parishioners about the food bank. Sarah B will liaise with Father Kevin about arranging another collection day other than Sunday. She will also keep an eye on how the implementation of universal credit affects the need for foodbank donations.

CAFOD

The panto did well and raised over £1700.

The CAFOD parish appeal during Advent raised enough to buy one cow, four goats and one chicken on behalf of the Parish. This activity was deemed a success and it was suggested that this should be repeated next Advent.

Stephen will check CAFOD website for focus of activities for the coming year and report back at the next meeting.

Lent

A series of reflections to hand out each week in Lent was discussed. It was agreed that the Fasting/feasting Lenten theme used a few years ago could be repeated. Tim and Susanne agreed to reprint these for distribution each week. Stephen agreed to write some bidding prayers to link to each weekly theme and give these to Father Kevin. Tim will let him have the themes. Ash Wednesday is 6^th March so all needs to be ready by then.

Assist

We discussed whether or not there was a night shelter in Sheffield for destitute asylum seekers. Assist has one and Tim agreed to find out more and report back on how we might get involved at our next meeting.

May Day Trek

Sian to find details of the May Day Trek for this year and make sure the information gets put into the bulletin so parishioners can take part.

Date of next meeting

1 May 2019, 8pm, St Francis Presbytery

Present:

• Siân (Chair)
• Eva
• Stephen
• Susanne
• Tim
• Sarah L
• Sarah B
• Margaret

Previous minutes

The minutes of the previous meeting were approved.

Matters arising

• Food bank – Sarah B mentioned Church Action on Poverty are doing a pilgrimage on 20^th October which will be visiting the S2 foodbank so she will be advertising that. Regarding the introduction of Universal Credit, Sarah B will be going on a course on this as a result of being an advice volunteer. There is a widespread concern in the wider group of foodbanks about the increased demand expected as a result of universal credit, for some people due to a reduction in income, for others the date on which they will be paid, and the problems of applying including that you have to apply online and have an email address.
• CAFOD – Family Fast Day is October 5^th, posters will be put up and Stephen/Eva will speak at the masses the previous Sunday if Fr Kevin is okay with that. There does not seem to be any particular focus for fundraising at the moment so we could probably just choose an item for which we want to fundraise over Advent. It was felt having a target of £500 might be a good idea, with a thermometer to show progress on fundraising. Children’s Liturgy could be encouraged to be involved, Clare Byrne is running it so Stephen and Eva will speak to her. Stephen will see what the options are for £500 and email round for views.
  Adults could be asked to pay more for their stickers, maybe £1 and 20p respectively. Eva will get arrange for something to be put in the bulletin. Volunteers will be needed to help, both at the 9am and 11am masses, and we can organise that by email.
• Panto – this is happening and is usually on the last weekend before Advent. There has been a planning meeting recently but no one had heard feedback
  from that; it was felt Liz Dingle would probably be the person to ask. It was suggested we should find out if we could support it in any way – selling tickets,
  baking, helping with teas and coffees, etc.
• Uganda – thanks were given to Susanne for the amount raised for the toolkits, etc.

AOB

None

Date of next meeting

Wednesday 9 January 2019.

Present:

• Siân (Chair)
• Stephen
• Susanne
• Tim
• Sarah L

Apolgies:

• Margaret
• Sarah B

Previous minutes

The minutes of the previous meeting were approved.

Matters arising

• Food bank – Sarah B not here to report, Tim did not know of anything in particular to raise. The introduction of Universal Credit, due in November/December in Sheffield, may have an impact. Tim mentioned a food club or similar being established where for a small fixed sum a week attenders get a reasonable amount of food.
• Diocescan J & P day was cancelled due to bad weather, hasn’t yet been rearranged.
• Church Action on Poverty – Sarah B not here to report. She advised afterwards she isn’t on their committee now but circulated a copy of the recent minutes.
• CAFOD – Siân has had a thank you letter from Share the Journey from us engaging in the walk and signing the petition. She described her experiences of the day, maybe a hundred people having attended. Stephen said there will be a notice in this week’s bulletin about the online petition to Theresa May regarding the forthcoming international conference on refugees. Six parishioners did the May Day Trek.
• AGM – Eva has kindly once again done our report to the AGM. Steven attended, nothing in particular was raised.
• Toolkits for Uganda – Susanne reported that £ 4,684 was raised for the toolkits for students in Uganda. She was keen to pass thanks on to the Parish Council.

Ideas for the autumn

• Advent – have a parish initiative to buy something like a cow or a well. If we are to meet again in September we could bring ideas for how to raise money.
• Food bank – it was suggested we could have a push in September around the time that universal credit is introduced. Sarah L will try to think of a way to summarise what it is, about its introduction and when, potential problems, pressures on food banks. Sarah B can be asked what the food bank might find most useful at that time, if we were to have a push.

AOB

Sarah L asked about impact on J & P of the link with St William’s. Stephen said nothing would be changing immediately. There will continue to be two parishes and two parish councils, it isn’t a merger. Anything which does happen will happen very slowly. There may be links to be developed in due course and information about what is happening in each parish could be advertised in both. For now, we just wait for our lead from Fr Kevin and the Parish Council.

Date of next meeting

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 5 September (subject to confirmation).