This may seem like a small step in ‘going green,’ considering that bottle-filling stations are everywhere; however, its installation was nonetheless a step away from the habit at Santa Teresa of purchasing water in plastic bottles for every event, meeting, and for every gathering that took place on the grounds.

A Personal Commitment 

My first awareness of the harm we are doing to the Earth was in 1997 when it came to light that a large accumulation of plastic waste was floating in the Pacific Ocean. I was appalled that we, as a people on this beautiful planet, could use an ocean as a trash can. I knew that until 40 years ago, it was common practice for cruise ships and other ocean-going vessels to dump their waste at sea. But that there existed a floating trash mound was shocking to me! It hit home when the size of that trash mound was likened to my home state of Texas!

I then vowed to personally reduce the use of plastic in my own home to the best of my ability. That vow changed the way that I shopped and cooked — if I could make a meal from scratch, then I did not purchase a pre-made and packaged version. While many things were only available in plastic, it just took some thoughtful shopping to switch to non-plastic containers.

A Parish and Diocesan Commitment

In Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si: On the Care for Our Common Home, he writes, “Education in environmental responsibility can encourage ways of acting which directly and significantly affect the world around us, such as avoiding the use of plastic and paper…” (par. 211), and I immediately thought of the great garbage patch.  That same year, the Green Team at Santa Teresa Parish was formed as the parish’s ecological ministry.  Our team was eager to start, but the pandemic imposed a hiatus of more than two years. Later, in 2022, Bishop Cantú challenged the Diocese of San Jose parishes to adopt Laudato Si practices by enrolling the diocese in the Holy See’s Laudato Si Action Platform (see more info below).

The Green Team decided that installing a bottle-filling station in Avila Hall would be our first project. This would be both an ecological and an economic improvement. We made a presentation to the parish finance committee and were blessed to have project approval by the committee and our pastor, Father George Aranha. The committee approved adding under-the-sink water filtration systems to all parish areas: kitchens, offices, and church sacristy. Now, Fr. George has a Brita water filtration system on his countertop, and he will gladly share his rejection of plastic water bottles with everyone!

I then vowed to personally reduce the use of plastic in my own home to the best of my ability. That vow changed the way that I shopped and cooked — if I could make a meal from scratch, then I did not purchase a pre-made and packaged version.

The next step was funding. In February, the Green Team learned about grants offered to community groups, schools, and churches by the Valley Water Grants Program, which includes funding for bottle-filling stations. By mid-August, we were thrilled to learn that our grant for $5,000 had been approved. This grant more than pays for the bottle filling station and its installation.

The call to go green, one small step at a time  

Father George and his parish staff support Laudato Si practices through recent policy adoptions. The parish leadership has committed to not supporting the use of, nor purchase of, plastic bottles of water on parish grounds and encouraging outside groups seeking to rent the Avila Hall to consider sources other than plastic water bottles. 

Installing this one bottle-filling station might not seem like much, but this addition was important to our parish. We hope the beginning of ecological awareness in our parish will become a regular practice as we continue to work on other projects. Santa Teresa is incredibly grateful to Valley Water for funding this project and to Pope Francis and Bishop Cantu for this call to action. Santa Teresa hears this call and is committed to making a difference. 

For more information about grant funding for similar projects at your parish or organization through Valley Water, available to customers of San Jose Water Company, visit: 

https://www.valleywater.org/learning-center/grants-partnerships 

In 2022, Bishop Cantú enrolled the whole diocese in the Laudato Si Action Platform run by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. Learn about the goals of the platform: 

https://laudatosiactionplatform.org/ 

Read Bishop Cantú’s statement about diocesan enrollment in the platform here:

https://www.dsj.org/bishop-cantu-message-on-laudato-si-action-platform/ 

Visit the Stewardship of our Common Home webpage on the Diocese of San José’s website: 

https://www.dsj.org/evangelization/social-ministries/stewardship-of-our-common-home-2/

The Office of Life, Justice, and Peace forwarded the curriculum from the Catholic Climate Covenant to the Department of Catholic Schools. Explore this curriculum here:

https://catholicclimatecovenant.org/

Read the pastoral statement of the California Conference of Catholic Bishops on the fourth anniversary of Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home:

https://cacatholic.org/statements/common-home/