Mother Earth Community

Mission Statement

We share in the life of the
Spiritus Christi Church community,
by organizing opportunities around
outdoor activities, and by cultivating
our connections to the Earth, and
each other.
We increase awareness of the
interrelatedness of life, further
inspiring us to protect the natural
world, through stewardship,
education, and action.

Mother Earth at 2024 Climate March – use the arrow to see more photos!
Rev. Celie Katovitch and Rev. Myra Brown at the Mother Earth Liturgy at Spiritus
The Mother Earth bowling team at the Grace of God Recovery House Annual Bowl-a-Palooza
Mother Earth Coffee Hour
Mother Earth at 2024 Climate March

We meet once each month, on Tuesday evenings 7:00-8:00 pm
From October – May, we meet on Zoom, and during the summer months,
we meet in person at Spiritus or outdoors. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US!
To contact a member of the Mother Earth Community, to be added to our mailing list, and to receive Zoom meeting links, email motherearth@spirituschristi.org or call the Spiritus office at 585-325-1180.

SOME GOOD NEWS ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS!

Here are some positive things happening locally for the environment:

Monroe County Climate Action Plan
- Phase 1 – In 2022, Monroe County made a firm commitment to a more resilient and sustainable future for our community by identifying greenhouse gas emissions from County-owned facilities, infrastructure, and operations. Through these findings, the County developed a strategic action plan for climate change adaptation and mitigation at the County-government level. The Monroe County Climate Action Plan (CAP) – Phase I Government Operations focuses on reducing GHG emissions from County-run sites, facilities, and operations, and it is an important first step in planning for a more sustainable and resilient Monroe County.
- Phase 2 – Monroe County developed a community-wide GHG inventory and CAP to better understand emissions from the County and all its stakeholders –including residential, commercial, industrial, municipal, and all other energy dependent activities that occur within Monroe County. This effort, called the Phase II CAP, has a much larger scope of emissions sources inventoried and the potential actions for climate change mitigation, and was passed by the Monroe County Legislature and signed by the County Executive in August 2023.

The City of Rochester has a climate action plan. It includes a drop-off composting program to reduce the amount of food in landfills, which is free to residents. MORE INFO HERE

The Sierra Club, which is the nation’s largest and most effective grassroots environmental movement, has a very active local chapter. They work on protecting wildlife, keeping our water clean and fighting the devastating effects of climate change. And they are doing that right here in Rochester! MORE INFO

All about recycling in Monroe County—INFO

The following towns have achieved Bronze certification in New York’s Climate Smart Communities program: Irondequoit, Gates, Brighton, Churchville, Pittsford, and Henrietta. Requirements include decreasing energy use, shifting to clean energy, enhancing resilience, and informing the public. If your town is not listed, consider asking your town officials to join in. MORE INFO

EcoPark is open every Wednesday 1:00-6:30 pm, and Saturday 7:30 am-1:00 pm, for items that cannot be recycled curbside. MORE INFO

High Acres Landfill has a system now that can capture methane gas and use it to generate electricity. MORE INFO

TerraCycle is a company that accepts plastics that cannot be recycled in other ways (like GoGo Squeeze containers, empty toothpaste tubes and other plastics). MORE INFO

ECO-FRIENDLY EVENTS

Family parties and large gatherings to celebrate events are great opportunities to enjoy being together. They’re also wonderful times to take effective action to alleviate some of the plastic pollution and food waste that’s contributing to the climate crisis. Food waste is contributing gigatons of CO2 into our atmosphere. It produces unhealthy methane gas in landfills, so let’s do something about it. Whether we’re hosting parties or attending we can help. Below is a simple step by step for planning. Spread the good news that we can have parties and do our part to stop waste and pollution.

STEP BY STEP PLAN

The Mother Earth Committee would like to help you plan eco-friendly events. Below is a step by step plan to help you get started. Reach out to us if you need more advice.

PREPARE:

Check Monroe County Eco Park’s latest update on items accepted for recycling.
Identify a source that accepts food compost (like Impact Earth) in Monroe County
Create 4 stations at your event with a container at each station. Clearly label them:
- Recycling
- Composting
- Film plastics (i.e. bread wrappers)
- Landfill
Use washable plates, cups, utensils (or compostable).
Have a team of helpers to wash dishes, monitor container use and help answer guests’ questions about the container use.
If you’re encouraging ‘carry in, carry out’ let guests know ahead of time to bring their own place settings.

DURING EVENT:

At the beginning of the event announce the location of waste station(s).
Have someone near by to guide those unsure of how to dispose of different items and to answer questions about the process.

AFTER EVENT:

Congratulate everyone who participated. You made a difference!
Publicize the success of the recycling/composting and encourage others to continue the effort to reduce waste.

Green Spots

An inspiring and informative message on an environmental topic, delivered monthly to the Spiritus community after the weekend Masses, and through the bulletin. An archive of past Green Spots can be accessed HERE

Blog

Occasional postings on the Spiritus website, written by members of the community about environmental topics, meant to inspire action and discussion. CLICK HERE

Earth Day

A day to inspire and connect with the larger Spiritus community about caring for the earth. MARK YOUR CALENDARS! The Mother Earth committee will be hosting a coffee hour after mass on April 27th, 2025. There will be some special Earth Day activities too.

Outdoor Events

Past events have included hikes at Mt. Hope Cemetery and at Ganondagan, a Tree Walk in Highland Park, and participation in Community Clean-Up events sponsored by Seneca Park Zoo.

Community Action

Spiritus Christi is a proud member of the Climate Solutions Accelerator, an inclusive, nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to inspiring and facilitating a large-scale climate mobilization in the nine-county Genesee-Finger Lakes Region.

The Mother Earth Community also partners with Rochester Area Interfaith Climate Action, a group of individuals & organizations of faith in the Rochester metropolitan area seeking to create a meaningful response to Climate Change.

There’s no better place for you to take action than in your own town, village or neighborhood. When you act locally, you make a direct impact on behalf of people you know – your fellow residents and neighbors. Make change happen in your own community by joining Color Your Community Green. Successful CYCG efforts have launched in several municipalities throughout the Genesee-Finger Lakes Region.

Nobody is too young to make a difference. Thanks to some dedicated, determined young people in our Genesee-Finger Lakes Region, Color Your School Green (CYSG) was created to inform, inspire and engage youth at their schools for impactful climate action.

VIDEOS

COMPOSTING

Did you know composting can have a huge impact on the amount of methane gas released into the atmosphere? Food that is thrown into the garbage and ends up in landfills, emits methane gas as it decomposes in the absence of oxygen. When you compost, those same food scraps can be decomposed naturally and turned into rich, fertile soil.

nielsen house Community garden

With the help of a grant this summer, the Mother Earth Community and Nielsen House (NH) planted a community garden at NH!

Resources

PLASTIC

Plastic likely takes some form in most of the things we use every day. It has been well documented that plastics pose one of the most serious threats to our Earth’s environment. Arguably the greatest single threat is single-use plastic, that is, plastic we use once and throw away: plastic wrap, plastic cups, packaging, takeout containers etc.

Beyond Plastics is a nationwide project whose mission is ending plastic pollution everywhere. Check them out!