Suddenly (it seems) it is the fourth week of Advent!  Hopefully we have found ways to bring simplicity and quiet into our lives as we repent in hope and joy to celebrate the feast of Nativity.  During this last week, let us share joy; below are some good news items from our local area, plus two important recycling reminders.
May we keep hope alive as we celebrate God’s gifts and our care for these gifts.
Saving Trees Together – Fairfax volunteers have saved 1,518 trees, removing deadly invasive vines.
As of July 1, styrofoam food containers will be banned statewide!
Whole Foods and Wegmans will eliminate plastic bags at their checkouts.
Giant is the local leader for consistently sending plastic bags and film from their collection bins to be recycled.
Virginia is set to re-join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) in 2026, cutting carbon pollution and boosting clean energy.
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is rapidly expanding solar projects, with installations at many elementary schools, including these in our area: Franklin Sherman, Haycock, Kent Gardens, Lemon Road, Springhill, Westgate, and Wolf Trap.  FCPS also awaits the arrival of 17 new electric school buses.
Recycling Reminders
Batteries – Look for the descriptors Alkaline or Carbon Zinc on the label of single use (AAA, AA, 9-volt, C or D) batteries.  These can be disposed of in regular household trash.
HOWEVER – to safeguard against an accidental fire – place a piece of electrical tape over both ends ( +/-) of the battery.
All other battery types must be disposed of at a Household Hazardous Waste collection site. These include Lithium Ion, Rechargeable Alkaline, silver oxide, nickel cadmium, lead oxide and others.  If the battery label is illegible, it must go to a Hazardous Waste site.
Household Recycling -- For common household materials including plastic bottles and jugs, metal food and beverage containers, cartons (milk, juice), and mixed paper and cardboard, please be sure to follow these important tips.  Items must be:

• Clean – no food residue or leftover scraps
• Dry – no liquids remaining in the containers
• Loose – do not bag recyclables, empty directly into bin

These small steps at home help reduce contamination and keep our recycling stream clean, which means more materials get recycled.
May our Advent hope in Christ who saves us strengthen us to continue our work for a just and integral ecology for all God’s people.

November 30 was the first Sunday of Advent this year, so we’re already a week in!  Would you like to make space for hope, peace, joy and love this Advent?
One way to focus on our goals of caring for one another and all of creation, is to follow the practices of the Advent Simplicity Challenge.  The Challenge is hosted by the Ignatian Solidarity Network and can be found by searching  Advent Simplicity and selecting the Ignatian Solidarity site.
There, you can sign up to receive daily email reminders to check the online Advent calendar for daily scripture and suggestions to live simply during a season that can often become focused on busyness and consumerism.
The daily calendar provides:

• Practical tips to live gently on the earth
• Advocacy opportunities
• Art, music, film
• Suggestions for personal prayer and reflection

Perhaps a first step in our quest for Advent Simplicity is an Advent Wreath at home. Here is a simple prayer to use with your wreath lighting each evening:
Dear Jesus, you are the hope in our messy world. 
This Advent, help us slow down, listen to your voice, 
and focus on what's really important. 
We place our hope in you as we prepare our hearts 
to celebrate your birth on Christmas. Amen.
 
As we strive for simplicity this Advent, we might recall St. Francis of Assisi, who originated the nativity scene that has become a beloved worldwide Christmas tradition.  In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis calls Francis of Assisi “the example par excellence of care for the vulnerable and of an integral ecology lived out joyfully and authenti­cally….He was a mystic and a pilgrim who lived in simplicity and in wonderful harmony with God, with others, with nature and with himself. He shows us just how inseparable the bond is be­tween concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society, and interior peace.” (LS’ 10)

In less than two weeks, the busiest retail spending time of the year is upon us. First, Black Friday followed by Small Business Saturday and onward.  How can we keep our responsibility to protect the earth and our duty for the well-being of the poor at the forefront of our minds as we embark on the busy buying seasons of Advent and Christmas?
Let’s begin by trying to avoid increasing demand for fossil fuels (plastic, polyester, gas) and being aware of how our choices impact the common good.  By buying locally we reduce transportation emissions, and support entrepreneurship. By buying fair trade, we support a stable life for small independent producers ensuring their ability to prosper in their home countries. By buying natural and compostable materials, we reduce the causes of climate change.
Changing habits takes thought and planning, I must ask, do my buying habits reflect my values?  Investing in gifts that cause no harm may seem expensive, but what is the true cost?  What happens to each item at the end of its useful life? Does it become a hazard by contributing to air and water degradation?  Will it decompose and return to the environment?        How would I feel about buying less but more intentionally instead of letting price be the sole driver?
For a motivational and educational look at consumerism, the Documentary “Buy Now. The Shopping Conspiracy” may spark your desire to change purchasing habits. The film explores the corporate tactics and strategies that keep us in an endless cycle of buying.  Watching “Buy Now. The Shopping Conspiracy” may be a good 1½ hour time investment before a holiday shopping frenzy kicks in! (available on NetFlix)
Meanwhile, a convenient way to chose gifts that support people rather than corporations is to come to the Fair Trade Market right here in Flaherty Hall after all Masses November 22 and 23.
Let us pray for mindful preparation for the seasons of Advent and Christmas so we will re-awaken “our feeling of gratitude for the gifts of creation;….acknowledge those who by their labours provide us with these goods and reaffirm our solidarity with those in greatest need.” (LS 227)
 
 

​St. Luke’s Care for Creation Ministry is excited to announce our third annual Fair Trade Market after Masses November 22 and 23, 2025.  We are happy to have Fair Trade Winds operate this event again.  Fair Trade Winds is a family business that believes our everyday purchases can have a positive impact.  Their core values are rooted in ethical craftmanship, meaningful connections and a passion for quality.  You are sure to find treasures among the craft items and food products on display in the hall after Masses.
Fair Trade is a long-standing proven business model; It is not a charity, it is a system of trade that does not prioritize the bottom line over the well-being, health and safety, stability and ongoing development of the people and communities who grow and produce the goods.  
Fair Trade values are based on the simple idea that the products bought and sold every day are connected to the livelihoods of others; and buying Fair Trade is a way to make a conscious choice for a better world.
The Fair Trade system allows small farmers and craftspeople to earn living wages, support and educate their families and contribute to their communities while continuing to live in their native lands and villages.  Fair Trade offers a sustainable system to get goods to market thereby reducing the need to migrate.  
While commonly associated with coffee, chocolate and hand-crafted items, the Fair Trade certification can also be found on clothing.  REI’s site allows you to search for Fair Trade labeled clothing items, Patagonia is another Fair Trade company, and other sources are easily found through a web search.
Supporting Fair Trade can also be a choice in daily life, so let’s remember to keep an eye out for Fair Trade logos as we do our routine shopping at local stores.  And when you find Fair Trade in unexpected places, share the word with others!
“The urgent challenge to protect our com­mon home includes a concern to bring the whole human family together to seek a sustainable and integral development, for we know that things can change.” (LS 13)
 

“we are agreed today that the earth is essentially a shared
inheritance, whose fruits are meant to benefit everyone*.”                                                                      Pope Francis, LS #93

Northern Virginia is blessed with a leafy canopy that nourishes us with clean air (storing carbon and producing oxygen) all spring and summer.  Now our leaves are hinting at the color soon to come, as they turn and fall, ready to do their next job of providing habitat for insects, butterflies and birds, nutrients for the soil, holding moisture and delaying erosion.
How can we support their vital work?  I reached out to the Fairfax office of VA Tech’s Cooperative Extension Service and the agent pointed out several informative sources on using the gift of leaves to benefit the environment for all. 
·      The Xerces Society (www.xerces.org ) “Leave the Leaves” campaign tells us that: “One of the most valuable things you can do to support pollinators and other invertebrates is to provide them with the winter cover they need.”  The Xerces site is a wealth of information, advice and resources, including a Leave the Leaves sign (shown above) that can be ordered.·      The National Wildlife Federation endorses the value of keeping leaves in our landscapes as well, extoling leaves as natural mulch, fertilizer and weed suppressant. (https://www.nwf.org search:leaves). ·      The Virginia Dept. of Wildlife Resources (search: leave the leaves at https://dwr.virginia.gov) reports leaves are important for frogs, salamanders, box turtles, butterflies and insect eating birds. These sites, public and private, agree with the message: Leave the Leaves!As for the expanses of grass lawn in our suburban neighborhoods, mowing with a mulching blade and allowing the leaf litter to fall into the lower canopy of the grass is the healthiest recommendation for the lawn and for the creatures that live there. And as we contemplate sharing our yards with their first inhabitants, consider scaling down the lawn size and increasing the planting areas where native plants, insects, birds, bees and others can thrive. Are we ready to give up the blowing and bagging and hauling?  Shall we agree to re-use and recycle leaves for their intended purpose?  Shredded leaves are excellent mulch!  Un-shredded leaves provide mulch, moisture and protection benefits.  Let’s make 2025 the year we Leave the Leaves!

Trees play an essential role in life on earth, they clean our air, protect our drinking water, and provide food and habitat for animals. Studies show they even improve our mental health, and provide beauty and interest through the changing seasons. Trees are an important defense against flooding caused by the increasingly frequent and more intense storms that arise as the climate warms; tree canopies slow the rate of rain hitting the ground, tree roots absorb rainwater and hold the earth, preventing erosion and runoff.  Trees also absorb the CO2 that contributes to global warming and release oxygen back into the air. In one year, an acre of mature trees absorbs the amount of CO2 produced by a car driven 26,000 miles. Planting trees helps prevent soil erosion, increases land fertility and can add value to your property. Trees that provide shade also significantly reduce energy bills. When selecting trees, choose native types to support local wildlife and ensure a vigorous tree that needs little added water or nutrients. Spring and fall are good times to plant, when trees are dormant.
 
A local resource at www.plantnovatrees.org gives straightforward, clear directions that ensure success for selecting and planting trees in our yards.

• The site offers advice on when to plant – after leaves drop and before winter dormancy ends in early spring, 
• What to plant – native varieties support the local ecosystem, need no fertilizer or pesticides, and no added water once established; plant a young tree that will establish quickly and need less watering during that first year; protect very young trees from deer.
• Where to plant – consider size and shape, appearance, root space, sun/shade/moisture conditions that fit your space; all these details are available on plantnovatrees.org. 
• How to plant – hole size, soil type, mulch tips and
• pruning, staking, and watering tips round out the wealth of information.

 
The site has information on a wide selection of native trees with full descriptions, requirements and pictures to help you pick the perfect tree.  They even offer a Tree Choice Hotline that tailors advice to your specific site, desires and needs!
 
I think you’ll enjoy exploring plantnovatrees.org as you plan additions to your landscape that will grow along with your family for years of benefit and enjoyment.
 
“Education in environmental re­sponsibility can encourage ways of acting which directly and significantly affect the world around us.”  LS’ 211
​

In this Season of Creation, Pope Leo prays "the world is infinitely more than a problem to solve; it is a mystery to be contemplated with gratitude and hope". (to watch the video search Pope Leo video season of creation)
As Christians, we are called to action as well as prayer, how do we express our gratitude and pass on our hope and love for God’s great gifts?  As we conclude this year’s season of creation, let’s share with our families, friends and communities some of the ways we honor our interconnectedness and our responsibility for our common home and “life in all its forms and possibilities.” (Pope Leo)
If you’re still adding to your list of actions, here are a few to consider:

• Choose to buy coffee and tea from Fair Trade sellers.  Their farming and production practices are good for the earth, and workers benefit from fair wages and a supportive society.
• Buy locally grown food whenever possible.  The food is fresher and carbon emissions from long haul transport are avoided; local jobs thrive and farmland stays in production, using and preserving the value of the earth.
• Be conscious of energy use. Set the thermostat a little higher in summer, a little lower in winter; try dressing for the season and use natural ventilation as often as you can.  Every time your equipment can avoid cycling on, energy is saved (and your costs are lower).
• When you really want to use disposable goods, look for napkins, dishes and cutlery that are compostable. Choose metal cans over plastic for drinks, or your own re-fillable bottle.  No plastic straws, please!
• Clothes dryers – the less we use them, the better!  All that lint that collects in the filter – that’s your clothing and linens being left behind, bit by bit.  Be sure to clear that filter when you do use the dryer as more energy is used when the filter is blocked. Wool dryer balls add fluff to your towels without waste.
• Pay attention to the air shared by all living things. What choices can we make in transportation, purchasing and heating that protect air and ensure a future where clean air is available for all?

“If we fall in love with creation deeper and deeper,
We will respond to its endangerment with passion.” 
St. Hildegarde of Bingen, 12th century

Good news for those looking for optimism in the face of climate change! Here is another small thing that gives us a chance to do good.  
 
Opportunities for hard-to-recycle packaging from beauty and skin care products can be found at major retailers.  While we have incorporated recycling paper, cardboard, milk jugs, aluminum and glass as well as composting kitchen scraps into our normal routines, there are other items that we buy and use, but are not as easily re-purposed.  Packaging and containers for cosmetics are examples of items that don’t fit into curbside recycling; those lipstick and mascara tubes, compacts and serum vials and even dental floss containers and toothpaste tubes can now be re-purposed through collaborations among the beauty industry, businesses and organizations such as PACT Collaborative.
 
PACT describes itself as “a nonprofit collective uniting the beauty industry to reduce beauty packaging waste and work collaboratively toward more circular solutions for the industry.”
PACT partners with retailers who sponsor drop off locations for empty beauty packaging; participants include Nordstrom, L’Occitaine. Sephora, and Ulta.  All locations for these retailers are collection sites for empties.  Each retailer has its own program name, but they work similarly.
Empties don’t have to be from products purchased at the collection site store, but they should be clean, unbagged, and free of liquid to avoid contamination so they can be properly recycled.  Check one of these pages for step-by-step instructions on how to make sure your empty beauty containers find new purpose -- https://www.sephora.com/beauty/pact-collective-recycling-program or  https://www.pactcollective.org/packaging-drop-off-guide
 
According to PACT, the containers will find a new use in one of several ways, they may be:
MECHANICALLY RECYCLED -into packaging, carpet, pallets, and more
DOWNCYCLED -into asphalt or other useful products
MOLECULARLY RECYCYLED -into material used to build something else
CONVERTED TO ENERGY -could be turned into electricity
 
For more options – hop online and check out solutions offered through TerraCycle,
including brands that may have their own specific recycling programs through TerraCycle. 
Check the websites of your favorite brands to see if they have their own recycling initiatives. 
If we ask ourselves “what happens to this next” as we toss things, we can build habits that do less harm and be inspired by organizations who are taking steps to make a difference.  Let’s pitch in and show our support for businesses who are acting for the good of our future and encouraging all of us to think about what we can do to make a difference. 

Maybe you heard about Plastic-Free July?  Perhaps you adopted new plastic-free habits!  I saw promotions for pledging to give up specific plastic purchases at online sites and at the Farmers’ Market and while the plastic-free campaign didn’t make it into this column for July, why not keep the movement rolling?  We can have plastic-free August, September, etc. 
Take a look at a great website, www.plasticfreejuly.org, by an international organization based in Australia. The site hosts tips on how to move beyond plastic, and there are pieces exploring:

• The reason for and impact of choosing clothing and soft furnishings made with natural fibers, cotton, wool, linen, silk, hemp,
• How to avoid home cleaning products packaged in plastic,
• Using Bar soap, including shampoo bars instead of liquids in plastic,
• Fun and inspiring stories of what other real people are doing.

One of my favorite stories reported a successful challenge in the health industry, where plastic waste abounds.  Staff at a clinic reduced the use of disposable plastic backed pads by 35% in three months with a simple, voluntary change.  Their goal is a 50% reduction. 
You might find something inspiring and interesting at www.plasticfreejuly.org.
 
Www.beyondplastics.org is another site packed with information and ideas.  There are:

• Fact sheets (e.g. How to Reduce Your Exposure to Microplastics),
• Scientific reports and studies (e.g. More Recycling Lies: What the Plastics Industry Isn't Telling You About "Chemical Recycling" March 2025 | Natural Resources Defense Council)
• Publications (e.g. In The Bag: A Guide For Dry Cleaners To Move Beyond Plastic; Hold The Plastic, Please: A Restaurant’s Guide to Reducing Plastic) 
• Advocacy and action guidance (e.g. How to Host a Plastic Free Event),
• Plus, an opportunity to attend an online college class
  • Bennington College professor Judith Enck teaches Beyond Plastic Pollution, a seven week online course beginning in September.  Enck is the former EPA Regional Administrator. 

Some interesting things I learned while perusing the Beyond Plastics site include:

• Microplastic dangers found in some tea bags,
• Access to webinars, such as Excellent Alternatives to Plastic Packaging is at your fingertips at any time,
• Why Black Plastic is bad news,
• The problems with ‘bio plastics’, ‘biodegradable plastic’ and ‘compostable plastic’ – mean, for now, it is better to avoid these in favor of materials that biodegrade naturally,
• You can reach out to a Beyond Plastics local group by emailing [email protected], and
• https://www.beyondplastics.org/plastic-free-july-2025 -- scroll this page for day to day suggestions on the journey to living plastic free.

Good luck and have fun on your journey to an (almost) plastic-free life!

Is there anything better on a hot summer day than a juicy heirloom tomato, with cool, crisp cucumber chunks, a sprinkle of salt and a splash of your favorite vinegar?  Refreshing and reviving!

As we know, every small action in defense of creation makes a difference and since most food in groceries travels an average of 1,500 miles before it reaches your plate, the decision to buy locally makes a positive impact on the environment by using less energy and creating fewer emissions.  But most importantly, and the thing that keeps me coming back is – it tastes better and is beautiful!  Once you enjoy a vine ripened cantaloupe, and garden-fresh green beans there is no going back!  Also, the super fresh produce picked the day you buy stays fresh longer and retains more nutrients. Go ahead and stock up for the week, stored properly, your selections will be just fine. 

Farmers Markets and CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture) are both great ways to support and benefit from a local food system.  No matter what day of the week you prefer to shop, you’ll find a farmers’ market to meet your needs.

Our McLean Farmers’ Market is every Friday at Lewinsville Park from 8 a.m. to noon, this is a small market, but the several produce vendors can likely supply your weekly needs for veggies and fruit, plus there are a couple bakeries, a local meat producer and other specialties, including pots of flowers and herbs ready to plant, and don’t forget to bring your week’s kitchen scraps for the compost collection!

Search Fairfax County Farmers Markets for locations around the county on different days.  The Saturday market at City Hall in Falls Church is a year-round affair with everything from prepared food to original art along with produce and fruit vendors, it is worth a family outing; the aromas and tempting displays will offer something for everyone. (The line at Mama’s Donut Bites attests to its popularity.)  Arlington also has markets on various days, including one at Westover on Sunday mornings. 

Many vendors farm in Virginia’s northern neck; others are from central or western parts of the state and some orchards come from close-by Pennsylvania.  The local market organizations have strict requirements about selling products grown and produced by the vendor.  

​Treat your senses to the joys of freshness, knowing you are supporting the earth and the farmers who bring forth these nourishing blessings.