by Vicki Tardif

It seems history and modern technology are coming together as the Old North Church has installed LED lights. It is interesting to see these sites trying to balance historical accuracy with modern concerns.

by Vicki Tardif

When I was a kid, I tried to convince my mother that giving up school for seven weeks would be an appropriate Lenten sacrifice. (For some reason, she disagreed and suggested that I fill a Lenten folder with the money I earned from doing extra chores.) According to a Boston Globe article, people are becoming as creative with their Lenten sacrifices as I thought I was at nine years old, although in a more positive direction. People are looking to infuse their Lenten season with a spirit of environmentalism. The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts has a list of green Lenten sacrifices like eating locally-grown foods. Some people interviewed have given up “carbon” for Lent. At least one Church will be distributing “eco-palms” on Palm Sunday — palms that were harvested in an environmentally-conscious way. (Unfortunately, the article does not describe what is meant my environmentally-conscious).

I don’t think that “eco-palms” will be the difference in whether or not we can curb climate change, but it is interesting to see how people are infusing environmentalism into their everyday lives. Ultimately, those are the sorts of changes that add up to really make a difference.

It is also good to see environmentalism moving into the mainstream. For too long, “living green” has been seen as the purview of left-wing hippies. The Catholic Church is many things, but I sincerely doubt anyone is going to confuse Pope Benedict XVI with a hippie, even after he called on Catholics to better protect the environment. This sort of creative thinking and movement to the mainstream gives me hope that we will find a way to deal with climate change.