Faith and Practice As We Seek An Earth Restored: Practical steps for PYM Friends
What steps will we, as PYM members, take in our households and meetings to enrich our spiritual lives, work for social and economic justice and reduce our ecological footprint?
A number of PYM Friends through the Eco-Justice Collaborative have developed materials to help us answer this question. Known as Friendly Households, we’ve developed a set of materials in support of lifestyle choices that promote healing and transformation in ourselves, our meetings, our local and global communities and our home, planet earth. A growing network of Friends’ households and meetings within PYM are making the commitment to learn, share ideas, and take practical steps – small and large – to live more lightly on the earth and to embrace opportunities for positive societal change – all the while deepening our spiritual grounding together.
Are you seeking to align your life more fully with your concerns for economic and environmental justice? Do you find it easier to make changes in your life when you work with one or more friends? Would you like to strengthen the sense of community in your Monthly Meeting? If your answer to any of these questions is YES, explore and share our materials in your Meeting!
Our Friendly Households materials offer a guideline for effective change at the individual, household or meeting level or out in the public domain to help make the systemic changes needed to live in a more sustainable, just and more peaceful world.
The flexibility of the grid enables a group with diverse interests and concerns to come together and work simultaneously in a number of areas. In some cases, Friends unite on a group action or project.
How do I start get started on my own or with a group in my Meeting?
View/Download: Friendly Households Grid (PDF)
Start by downloading the Friendly Households Grid. It contains examples of ideas and actions, but you will be able to come up with many more once you get thinking. Start with a topic which interests you and you are ready to experiment with. Many Friends begin with their food choices, as they have a big impact on your, and the planet’s, health. Take a look at the materials developed by Westtown monthly Meeting’s Friendly Households group for ideas.
Let us know what you and others in your Meeting are doing in the area of environmental stewardship and we’ll post it here! Write to the Eco-Justice Collaborative clerk.
What are PYM Friends doing?
- Westtown Meeting’s Sustainable Food Resources
- Meetings are switching to renewable energy. In 2016, we are paying special attention to reducing our emissions by aspiring to the transition of 100% of our Meeting Houses electricity use to renewable sources. Help us get there – learn more!
- Meetings are divesting from fossil fuel investments