From the busloads of tourists competing for entrance into the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, came multiple green campaigns to promote faith, sustainability, and a better planet in the cathedral’s premier Green Day event on Saturday morning.
This five-hour recycling and renewable-energy promotion shed light on the growing movement to turn the big apple green. Many organizations at the cathedral argued that this environmental enthusiasm must be ignited by religious passion.
“Every major faith has principles of environmental stewardship—caring for our Earth and for the poor, vulnerable, and hungry,” said Nicola Coddington, executive director of New York Interfaith Power & Light. “This is the great turning point. We have to change course and shift. There is a tremendous amount of excitement,” Coddington said, adding that she would like to see all faiths come together for global change.
Reverend Canon Patti Welch, clergy leader and organizer of the event, said that St. John the Divine, “the green cathedral,” has an obligation to act as an environmental role model. “You can’t talk the talk without walking the walk,” Welch said.
With green on everyone’s mind—both the symbol of sustainability and the scarcity in wallets—the event brought to light the struggles of a growing movement in a declining economy.
Outside of the cathedral, the Upper West Side Recycling Center and Pedals for Progress offered and promoted electronics recycling opportunities and a bike donation center for developing countries, respectively.
Drew Decker, Pedals for Progress representative, noted the organization has seen fewer bicycles donated, but with slightly better quality—a shift Decker said reflects the hurt of the middle class who no longer have the confidence or resources to donate.
Jeffery Twine, president of the UWS Recycling Center, said that, locally, people are not mobilized. “There are very few people willing to recycle,” he said. “Peer pressure, convenience, and financial incentive” are the only major motives for recycling, Twine argued.
Despite Twine’s frustration, he was pleased to see all kinds of people dropping off assortments of electronics—everything from a large monitor to a small mouse.
Recyclers who stopped by the cathedral agreed that the event provided a dual opportunity to support environmental causes and declutter their New York City apartments.
“There is so much stuff we don’t use, and we thought, instead of just dumping it in the trash, we’d rather recycle it here,” Mike Brecher, who came with his family, said.
Frank Kehl, who lives around the corner from the cathedral, said, “We are pretty conscious about the environment. We do what we can.” He added, “And this stuff had accumulated in our halls for weeks.”