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"We believe in love.  We believe in the priesthood of all believers. We affirm the freedom and responsibility of every person to relate directly to God without the imposition of creed or the control of clergy or government.  We believe in diversity and oppose racism, sexism, violence and hatred.  We are committed to protecting and preserving the earth and the environment.  We are filled with joy and celebrate the freedom of Christianity."

As a part of that commitment, we share this information.

• The Bible teaches us that we must be good citizens of the earth and it recognizes that we have damaged our environment.

"We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time." (Romans 8:22)   "Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?" (Ezekiel 34:17-18)  "I brought you into a plentiful land to eat its fruits and its good things. But when you entered you defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination." (Jeremiah 2:7)

• And the Bible ponders the fate of the earth:

"It will be made a wasteland, parched and desolate before me; the whole land will be laid waste because there is no one who cares." (Jeremiah 12:11)

• The Bible states that God created the earth:

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth... God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." (Genesis 1:1, 31)  "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." (John 1:3)  "How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number-living things both large and small. (Psalm 104:24-25)

• And the Bible shows that God expects us to care for his creation:

"The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." (Genesis 2:15)  "You shall not pollute the land in which you live.... You shall not defile the land in which you live, in which I also dwell;" (Numbers 35:33-34) 

• God loves his earth and the people who live on it:

"God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good." (Genesis 1:31) "He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD. By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of his mouth." (Psalm 33:5-6)  "The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.... The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made." (Psalm 145:9, 13; cf. Psalm 145:17)

• And it is not too late to make the changes necessary to save our planet:

"You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it. You drench its furrows and level its ridges; you soften it with showers and bless its crops. You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance. The grasslands of the desert overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness. The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing." (Psalm 65:9-13)  "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:13-14)

• Further Biblical readings on the earth and protecting the environment:

1 Chronicles 29:11, Colossians 1:15- 17, Corinthians 10:26 Deuteronomy 10:14, Genesis 9:9-10, Hebrews 1:2-3, Hosea 2:18, Hosea 4:1-3, Jeremiah 12:4,  Job 12:10,  26:7-9, 11-14, 41:11, Leviticus 18:26 – 28, Nehemiah 9:6, Psalm 95:3-5, 104:10-14, 104:29-30

This tree planting project was completed in May 2008.

As part of our commitment to the environment, ESIC Baptist Church planted 29 trees on the church property in May, 2008.  These trees compliment the wooded acreage that the church also owns and has protected as green spaces against encroaching development.  The church is continuing to collect donations for the trees so that the trees can be named in honor of a a designee(s).

CHURCH ACTION ESIC Baptist Church is:

• Developing a large scale tree planting project on the church grounds
• Recycling at all church events, church office, Sunday School classes
• Battery recycling collection for church members
• Replacing all lighting fixtures, wherever applicable, with environmentally friendly - energy efficient fixtures
• Keeping thermostats at (or below) 68 degrees winter and 76 for summer when rooms are in use and turning thermostats down significantly when rooms and building are not in use
• Replacing all Styrofoam products with reusable products
• Regularly educating our congregation on efforts we can make as individuals to protect and conserve
• Encouraging riding a bike or walking to our church.  (We adjoin one of our community's beautiful paved bike trails.)
• Participating as a community organization in community efforts to protect the environment

COMMUNITY ACTION What our local communities and others are doing:

• Curbside recycling
• Over 90 miles of beautiful, safe,  mostly paved, bike/walking trails in our community
• Battery recycling at Local Libraries, Best Buy, Home Depot
• Ethanol developmental libratory at Southern Illinois University
• Plastic cap and soda tab recycling at many local schools

INDIVIDUAL ACTION What each person can do here and now: Detailed weekly in our bulletin-

• Recycle at home - cans, glass, plastic bottles, paper,  etc.  Use your curbside recycling.
• Compost at home or at least put yard waste at curbside for pick-up.  (Outdoor burning is illegal in our communities.)
• Recycle batteries, do not throw them into the trash.
• Refill and reuse printer cartridges or recycle them at office stores
• Walk or cycle; use the bike trails
• *Replace all lighting fixtures, wherever applicable, with environmentally friendly - energy efficient fixtures. (Properly disposed of them when worn out as they contain mercury.  Seal the bulb in two plastic bags and put it into the outside trash, or other protected outside location, for the next normal trash collection. CFLs should not be disposed of in an incinerator. )
• *Use programmable thermostats in the home that heat and cool by zones or rooms and keep the setting at 68 for winter and 76 for summer.  (Programmable thermostats cost $25.00 - $100.00)
• *Turn off lights and appliances in rooms not in use (Even unplug devices like chargers that are not in use.  When electronic devices are turned off, they use energy. Can save over $150 per year. )
• *Landscaping Your Home for Energy Efficiency, (In Winter, by maximizing solar heating while deflecting winds away from your home; and in Summer by maximizing shading while funneling breezes toward your home. )
• *Buy a Hybrid Car or Buy a Fuel Efficient Car (Getting a few extra miles per gallon makes a big difference. Save thousands of lbs. of carbon dioxide and a lot of money per year.   The average driver could save 16,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $3,750 per year driving a hybrid. )
• *Carpool When You Can,  (Carpooling with friends and co-workers saves fuel and reduces pollution.)
• *Inflate Your Tires  (Keep the tires on your car adequately inflated. Save 250 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $840 per year.)
• *Change Your Air Filters, Car and Furnace  (Check your air filters monthly.  Can save $130 per year in your auto.  Your furnace and air conditioner will be much more effective and efficient.)
• Reduce Garbage  (Buy products with less packaging.  Minimally Packaged Goods Less packaging could reduce your garbage by about 10%.  Composting helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the number of trips trucks must make to the landfill as well as the amount of methane released by our landfills. )
• Use Recycled Paper.  Save 5 lbs. of carbon dioxide per ream of paper.

• Plant a Tree  (Trees provide a microclimate and sustained moisture for you. Trees suck up carbon dioxide and make clean air for us to breath.)

• *Refill and reuse plastic bottles (especially individual water bottles).

• Avoid use of paper towels whenever possible.  Use washable clothes or multiple use paper towel.

• Install low-flow showerheads.

• Avoid use of plastic shopping bags given by every retailer, use cloth totes.  When using plastic bags - recycle them back to the retailer.

• Buy reusable shopping bags from your grocer. (They hold more than the usual plastic bags and are much stronger.)

• *Open blinds and drapes to the sun during the winter to help heat your house.  Keep them closed in the summer to help cool.

• *Use ceiling fans and attic fans to reduce use of air conditioning.

• Buy recycled or reclaimed products.

• *Clean your clothes dryer filter.  Remove the lint regularly - maybe after every use.  Wash the filter with soap and water and a soft brush every six months.

*Will also save money.

FURTHER ACTION Things to be done in the future:

• Push government,  industry, and the economy to develop hydrogen fuels, wind, thermal and especially solar energies.
• Reconsider nuclear technologies.