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Caring for the environment at our North American Headquarters Being environmentally responsible is one of hundreds of ways in which Medical Mission Sisters around the world try to be a healing presence to others today. Medical Mission Sisters in Philadelphia have a long history of keeping our North American Headquarters environmentally-friendly. In addition to caring for the green space on the property, with its beautiful trees and wildlife, our Sisters and staff in Philadelphia are involved with many ecological efforts. In the 1980s, years before Philadelphia offered city-wide recycling, Sisters Estelle Demers and Jane Pellowski began a local environmental group, Earthings. They went door to door, picking up recyclable materials, and cleaned up entrances to local parks...actions that were instrumental in the city’s eventual adoption of a recycling program. Today at our Philadelphia headquarters, we use recycled paper products. From January to April, 2010, over two tons of paper were recycled, equal to saving 6.27 cubic yards of landfill. The crosses and benches in our cemetery are made of recycled plastic. Many of our communications now take place electronically, which also saves on the use of paper. We also use environmentally-friendly cleaning products, energy-efficient light bulbs, and filtered water instead of bottled water. Our Sisters advocate collecting rainwater in barrels, and have special collections for hazardous materials and “techno trash.” Our Integrity of Creation group in North America was formed eleven years ago. The Sisters and Associates who are members continually research and share ways to be more conscious and caring of our environment. At the United Nations, our Sisters are active in the area of global climate change. With the help of a government grant, solar panels were installed on one of our residences in 2008. Since then, 10,478 kilowatt hours of electricity have been generated – enough to power the needs of several buildings on our property. In these and many other ways, our Sisters in Philadelphia are integrating the ecological dimension of healing into the special place where we live and work. September 1, 2010
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