Ecclesiastical New Year

September 1st marks the beginning of the cycle of feasts and fasts for Orthodox Christians. It is also a time for school and church school to begin again. The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople has asked all of us to say a prayer for the protection of the environment on September 1st as well. He asks all of us to show our respect for the environment because it was created by God. It is a time where we can reflect on the changes we can make in our own home and community to make it a healthier and cleaner place to live. There are many ways we can do this - by recycling our paper products, certain plastics, certain metals, glass, and many other items. We can also compost our fruit, vegetables, and other food scraps in a compost pile in our own backyard. This helps reduce the amount of trash making its way to the landfills. Choosing organic items whenever possible helps support farmers using non-toxic agents for growing their crops. There are so many ways we can make changes around our home and community. It is a lifestyle change - one that doesn't come all at once. We are adding one or two changes at a time. On this September 1st, our family is starting our own compost pile in the backyard. It's a small start but adding this change to our previous changes - recycling and eating organic as much as possible - starts adding up over the long run. Finally, I am hoping to chronicle our family's life as we strive to live our Orthodox Christian faith throughout this next year. I think it will help us focus and reflect on how we are teaching our children their faith as we journey day by day.

Niki took this photo on our walk talking about nature.