meeting minutes

Minutes from the Creation Care Team October 10, 2010 meeting

Fair trade coffee efforts – update

• We are currently using exclusively fair trade coffee during the post-8:30 service coffee hour
• The coffee is a combination of LaRue’s fair trade coffee and Pura Vida
• Still need to determine what is being used for the 11:00 service – whether fair trade is being used, or some other brand (and encourage the use of mugs or explore more environmentally-friendly plastic or paper cups)

Recycling rewards

• We have currently earned 1662 rewards points through the recycling program since roughly March
• Options in using the points include: $5 off $50 or more spent at Bag N Save (50 points, Donation of points to area schools, Discounts on coffee, Raffling off coupons purchased with points to give to the youth mission fund, or gift the coupons to the youth group, Purchasing coupons to give in the visitor gift bags, BOGO golf games
• It was determined that we would wait until we have more points, and discuss purchasing restaurant gift cards for some sort of church use or gift

Wednesday night dinners – traditional plates and cloth napkins

• Dinner crews having become so small that there are not enough dish teams to clean traditional dishes – most teams have reverted to using paper plates
• We will include a “call” for dish team volunteers in the Oakkin

Sunday school backpacks

• The theme for the take-home backpacks given in Sunday school this year (part of the “growing the faith at home” program) involves creation care, including Nancy Sleeth’s Go Green, Save Green book
• Plan is to highlight this connection to the Creation Care Team in the Oakkin

Governance change

• The upcoming change in church structure will lead to the need for the team to present our group to the Leadership Team, including our mission/vision and possibly our core values

Sarah will write up notes for the November Oakkin to highlight the team’s latest happenings/accomplishments

Fair Trade Coffee

Thanks to church members, as well as Creation Care Team members, FCC now uses exclusively fair trade coffee during it's 9:30 coffee hour! The coffee comes from both LaRue and Pura Vida.

The purpose of fair trade is to promote healthier working conditions and greater economic incentive for coffee producers. In buying and consuming fair trade coffee, you are ensuring that growers are provided with a living wage and safe working conditions.

Standards for fair trade coffee certification include:

• Fair labor conditions: Those who work with Fair Trade farms are able to work with freedom of association, safe working conditions, and fair wages. Child labor is strictly prohibited.
• Direct trade: With Fair Trade, importers purchase from Fair Trade producer groups as directly as possible, eliminating the middle man and letting the farmer compete in the global market.
• Democratic and transparent organizations: Through proof of a democratic market, Fair Trade farmers and farm workers decide how to invest Fair Trade revenues.
• Community development: Fair Trade farmers and workers invest Fair Trade premiums in social and business development projects like scholarship programs, healthcare services and quality improvement training.