Announcing Cathedral CATS’ 2025 Lenten Theme

Climate Action Toward Stewarding, or CATS recognizes our baptismal vow to “strive to safeguard the integrity of God’s creation and respect, sustain, and renew the life of the earth.” Lent is a good time to review our baptismal vows and take time for spiritual renewal. Consuming less seems an apt discipline for the Lenten season. This theme provides an opportunity for listening, learning, sharing and action as we change our habits for the better.

We live in a world of overconsumption, which simply put, is when more resources are consumed in one year than Earth can regenerate in one year. In 1972, we would have needed 1.01 Earths to support our consumption habits. Last year, 1.7 Earths would have been required to match our consumption. We are losing ground. 

Consumption is complex and multidimensional. In wealthy countries such as ours, reduced consumption generally has positive implications for overall well-being. For example, many of us can afford to change and reduce food consumption leading to improved health. Changing shopping habits can lead to an improved personal financial bottom line. Data even suggests the process of reducing individual consumption can have a feel-good quality and many positive psychological effects can be the result.

The symbol we are using for this year’s Lenten theme to Turn Down the Heat is a large thermometer!  As we make decisions to consume less, you can watch the temperature go down!  Our goal? By Maundy Thursday, enough commitments to reducing consumption will have been made to symbolically turn down the heat on the thermometer and your committed actions will have become new habits. 

Keep your eyes peeled for CATS articles in The Chronicle with suggestions about ways to reduce consumption and personal stories about taking action. Follow us on this journey of self-discovery as we all choose our best fit for consuming less. 

In our galaxy, Earth is the blue planet. Let Mars take the heat! 

Sources:
Reduced consumption and its implications for well-being
Can we stop saying we need to "consume less" to fix climate change? In a warming world, who counts, and how much?
Earth Overshoot Day
Baptismal Vows