350 Bells Will Ring in Ossining for Climate Change
On Saturday, March 20, on the first day of Spring, bells will ring 350 times at churches and communities of faith around the globe, to let the world know just how important the number 350 is.
Consensus in the scientific community is that 350 is the maximum amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) parts per million to maintain a temperature that can sustain life. At Saint Paul’s on the Hill and Trinity on Route 9, bells will ring 350 times in stereo, as part of an international campaign to build support for bringing the amount of CO2 back to a safe and sustainable amount. Right now, we have approximately 390 CO2 parts per million in our air.
Father Stephen Holton of Saint Paul’s said that people of faith are participating in this service to remind us of God’s love for the earth. “God created the earth, which is our Garden of Eden, and put us in this garden to till it and keep it. Our faith and our enlightened self-interest require us to care for and take action to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide if we are to continue to live here.”
The service with song, prayer and bell ringing, is based on the seven days of creation, with the bell being rung 50 times for each day of the week” said Graham Gulian, organizer of the event for St. Paul’s. “We are participating in this event to spread the word about the dire consequences of continuing to live in unsustainable ways. We want to ensure that there is a place for our children in the future and if we don’t seriously change our habits, this planet will no longer be hospitable to our species. 350 is the maximum parts per million that Earth will sustain life and right now we are at about 390 parts per million.”
“Hundreds of faith communities around the world have produced photos of their events with banners, and other methods of depicting the number 350. Anyone who wants to get more information or get more involved in the 350 movement can contact me at ggulian@nyp.org.On Saturday, March 13, we will be making our banners for the event and invite anyone who cares about the future health of this planet to join us” said Gulian.
The event at St. Paul’s on the Hill, located at 40 Ganung Drive in Ossining, and at Trinity Ossining, located at 13 Eastern Avenue in Ossining starts at 4:00 PM on March 20.
For more information call Father Holton at 914-941-6627 or Graham Gulian at 212-305-2902 or go to www.350.org