Resources for Earth Day 2010 (April 22)
1) Retreat April 22-25 at Calumet
focuses on saving our fragile planet
Are you serious about saving our fragile planet? If so, have
you considered signing up for an inexpensive, innovative retreat, “Saving the
Planet,” scheduled for April 22-25 at Calumet Lutheran Camp and Conference
Center, Freedom, N.H. More than 10 workshop leaders
are ready to provide the knowledge and resources congregations and individuals
need to “green” the New England Synod. The event also includes crafts,
bible study, hands-on activities, fellowship and fun. Registration for the
entire program is only $148, which includes meals and lodging. To register,
contact Betsy at Betsy@calumet.org or
603-639-3223 x219. Day rates also are available. The earth will thank you.
2) Earth Day Sunday
The National Council of Churches Eco-Justice Program has resources available for Earth Day Sunday in April. This
year's theme is "Sacred
Spaces and an Abundant Life." Access the resources at http://nccecojustice.org/resources/#earthdaysundayresources.
Download these resources
with plenty of time to begin implementing ideas so the congregation you serve can
celebrate its successes on the Sunday before or after Earth Day, which is April
22.
3) Carbon covenant
The National Interfaith Power and Light organization now has a program called "Carbon Covenant" which gives
congregations and individuals an opportunity to help with projects that are caring for creation in different parts
of the world. Currently, Carbon Covenant includes four projects:
+Save the Monks Community Forest in Cambodia
+Stop Desertification in Cameroon
+R estore Deforested Lands in Ghana
+Plant 3,000,000 Trees on Kilimanjaro
Find out more at http://interfaithpowerandlight.org/2009/12/carbon-covenant/.
Synod names ‘green’
liaison: Pr. Nancy Wright
As
the New England Synod listens to God’s call to earthkeeping,
Pr. Nancy G. Wright,
Ascension, South Burlington, Vt., who formerly served with two ecumenical
agencies focusing on environmental justice, serves as the synod’s environmental
liaison to encourage, empower, and equip congregations to care for creation.
Pr. Wright, who grew up in Colorado, has a Master’s degree in Environmental
Conservation Education. She will be working with Calumet Lutheran Ministries,
the synod’s outdoor ministry partner headquartered in Freedom, N.H., which is
working to re-create itself into a “green” resource for the synod. (See The
Lutheran Link, May 2008, p.1.) If you want to join
the synod’s “Green Team,” contact Sister Virginia Strahan,
the synod’s communication specialist, at (508) 791-1530 x103 or sisterv@nesynod.org. Read Pr. Wright’s reflection, Healing God’s Creation.
Ascension
Lutheran Church,
South Burlington, Vt., has been chosen as Interfaith
Power & Light’s newest “cool congregation.” Cool congregations are faith
communities recognized by the national Interfaith Power & Light campaign
for their outstanding work toward reducing their carbon footprint and promoting
creation care. Under the leadership of Pr. Nancy Wright and the church’s
Care for Creation Committee, Ascension has implemented a comprehensive greening
program that stems from what Pr. Wright calls a “deep sense that care for
creation is part of the church’s mission.” Click HERE to learn what Ascension
has done. Read the rest of the story at http://www.theregenerationproject.org/blog/2009/07/cool-congregation-ascension-lutheran-church/
. (08/06/09)
Check
below to see what other congregations are doing, and how you can become a Care
for Creation Center.
·
Congregations
(what your neighbors have done already)
·
Green honor roll (if
you’re missing, let us know)
·
Green resources
(ways to care for creation)
·
Caring for Creation:
Vision, Hope and Justice (ELCA Social Statement, 1993)
·
Resolution 07-10
Global Climate Change (New England Synod Assembly, 2007)
Other resources:
1)Theological responses to climate
change: Two new resources by the Lutheran World Federation
One of the recent study programs of the Department
for Theology and Studies in the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) brought theological, spiritual and ethical reflection to
bear on actual experiences and work being carried out through LWF field
programs and member churches, especially in those parts of the world most
vulnerable to climate change. Such reflection has the potential to challenge
how we view urgent climate change crises and related developments and how we
seek to redress them, as a matter of justice toward other people, the rest of
creation and the future. http://www.lutheranworld.org/What_We_Do/Dts/Programs/DTS-Church-Social_Issues.html
Two important resources arose with this study program:
+ God, Creation and Climate
Change: A Resource for Reflection and Discussion by Karen L. Bloomquist
with Rolita Machila
Contents:
I. What is
going on?
II. God and climate change?
III. The Triune God is intimately related with all of creation
IV. So what
about human beings?
V. The
redemption of all creation
VI. Notes
VII. Appendix
For the full
text, visit http://www.lutheranworld.org/What_We_Do/Dts/Programs/DTS-Climate_Change-web.pdf
+
An
LWF Climate Change Encounter in India, The Lutheran World Federation, 2009
About 25 persons from
India and other countries met in the coastal community of Puri,
India, 16-20 April 2009 to witness firsthand the dramatic effect of climate
change in the area, and to reflect on interconnections with developments in
other parts of the world. What they saw were disturbing changes such as
villages swallowed by the sea or “climate refugees” struggling for survival in
the teeming metropolis of Calcutta. What they experienced was hope in the form of
strong bonds of care and communal sharing, an intimate connection between the
spiritual and the practical, and a strong sense of empowerment to take
responsibility for the future. What they heard was an invitation to inform
others about their encounters and the keen desire for global solidarity.
For the full article, visit http://www.lutheranworld.org/What_We_Do/Dts/Programs/Puri-Climate_communique.pdf (01/07/10)
2) ELCA program
encourages greening of congregations
Lutherans Restoring Creation (LRC) is a program designed to encourage the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) to incorporate care for creation
into its full life and mission at all levels. LRC is inviting ELCA members to
become partners in these efforts at the congregational, synodical,
seminary and national levels. The goal is to incorporate care for creation into
the organizational patterns, worship life, educational programs, responsibility
for buildings and grounds, lifestyle of members at home and work, and public
ministry of all of these institutions, so that earthkeeping
and justice for all earth community becomes integral to the identity and
purpose of our church. Go to www.lutheransrestoringcreation.org for greening church information and important networking as you work in your
churches to bring care for creation and environmental justice to the forefront
of your ministry. You can find more information on the synod Web site at http://www.nesynod.org/Green/Green.htm or by contacting Pr. Nancy Wright, environmental liaison to the synod,
at pastornancy@alcvt.org.
(01/07/10)