Colloquium 2007: The Word for a Warming World

This week on campus is a great opportunity to learn more about the state of the earth and what appropriate theological responses might be:

“Colloquium 2007 focuses on the church’s encounter with the emerging ecological crisis that is gaining increased national and international attention. Through plenary presentations, panels, and workshops, we will explore the broad contours of the crisis, develop biblical perspectives for Christian care of the creation, and offer resources for ministry in times of travail.”

For a schedule of events, click here …

Water Stewardship Resource for Congregations

New water stewardship resource makes a splash:

Water’s sacredness to Christians is demonstrated over 500 times in the Bible from the moment God parted the waters to create the sky and our blessed waterways to the holy sacrament of Baptism. We also rely on rivers, lakes, streams, and oceans for recreation, work, nourishment, bathing, and many other needs. Water is God’s gift that sustains all life on Earth.

Join churches in caring for the precious gift of water with Water Stewards: A Toolkit for Congregational Care of Local Watersheds produced by the National Council of Churches Eco-Justice Programs. Copies can be downloaded at www.nccecojustice.org/waterbounce.html. This resource contains an interactive adult education curriculum with ideas for worship and action to promote good water stewardship.

Presbyterian Hunger Program: Food & Faith

PC(USA)’s Hunger Program is not only focused on issues of hunger in American and around the world, but also on issues of food and faith.

The website offers ideas on what you can do to make a difference, talks about why food and faith are connected and why they matter. They highlight news and analysis on issues of hunger and faithful food practices. They share stories from churches who are making a difference. And provide resources and links to other organizations who are working on these issues.

PC(USA) also supports ‘Enough for Everyone,’ a site providing four creative hands-on actions for congregations to support; Just Trade, a site advocating for just trade practices and a better farm bill; and Fair Food, a site devoted to fair food practices.

All in all there are a number of rich resources connected to the PC(USA) website that can help you live more green now, and help you lead your future congregations in greener living.

Recycle Your Electronics

City of Decatur is hosting a ‘Recycle Your Electronics’ Day on Saturday March 25th.

This is a great opportunity to safely, and freely, and easily recycle your batteries, old computers, broken electronic equipment, speakers, etc.

For a full list of things you can recycle and directions for where to go, check out this website.

Sustainability and Care for Creation: As Mandated in the PC(USA) Book of Order

Sometimes it seems as though caring for the earth and promoting issues such as sustainability is simply a peripheral interest of a few in the church. Yet, the command to care for the earth is deeply Biblical and even rooted in our Constitution. As future pastors and church leaders we ought to remember these important mandates:

God calls the Church in the power of the Holy Spirit to participate in God’s work of creation and preservation. God has given humankind awesome power and perilous responsibility to rule and tame the earth, to sustain and reshape it, to replenish and renew it.

In worship Christians rejoice and give thanks to God, who gives and sustains the created universe, the earth, all life, and all goods. They acknowledge God’s command to be stewards. They confess their own failures in caring for creation and life. They rejoice in the promise of the redemption and renewal of the creation in Jesus Christ, proclaimed in the Word and sealed in the Sacraments. They commit themselves to live as God’s stewards until the day when God will make all things new.

As stewards of God’s creation who hold the earth in trust, the people of God are called to:

1. use the earth’s resources responsibly without plundering, polluting, or destroying,
2. develop technological methods and processes that work together with the earth’s environment to preserve and enhance life,
3. produce and consume in ways that make available to all people what is sufficient for life,
4. work for responsible attitudes and practices in procreation and reproduction,
5. use and shape earth’s goods to create beauty, order, health, and peace in ways that reflect God’s love for all creatures.

In gratitude for the gifts of creation, the faithful bring material goods to God in worship as a means of expressing praise, as a symbol of their self-offering, and as a token of their commitment to share earth’s goods. (Book of Order, W-7.5001-7.5003)

Sustainability

One of the major issues facing people who care about the earth is sustainability: how do we live on the earth and sustain ourselves without taxing natural resources or wiping them out entirely?

The Sustainability Institute is focused on just this issue and has a great website dedicated to exploring issues of sustainability and ways to improve how we live with the earth. You might check out some of their projects or make use of some of their resources or make a donation. Whatever you do, it’s a site worth bookmarking, if only for future reference/use.

Becoming Citizens Worthy of the Earth

Date: Monday, February 05, 2007
Time: 7:30 PM — 9:30 PM
Speaker/Performer: Peter G. Brown
Location: Agnes Scott College; Evans Hall, Terrace level, rooms ABC
Agnes Scott Ethics Lecture Series:
“Is Nature Ours? Ethics, Economics and the Environment”

Do humans own the earth or do we just act as though we do?
What is the cost of perceiving the rest of nature merely as
a resource? Peter Brown, professor in the departments of
geography and natural resource science at the McGill
University School of Environment, will argue that humans
don’t own the Earth and that the belief that we do is a
significant cause of the environmental degradation that is
overtaking us and many other species. He will suggest a more
promising future lies in Albert Schweitzer’s idea of
reverence for life.

Free, no ticket required.

Wind Power

Looking for an easy way to make a difference? Try buying wind power. Rather than burning fossil fuels to provide our electricity, wind power uses natural energy (the wind) to create electricity. Buying wind power helps support this growing industry and make it competitive in today’s market. Your ‘donations’ go to support wind farms and help offset the electricity you use every day. Plus, when you sign-up you get a nice little gift card and bumpersticker to help spread the word. Check it out here …

Looking for food??

Kroger is definitely the closest grocery store to campus, in fact there are many Krogers close to campus; but I think you ought to check out Whole Foods as a place to do your grocery shopping, or at least some of it.

Whole Foods was founded in 1980 as a single store in Austin, Texas. It has since grown to be the largest retailer of natural and organic in the world. Aside from the great shopping experience (it is one of the cleanest grocery stores and I promise there will be foods there you have never seen before, along with the regulars of course), Whole Foods is also committed to offering organic and natural food choices along with products that promote sustainable agriculture.

There are two Whole Foods stores near campus. One on Ponce de Leon in midtown and the other at the corner of Druid Hills and Briarcliff.

Green Power

If you’re paying for electricity through Georgia Power, why not add five dollars to your bill each month and purchase some “green energy“? Your service won’t change at all, but with just five dollars, you buy a unit of green energy, which uses natural resources (such as wind, sun, and water) to produce energy. For more information check out the sites above. It’s an easy way to make a difference for just a little bit of money.