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February
2006
Keeping
Earth in Common: A Just Faith for a Whole World
Regent College and A Rocha have partnered to sponsor a conference
in Vancouver, British Columbia February 24-25. The gathering will
respond to the common assertion that the care of creation is in
direct conflict with the needs of people. To register or to learn
more, visit the conference
website or call 1-800-663-8664.
Participate
in the Hudson River Project: Caring for Creation
The Garrison Institute brings together religious and environmental
leaders in a place based initiative that focuses on the sacredness
of the Hudson River estuary system. One way to facilitate this is
through monthly public conversations every third Thursday at 7:30
pm. On February 16, the conversation will focus on "The River
as Divind Inspriation," and on March 16 visit the Garrison
Center to talk about "The River as Connection to the Spirit
of the Earth." Visit the Hudson
River Project website for more information.
"Evangelicals
and the Environment" on Religion & Ethics Newsweekly
Reverends Richard Cizik and Fletcher Harper were featured
on the January 13 episode of PBS series in a report on the changing
attitudes of evangelicals toward environmental issues. For a transcript
and a video clip of the story, visit the PBS
website.
Denominational
Anthology of Environmental Statements
NCC has
compiled a environmental statements from our member communions in
one central location to make it easy for you to access church policy
on Eco-Justice issues. The anthology is searchable by communion
and by environmental issue. Please check
it out! The anthology is continuously growing, so contact
cassandra@toad.net with new or new-to-us statements.
Sustainable
Agriculture: A Christican Ethic of Gratitude (Pilgrim Press,
2005) Author Mark Graham examines American agricultural practices
in light of morality and sustainability. Graham's proposal for change
is based on a moral vision that identifies a group of core values
around which our agricultural system should be developed, including:
a consistent safe food supply; vital, sustainable communities; and
personal and environmental health. Click here
for more information or to order.
Eco-Justice
Working Group
Church
of the Brethren
Environmental
Justice Office of Presbyterian Church (USA)
Presbyterian
Washington Office
Episcopal
Ecological Network
Greek
Orthodox Church in America
Luthern
Earthkeeping Network of the Synods
Reformed
Church in America
United
Church of Christ
United
Methodist Board of Church and Society
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Earth
Day Resource: Through the Eye of a Hurricane: Rebuilding Just
Communities
The
2006 Earth Day Sunday resource materials focus on building just
communities, using the lens of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The
issues raised -- environmental justice and racism, toxics, and consumer
lifestyles -- pose a challenge to people of faith around the world.
The Gulf Coast hurricanes are tragedies that have touched and will
continue to touch all of God's creation, including God's people.
They demonstrated how people in poverty are hardest hit by environmental
disasters. This resource can help your congregation celebrate God's
creation and explore issues pertaining to caring for it and His
most vulnerable people. To download a copy of the resource and have
access to other NCC Eco-Justice resources register
with our network. Problems registering? E-mail cassandra@toad.net.
Use Eco-Palms
to Lower the Impact of Your Holy Week Celebration
Jesus'
arrival in Jerusalem was celebrated by jubilant waving of palm branches
and is re-enacted each year in Christian churches around the world.
Unfortunately for the communities in which those palms are harvested,
palm fronds do not represent the same jubilation as they do for
us. Typically, palm harvest is done in such a way that compromises
the environment and contributes little to the local economy. Communities
in Mexico and Guatemala are learning to turn palm harvest into a
positive for the environment and for themselves, and you can help
by buying Eco-Palms for your Easter Week celebration. Visit the
Lutheran World
Relief website for more information and to order Eco-Palms.
Take
Action! New Park Service Management Plans Threaten Integrity
of Creation
Psalm
19:1 declares that "the heavens are telling the glory of God
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork." Many people of
faith experience deep connections to God and spiritual growth while
exploring the wild parts of creation. And for those of us caught
up in busy modern lifestyles or hectic urban settings, National
Parks like Yellowstone, Zion, and the Great Smoky Mountains, offer
some of the best escapes for prayer, spiritual discernment, undisrupted
family time, and reconnecting with the Creator. But the National
Park Service is in the process of changing the rules governing the
parks, and the new changes could mean increased commercialization
as well as more air pollution, haze, noise, and damage from off-road
vehicles and livestock. Read
More and Speak Out!
Interfaith Action
on Climate Change
At
the first ever Meeting of the Parties of the Kyoto Protocol in Montreal,
a broad interfaith cohort made it clear that climate change is a
matter of faith about which we will not be silent. On December 4,
2005 nearly 2,000 people gathered for a bilingual inter-spiritual
service during which a "Spiritual
Declaration on Climate Change" was read, signed, and
presented to the President of the meeting as well as a representative
of the UN Secretariat on Climate Change. To learn more about faith
community involvement and the accomplishments in Montreal, visit
the World
Council of Churches website.
Ecumenical
Advocacy Days
Challenging Disparity:
The Promise of God - The Power of Solidarity
 On
March 10, more than 900 grassroots advocates, policy experts, politicians,
theologians, organizers, and students from most U.S. states and
many countries will converge upon Washington, DC for the largest
national gathering of progressive religious activists. Tracks of
the conference focus on geographic locations such as Africa and
the Middle East as well as themes like Eco-Justice. The event concludes
on March 13 with a lobbying day on Capitol Hill. To register, visit
the Advocacy
Days website.
From the Desk
of . . .
by: Cassandra Carmichael,
NCC eco-justice program director
My mother
often refers to an attitude I have that she affectionately labels
"my self." She says it began when I was two and decided
that I was fully
capable of doing everything without any help whatsoever. This attitude,
coupled with my aversion to power tools, became problematic when
I decided to put in bamboo floors at my house in January. When told
of these grandplans, several of my friends, arched their eyebrows
and asked "by yourself?" "Well, yes!" I would
reply, trying to feel confident and independent. But deep inside,
I had a sinking feeling that perhaps 600 square feet of new flooring
was a bit too much to handle on my own. One night when I was having
dinner with a friend of mine, who admittedly had worked in construction,
I hesitantly brought up the subject of my floors. "Of course
I'll help," he said. I was pleasantly surprised and relieved.
Luckily, I have other friends who become ecstatic at the idea of
utilizing power tools and building things and they volunteered to
help without me even having to ask. And after a weekend of flooring
installation, I have beautiful bamboo floors and a new perspective
on fellowship and work. Someone once told me that no one would know
what I needed unless I spoke up. True. But, I also now believe that
working in community and welcoming the fellowship that comes with
shared work is part of our spiritual journey. It reminds us of our
interdependence and our connectedness. And while it is often simpler
to work in isolation, it never produces the fullness of flower that
working together does. Community: (ecology) a group of interdependent
organisms inhabiting the same
region and interacting with each other
How very pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! . .
. For there the Lord ordained his blessing, life forevermore. --
Psalm 133:1, 3b
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