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April
2005
7th Principle Environmental Action Committee
of the First Unitarian Church here in Portland, supported by the Interfaith
Network for Earth Concerns, is producing a day-long regional conference
on climate change scheduled for May 7th entitled "Choosing Our
Legacy:Consciousness and Climate Change." Click
here for more info.
April
10-12 Texas Impact will host
Breath of Life clergy conference. For more information, contact 512.472.3903
or justice@texasimpact.com.
The 2005
Earth Day resources "Sacred Oceans and Seas" are now available
online and in print. For more information, click
here.
To
view the March-April 2005 issue of BeFriending Creation, the bimonthly
newsletter of Quaker Earthcare Witness, click
here.
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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Churches
Planning Earth Day Sunday Services
Hundreds of churches across the country are preparing for April 25th--Earth
Day Sunday--by downloading the NCC 2005 Earth Day resource. To download
an electronic copy, click here.
Or contact cassandra@toad.net for a printed copy.
House
of Bishops calls on U.S. Senate to protect Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge
Urging
full protection of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the House
of Bishops of the Episcopal Church on March 14 adopted a resolution
calling upon the U.S. Senate to oppose opening the pristine region
to exploration for oil and gas. Read
more . . .
Churches
Celebrate Eco-Friendly Palm Sunday
Twenty-two
churches in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Massachusetts became the
first congregations in North America to use environmentally sustainable
palm for their Palm Sunday services purchased under a pilot project
of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). Read
more . . .
800
Gather in DC for Ecumenical Advocacy Days
 More
than 800 people gathered in Washington, DC, on March 11-14, 2005,
for Ecumencial Advocacy Days.
This advocacy training event featured a dedicated Eco-Justice track.
The gathering featured challenging speakers, issue briefings, advocacy
training workshops and a Lobby Day on Capitol Hill when participants
spoke with their Senators and Representatives or key Congressional
policy staff.
Toledo
Hosts Regional Water Event
More
than 60 lay leaders and clergy gathered in Toledo, Ohio, February
25-26, to focus on water issues from a faith perspective during Living
Waters, the third in a series of regional training events on water.
Featured speakers include the Rev. David Radcliff and Dr. David Culver.
Faith-Based
Shareowners and Climate Change
Six
oil and gas companies commited to measure, mitigate, and disclose
data related to global warming, and evangelicals joined their faith-based
compatriots in concern over climate change. To read the article, click
here.
Learning
Tours to Denali, Arctic, Amazon
In the coming
year, the New Community Project is sponsoring Learning Tours to areas
where God's creation and the humans who depend on it are threatened.
Upcoming trips include: Denali/Kenai Fjords National Parks (August
10-19; $450) Arctic Village, Alaska (August 20-29, $800), and the
Ecuadorian Amazon (January 10-20, 2006, $995). Participants will encounter
native communities and have direct experience of the ecosystem. The
trips are open to all ages, and require cultural sensitivity, openness
to spiritual growth and willingness to endure basic living conditions.
NCP is a faith-based nonprofit working at care for creation and social
justice. Click here
for more information or to register.
Congregational
Update:
Virginia
Diocese Embraces Energy Conservation
The
Virginia Episcopal Diocese Committee on the Stewardship of Creation
is making energy conservation a priority. At the January 2005 Annual
Council meeting, the Diocese overwhelmingly passed a resolution in
support of energy conservation with special emphasis on engaging with
the Virginia Interfaith Power and Light.
From the Desk of . . .
by: Cassandra
Carmichael, NCC eco-justice program director
My puppy Jax taught me a great life lesson this winter while
playing in the snow. With complete exuberance, Jax would chase down
any snowball I threw. Even though most of the snowballs disintegrated
into the surrounding snow, Jax would still, with unabashed joy try
to hunt it down. Of course, he never found any of the snowballs, even
though his nose told him that it must be around somewhere. And then
run back to me, waiting for another one to be thrown. I was completely
humbled by his sheer joy and his willingness to try again and again,
even though he failed everytime.
So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for
a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will
accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him
under the sun. --Ecclesiastes 8:15 (NIV)
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