Celebrate Veto of Mountaintop Removal Permits
An email notice was mailed out today from the National Council of Churches USA for Eco-Justice Programs announcing that after years of litigation and debate, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said "no" to the devastation that Mountaintop Removal mining has on God's Creation. According to the NCC Eco-Justice Team, "Two weeks ago the EPA finalized a veto of permits for a new mountaintop removal coal mine in West Virginia, specifically the Spruce Number One Mine.
The following thank you note was sent to the EPA by the NCC Eco-Justice team:
"Dear Administrator Jackson,
We are writing to express our gratitude for the Environmental Protection Agency's decision to veto the Spruce Number One mine permit in West Virginia. As people of faith, we believe that we are called to be stewards of the Earth and to manage our land, water and other resources for the benefit of all of creation and for future generations. For years we have, as a community, expressed great concern over the destructive practice of mountaintop removal coal mining in the Appalachian Mountains, which favors short term economic gain over the protection of these ancient mountains and the unique culture and communities that depend upon them.
Over the years, mountaintop removal mining has led to polluted drinking water, increased risk of flooding, damage to homes and buildings due to mining blasts, massive amounts of dust, related health ailments, and a devastated landscape.
Your decision to revoke the permits for the Spruce Number One mine reflects the often overlooked negative impacts that mountaintop removal mining has on Appalachia. High rates of poverty, high unemployment, and high illiteracy rates along with damaged ecosystems and degraded human health are being borne by the people who get little benefit and can least afford to adjust to these circumstances.
We support your decision and look forward to working with you in the future to slow the growth of mountaintop removal mining and help communities that have been affected seek justice for their families and future generations."
Click here if you would like to sign this thank you note to the EPA.
To learn more about the NCC Eco-Justice Program click here.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Let There Be... Stuff?
Have you ever heard of the internet sensation, The Story of Stuff? Do you ever wonder what you can do to make the biggest difference on the future of the planet? Do you want ot feel closer to God while you're at it?
If the answer is "YES!" and you're between 13 and 18 years old, then you have a great adventure ahead. Come be part of the Let There Be... Stuff? program. Commit to six sessions and change the world.
Contact Melissa, Minister for Youth & Family Discipleship (yfd@oursaviorsmoorhead.org), to sign up!
Starting Sunday, January 9, the Youth & Familiy Discipleship program is offering this special, six-week program for our Sr. High students and the Lutheran Campus Ministry students at MN State University, Moorhead. Study sessions will be Sundays in the Youth Room, 6:00-7:00 p.m.
Recycled Paper for the Future of the Planet
Have you noticed in your bulletins this past year that Our Savior's uses paper from sustainably managed forrests as well as recycled paper? Though you may have seen it printed you might still be wondering "what does that mean?"
The Sustainable Forrest Stewardship Council, whose seal can be found on the packaging ofthe paper filling the shelves in our church office, has been certified by Scientific Certification Systems, meaning the wood used to create our bulletins comes from forrests that are being managed in an environmentally responsible way.
Even better, we have recently been using more and more recycled paper - anywhere from 50% to 100% post-consumer content - meaning fewer trees have to be cut down to make it and less damage to God's creation.
Recycled paper does cost more in the catalog than non-recycled paper and that can deter people from choosing the recycled option. Even the sales rep from our supply company who sells us our paper commented one day when an order was placed, "You know, not many people order that recycled stuff. It's too expensive!" And then he asked the inevitable question, "So why are you buying the recycled paper?"
Why? Because it's the right thing to do. Because God never promised His way would be easy. But He did promise to be with us along the journey - and what an incredible journey it will be, the more and more we choose God's way over the easy way.
The Sustainable Forrest Stewardship Council, whose seal can be found on the packaging ofthe paper filling the shelves in our church office, has been certified by Scientific Certification Systems, meaning the wood used to create our bulletins comes from forrests that are being managed in an environmentally responsible way.
Even better, we have recently been using more and more recycled paper - anywhere from 50% to 100% post-consumer content - meaning fewer trees have to be cut down to make it and less damage to God's creation.
Recycled paper does cost more in the catalog than non-recycled paper and that can deter people from choosing the recycled option. Even the sales rep from our supply company who sells us our paper commented one day when an order was placed, "You know, not many people order that recycled stuff. It's too expensive!" And then he asked the inevitable question, "So why are you buying the recycled paper?"
Why? Because it's the right thing to do. Because God never promised His way would be easy. But He did promise to be with us along the journey - and what an incredible journey it will be, the more and more we choose God's way over the easy way.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Styrofoam
Finally, brothers and sisters, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God (as, in fact, you are doing), you should do so more and more .
1 T h e s s a l o n i a n s 4 : 1
Last Thursday, the Creation Care Committee attended the Women's board meeting to present on the topic of styrofoam. Our Savior's has, for many years, used styrofoam cups for the fellowship hour on Sunday mornings and has them available for use during the week as well. Styrofoam is also used on occasion for potlucks and community meals held in our building.
Vonnie Thordal, Co-President of the women's board, was enthusiastic and positive about adding the subject of styrofoam to their meeting agenda and we want to shout out a great big "Thank You!" to her her openness and willingness to consider another way!
Why is it important to stop using styrofoam?
Caring for the environment is part of our call to serve God and love our neighbor. A significant way we carry out that call is in the way we manage activities and functions on church grounds. This is easy to forget because our culture tells us it's our right to do what's easy and convenient. Christ tells us though, that it is our responsibility and vocation to honor God and the abundance He has given us.
Styrofoam is a bad deal
Styrofoam is a bad deal from beginning to end. Firstly, styrofoam is made from benzene, a known carcinogen, which is breathed in by the factory workers who often live lives of poverty which offer them little or no other choice for employment. The Benzene is converted to Styrene, polymerized and finally turned into foam by injecting gasses known to contribute to the destruction of the ozone layer and the production of smog. Benzene itself is made from oil and sometimes coal which is processed in plants which pump even more toxins and pollution into the air and ground and consume more oil to power the production process.
Secondly, there is no good way to recycle styrofoam. It is difficult to do and only a very few places do it. Furthermore, there are very few uses for recycled styrofoam and it is not suitable for making more cups. So recycling your cup does nothing to mitigate the need for more raw materials to make your next styrofoam cup.
Third. So styrofoam is made to be discarded and the damage to the environment is significant. According to the Recycler's Handbook, Americans send over 25 billion styrofoam cups to the landfill each year (and that's just the cups!). Consider Our Savior's: if 100 people drink coffee on Sunday mornings and use just one styrofoam cup, though some use more than one, times 52 weeks per year = 5,200 cups, they would use and throw away enough cups to fill 16 32 gallon trash cans. Then, the 5,200 cups are hauled away to the landfill in big, gas-guzzling trucks and dumped into the ground, where the chemicals leach into the ground and groundwater to become a problem for future generations.
1 T h e s s a l o n i a n s 4 : 1
Last Thursday, the Creation Care Committee attended the Women's board meeting to present on the topic of styrofoam. Our Savior's has, for many years, used styrofoam cups for the fellowship hour on Sunday mornings and has them available for use during the week as well. Styrofoam is also used on occasion for potlucks and community meals held in our building.
Vonnie Thordal, Co-President of the women's board, was enthusiastic and positive about adding the subject of styrofoam to their meeting agenda and we want to shout out a great big "Thank You!" to her her openness and willingness to consider another way!
Why is it important to stop using styrofoam?
Caring for the environment is part of our call to serve God and love our neighbor. A significant way we carry out that call is in the way we manage activities and functions on church grounds. This is easy to forget because our culture tells us it's our right to do what's easy and convenient. Christ tells us though, that it is our responsibility and vocation to honor God and the abundance He has given us.
Styrofoam is a bad deal
Styrofoam is a bad deal from beginning to end. Firstly, styrofoam is made from benzene, a known carcinogen, which is breathed in by the factory workers who often live lives of poverty which offer them little or no other choice for employment. The Benzene is converted to Styrene, polymerized and finally turned into foam by injecting gasses known to contribute to the destruction of the ozone layer and the production of smog. Benzene itself is made from oil and sometimes coal which is processed in plants which pump even more toxins and pollution into the air and ground and consume more oil to power the production process.
Secondly, there is no good way to recycle styrofoam. It is difficult to do and only a very few places do it. Furthermore, there are very few uses for recycled styrofoam and it is not suitable for making more cups. So recycling your cup does nothing to mitigate the need for more raw materials to make your next styrofoam cup.
Third. So styrofoam is made to be discarded and the damage to the environment is significant. According to the Recycler's Handbook, Americans send over 25 billion styrofoam cups to the landfill each year (and that's just the cups!). Consider Our Savior's: if 100 people drink coffee on Sunday mornings and use just one styrofoam cup, though some use more than one, times 52 weeks per year = 5,200 cups, they would use and throw away enough cups to fill 16 32 gallon trash cans. Then, the 5,200 cups are hauled away to the landfill in big, gas-guzzling trucks and dumped into the ground, where the chemicals leach into the ground and groundwater to become a problem for future generations.
Why is styrofoam still around if it's so bad?
Companies get away with it because they can. Styrofoam is cheap to make, cheap to ship and cheap to buy and they know if they put it on the shelves people will buy it. It's time for the Christian community to be the voice that says "No. This is not acceptable." We have to stop endorsing products that destroy what God gave us and charged us to protect.
There are several alternatives to styrofoam. The best and cheapest, of course, is to use ceramic mugs. One woman present at the meeting asked "how much would those cost?" and I was very happy to answer "nothing! We already own them and they're sitting in the cupboard downstairs in the kitchen!" Of course, using ceramic mugs requires the added time and effort of running the dishwasher as well as carting them upstairs to the Lounge on Sunday mornings and then back down again after the fellowship time is finished. We discussed the viability of asking the service unit volunteers who serve the coffee on Sundays to do this job or of finding someone who took on that task on a regular basis.
The next best thing would be biodegradable disposable cups - we still end up feeding the landfill but they would not be a toxic to God's creation and His people (factory workers!) as styrofoam. They are also thicker than paper cups and do well to hold hot liquids.
Yet another alternative is paper cups - though it was generally agreed at the meeting that those cups get pretty hot to hold.
Now what?
Though we did not reach a solid decision to discontinue stocking the church building with styrofoam cups, the women present at the meeting last Thursday were very gracious and open to learning more about the environmental issue around styrofoam and to the discussion of alternatives. Friends, this is where the process begins! And "Creation waits with eager longing..." (Romans 8:19).
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
June 21, 2010 Meeting Highlights
The Creation Care Committee met at Atomic Coffee in Moorhead and enjoyed the sun and heat - and wind - while sitting outside for our meeting. Thanks be to God - even for the wind!
Youth Project: Clean Up The Red
Plans for a Youth project with River Keepers are underway. Minister for Youth & Family Discipleship, Melissa Pickering, is on board and excited to do a "Clean Up the Red" day with the Youth. She has been very busy with the Mission Trip and will be able to plan more details in the coming weeks.
We anticipate the event would be on a Sunday afternoon in late summer and be no more than two hours long. Information on safety and what to wear when cleaning up the Red River is available from River Keepers. The Creation Care Committee will put this information into a packet to be sent home with the students. Carrie will check with Melissa about sending permission forms to be signed by the parents with these packets as well.
Rain Barrel Class
Carrie has been in contact with Lauri Winterfeldt at River Keepers about doing a rain barrel making class at Our Savior's. We feel it would be best to hold the class on a week night before the fall, while people are still interested and can still get some use out of them this summer. We don't have a date nailed down yet so we will put a general "head's up" announcement in the coming church newsletter. River Keepers is busy with other projects until July 28, so our class will have to be after that date.
The Use of Styrofoam on Church Grounds
Our goal is to address the use of styrofoam on church grounds this fall. We will propose that the church grounds be kept a styrofoam-free zone. This would mean using the ceramic coffee cups the church already has or supplying biodegradable cups rather than the styrofoam cups we currently supply. This would be the rule for Sunday fellowship times as well as for groups meeting in the church building throughout the week.
The Women's Board is currently without a president so we feel it is best to wait until after their fall elections.
Carrie has an article about the toxicity of styrofoam and why it's important for churches not to use it in the Web of Creation materials to include with the proposal. We will also include a short synopsis of the other ways Our Savior's cares for creation so it is understood that this is a church-wide effort and part of a grander plan.
Blessing the Animals, October, 2010
St. Francis of Assisi is remembered as a lover of all creation. Learn more about St. Francis and the custom of animal blessings here. The Creation Care Committee would like to hold a Blessing of the Animals on October 16. We would like to hold the blessing in Hansman Park and invite the surrounding neighbors to bring their pets as well.
We would need to create fliers and organize a time and volunteers to distribute them to neighborhood homes. This may be a wonderful opportunity for outreach!
Pr. Keith Zeh has done animal blessings before - Carrie will check with him to see if he would be willing to help us with this one.
Greenies Among Us
Laura will come up with some interview questions to use for email interviews of Our Savior's members who Care for Creation in various ways. Their answers and photos will be posted on the blog and advertized in the church newsletter.
Next Creation Care Meeting
Tuesday, August 10, 2010, 5:15 at Atomic Coffee in Moorhead.
If you have comments about what was discussed in our meeting, or if you would like to suggest a project to help Our Savior's care for God's creation, please click on the "Comment" link below or contact us by email.
Youth Project: Clean Up The Red
Plans for a Youth project with River Keepers are underway. Minister for Youth & Family Discipleship, Melissa Pickering, is on board and excited to do a "Clean Up the Red" day with the Youth. She has been very busy with the Mission Trip and will be able to plan more details in the coming weeks.
We anticipate the event would be on a Sunday afternoon in late summer and be no more than two hours long. Information on safety and what to wear when cleaning up the Red River is available from River Keepers. The Creation Care Committee will put this information into a packet to be sent home with the students. Carrie will check with Melissa about sending permission forms to be signed by the parents with these packets as well.
Rain Barrel Class
Carrie has been in contact with Lauri Winterfeldt at River Keepers about doing a rain barrel making class at Our Savior's. We feel it would be best to hold the class on a week night before the fall, while people are still interested and can still get some use out of them this summer. We don't have a date nailed down yet so we will put a general "head's up" announcement in the coming church newsletter. River Keepers is busy with other projects until July 28, so our class will have to be after that date.
The Use of Styrofoam on Church GroundsOur goal is to address the use of styrofoam on church grounds this fall. We will propose that the church grounds be kept a styrofoam-free zone. This would mean using the ceramic coffee cups the church already has or supplying biodegradable cups rather than the styrofoam cups we currently supply. This would be the rule for Sunday fellowship times as well as for groups meeting in the church building throughout the week.
The Women's Board is currently without a president so we feel it is best to wait until after their fall elections.
Carrie has an article about the toxicity of styrofoam and why it's important for churches not to use it in the Web of Creation materials to include with the proposal. We will also include a short synopsis of the other ways Our Savior's cares for creation so it is understood that this is a church-wide effort and part of a grander plan.
Blessing the Animals, October, 2010
St. Francis of Assisi is remembered as a lover of all creation. Learn more about St. Francis and the custom of animal blessings here. The Creation Care Committee would like to hold a Blessing of the Animals on October 16. We would like to hold the blessing in Hansman Park and invite the surrounding neighbors to bring their pets as well.
We would need to create fliers and organize a time and volunteers to distribute them to neighborhood homes. This may be a wonderful opportunity for outreach!
Pr. Keith Zeh has done animal blessings before - Carrie will check with him to see if he would be willing to help us with this one.
Greenies Among Us
Laura will come up with some interview questions to use for email interviews of Our Savior's members who Care for Creation in various ways. Their answers and photos will be posted on the blog and advertized in the church newsletter.
Next Creation Care Meeting
Tuesday, August 10, 2010, 5:15 at Atomic Coffee in Moorhead.
If you have comments about what was discussed in our meeting, or if you would like to suggest a project to help Our Savior's care for God's creation, please click on the "Comment" link below or contact us by email.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Benefits of an Energy Audit
Benefits of an Energy Audit
The article above is written by Jason Parmer and appears on the Blessed Earth website (see the post below to learn more about Blessed Earth).
When was the last time you took a tour of your home's crawlspaces?
My own home was built in 1921. It's a fairly small house so one would think the energy bills wouldn't be too high - wrong! Our energy bills are through the roof during the winter months, despite several "do-it-yourself" attempts to winter-proof.
So what's the next step? An energy audit! Why haven't we done it yet? Honsetly, there is no good reason. We just haven't gotten around to it. I think that might be the default answer for many people who care about creation, but still haven't made any significant changes in lifestyle. We just "haven't gotten around to it yet." But how long will the earth wait for us?
The effects of climate change are increasing every single day - what are we waiting for? Most utility companies provide this service for free - there is nothing to loose, except energy loss of course.
Read Jason Parmer's article, Benefits of an Energy Audit, and find out what he learned by doing an audit on his home.
The article above is written by Jason Parmer and appears on the Blessed Earth website (see the post below to learn more about Blessed Earth).
When was the last time you took a tour of your home's crawlspaces?
My own home was built in 1921. It's a fairly small house so one would think the energy bills wouldn't be too high - wrong! Our energy bills are through the roof during the winter months, despite several "do-it-yourself" attempts to winter-proof.
So what's the next step? An energy audit! Why haven't we done it yet? Honsetly, there is no good reason. We just haven't gotten around to it. I think that might be the default answer for many people who care about creation, but still haven't made any significant changes in lifestyle. We just "haven't gotten around to it yet." But how long will the earth wait for us?
The effects of climate change are increasing every single day - what are we waiting for? Most utility companies provide this service for free - there is nothing to loose, except energy loss of course.
Read Jason Parmer's article, Benefits of an Energy Audit, and find out what he learned by doing an audit on his home.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Blessed Earth
Blessed Earth is an organization I just discovered this spring. A person in Illinois was reading our blog and sent me a link to their website suggesting that we might find it interesting. Let me tell you, "interesting" is quite an understatement!
I perused their website, read their blogs, viewed a few videos about an educational series they created and could hardly stay in my chair I was so excited.
"Blessed Earth is an educational nonprofit that inspires and equips faith communities to become better stewards of the earth. Through outreach to churches, campuses and media we build bridges that promote measurable environmental change and meaningful spiritual growth" (Blessed Earth mission statement).
Not only do they provide resources for churches in pratically every context I can think of, but it is also completely founded in Scripture. The founder of the company, Dr. Matthew Sleeth, is a surgeon turned Creation Care Expert. He may know more about this issue than anyone in the nation.
Please, if you're looking for inspiration, check this out!! blessedearth.org. Read - learn - watch the videos - join the mailing list - be inspired. I was.
Of particular interest is their page with Creation Care tips - talk about an incredible resource! Click here to check it out!
I perused their website, read their blogs, viewed a few videos about an educational series they created and could hardly stay in my chair I was so excited.
"Blessed Earth is an educational nonprofit that inspires and equips faith communities to become better stewards of the earth. Through outreach to churches, campuses and media we build bridges that promote measurable environmental change and meaningful spiritual growth" (Blessed Earth mission statement).
Not only do they provide resources for churches in pratically every context I can think of, but it is also completely founded in Scripture. The founder of the company, Dr. Matthew Sleeth, is a surgeon turned Creation Care Expert. He may know more about this issue than anyone in the nation.
Please, if you're looking for inspiration, check this out!! blessedearth.org. Read - learn - watch the videos - join the mailing list - be inspired. I was.
Of particular interest is their page with Creation Care tips - talk about an incredible resource! Click here to check it out!
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