Garbage vs. Compost

Who says composting doesn't make a difference? If you were able to join us for our Earth Sunday picnic, you may have noticed that the all the plates and cups we used were 100% compostable! That's right - compostable. The plates are 100% biodegradable sugarcane and the cups are 100% biodegradable corn plastic and they can both be stuck in your backyard composter or sent to a commercial compost facility.

Just take a look at how much waste Our Savior's avoided by composting for this meal! And in case you're not sure, the compost is in the BIGGER bag :)

Compostable dishware was donated for our event by Carrie Brusven, your Local Green Irene Eco Consultant

Earth Sunday was a Success!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who helped make Earth Sunday a fantastic success!

Our guest speaker, Cheryl Biller from Presbyterians for Earth Care, gave us a wonderful message which helped make our worship services very special and the creation care-centered liturgy from the National Council of Churches for Eco-Justice were a great touch!

If you missed our services on Sunday, click here to check out the Earth Sunday video, created by Scott Brusven. The video features several members and friends from Our Savior's faith community, as well as a few folks from the wider Fargo-Moorhead Community, who tell us a little about what they do in their homes and in their lives to be more green and why it's important to them, especially as Christians. It really helps to underscore our Earth Week theme: Eco-Justice as Community. All the little things we do individually work together to make a big difference. We are one body of Christ and when all the parts of the body work together to take care of the more vulnerable parts - amazing things can (and do!) happen.

It was great to see everyone in church on Sunday - enjoying the bit God's creation we brought to the front of the sanctuary, being inspired and challenged by our speaker, learning about eco-justice during our education hour and having fun at the picnic lunch. Lust like the issue of eco-justice itself - it was the participation and enthusiasm of the faith community that made this event a success!

Cleanup Week?

This week is "Cleanup Week" in Fargo - Moorhead. As you drive the streets of the two cities this week you might start to feel like to took a wrong turn and ended up in the city landfill itself. WDAY reported earlier this week that this year's "cleanup" is taking in approximately 40% more garbage than any other year. 40%!

Next week, Our Savior's faith community will experience a week that starkly contrasts the week the Fargo-Moorhead community is experiencing today. Next week is our Earth Week. Next week, Our Savior's faith community celebrates the planet, the resources given to us gifts, the responsibility we all have of "tending the garden" and the amazing Creator who put it all in place.


We hope Earth Week will leave you feeling encouraged and re-energized in your efforts to be stewards of creation and that you experience the many workshops, study groups, worship services and celebrations with joy!

Earth Week Video

This year's Earth Week theme is "Eco Justice as Community." To help illustrate how all the individual actions work together to make a big difference, we're making an Earth Week video and we want to hear from you! Let us know if you would be willing to participate in a very short video interview to say what you do in your home to help care for God's creation!

Spring 2011 Email List Challenge

Help us bolster our email list and save some natural and financial resources at the same time!

Sign up to receive church mailings via email and your name will be entered into a drawing. The winner will be annoucned on Rally Sunday! So far, we have 110 people already saving the church money and the earth's natural resources by subscribing to our email list. Help us reach our membership goal of 200 subscribers by September 1, 2011. 200 emailed monthly newsletters alone saves 16,000 pieces of paper and over $400 in printing and postage costs per year!

Click here to email the church office and add your email to our list now, or sign up in the Welcome Center. When we all work together - we make a big difference!

Earth Week Celebration at Our Savior's Lutheran Church

Eco Justice as Community

Our Savior's is celebrating Earth Week May 9-15 and our theme this year is "Eco Justice as Community."

Community has always been central to God's mission. In the midst of a culture focused on individualism, as "...Christians [we] are called to reach beyond ourselves, to embrace all God's children and affirm our interconnectedness and interdependence. While technology has enabled sprawling virtual communities and facilitated connections that span the globe, nowhere is the call and opportunity for discipleship and transformation greater than in our local community."

Our Savior's invites you to "...reflect on the goodness of God's creation through the lens of your local community. Can the food we eat strengthen our bonds with one another? How do our choices affect our brothers and sisters who live on the economic or social margins of our communities? How might we, as people of faith, celebrate the abundance God has given us an take action to ensure all God's children share in it?" (National Council of Churches for Eco Justice, Where Two or More are Gathered: Community as Eco Justice, pg. 1).

Below is our fantastic line-up of Earth Week activities - we hope you find something that sparks your interest! Please join us - Earth Week is all about you and the community you are a part of!

Plastic Bottle Drive - Now through Sunday, May 15
Bring in as many plastic bottles as you can between now and the 15th and dump them in our giant recycling dumpster. Write your phone number in marker on every bottle you bring. At the Earth Sunday Picnic on May 15, watch as our "Eco Man" dives for the winning bottle! The winner will be announced at the picnic and will receive our Grand Prize with items from local businesses all over Fargo - Moorhead including Eco Chic, Norwex, Love in the Oven Bakery and more!

Movie Night - Monday, May 9, 6:30 p.m. in the West Narthex
Showing: The Inconvenient Truth
Short conversation time after the film
Snacks and beverages provided

Build Your Own Rain Barrel Workshop - Thursday, May 12, 6:00 p.m., River Keepers Living Lab, Fargo
Rain barrels are great tools for conserving water and money during the hot summer months when lawn care and garden watering are at their peak. Register by emailing the church office (oslc@oursaviorsmoorhead.org), call to sign up (233-2412) or stop by the Welcome Center and add your name to the list! This is a great family project!

Art Contest - Paint our Rain Barrel
Our Savior's made a rain barrel in the rain barrel workshop last fall and before we install in on the church grounds it needs to be painted! But why not do something fun and creative? This is where YOU come in! Artists young and old are encouraged to participate in this contest. Submit your design to the church office, in any format your like, by Friday, May 13, and the winning design will be announced at the Earth Sunday picnic on Sunday, May 15.

Adult Education Series: Hope for Creation - Wednesdays at 7:30 in Larsen Lounge, beginning May 11
In Hope for Creation, Dr. Matthew Sleeth explores his personal salvation experience and desire to follow Jesus in the context of the love story God tells in Genesis 1. In these six sessions, Dr. Sleeth guides us through each of the created elements - light, water, soil, heavens, animals, and man - and reminds us of our God-given commission to "tend and protect the planet." Dr. Sleeth is the founder of the Blessed Earth organization - learn more about Blessed Earth at http://www.blessedearth.org/.

Earth Sunday Worship Services - May 15, 8:30 and 10:30 a.m.
Worship on this special Earth Sunday will worship the Creator and celebrate his amazing creation. Special guest speaker, Cheryl Biller of Presbyterians for Earth Care, will deliver the message that day.

Education Hour Projects and Learning Opportunities for All Ages - May 15, 9:30-10:20 a.m.
Parents are encouraged to attend the Sunday School education hour with their kids for a fantastic hour of celebrating and learning about God's creation.

Earth Sunday Picnic Celebration - May 15, 11:30 a.m.
Our Earth Week celebration comes to an exciting finish with a picnic catered by the VIP Room. Join us for great food, enjoying the outdoors (if the weather is nice), drawings, prizes and much more!