NETWORK NEWS
Shared Practice 2019:
Hold an Intergenerational Conversation on Climate Change
The congregations related to Mennonite Creation Care Network are widely scattered. One way we aim to create a sense of solidarity and connection is by calling our members to participate in a shared practice. For the summer of 2018, a number of us organized river clean ups. This winter, MCCN is encouraging congregations to hold a conversation on climate change that includes either youth or young adults. See our discussion guide and join this important beginning!
Pastoral Retreats on Climate Change Scheduled
Where can pastors wrestle with their response to the increasingly grim news about climate change? Two 2019 locations are ready to welcome registrants for pastoral retreats on the subject:
April 8–10: Camp Mennoscah, Murdock, Kans.
May 3–4: Camp Deerpark, Cuddebackville, New York (pictured)
Register
The retreats are a joint project of the Center for Sustainable Climate Solutions and Mennonite Creation Care Network. Doug Kaufman is the lead presenter and organizer. Local presenters add expertise from each site.
Meals, lodging and content are free to Anabaptist-related pastors. Two more retreats will be held in the fall. Locations are not confirmed yet. Read about past retreats: Ontario Michigan
|
|
|
An organ pipe cactus at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument--one of multiple preserves on the border between the U.S. and Mexico.
By Burly Packwood, Wikimedia Commons
|
|
RESOURCES
Online Story Map
Embattled Borderlands
Animals and plants do not get to speak in the toxic debates about a wall between Mexico and the U.S., but they are affected by human border issues. A solid wall prevents migration for food, water and mates. Surveillance damages delicate desert ecosystems. This engaging resource will take you from west to east along the border, introducing the beauty and fragility of the ecosystems in the path of the proposed wall. visit now
 Book
God's Good Earth: Praise and Prayer for Creation
by Anne and Jeffery Rowthorn, Liturgical Press, 2018
The Rowthorns' collection of worship services could be used either devotionally or for worship planning. Services include prayers, scriptures, hymns, confessions, intercessions and reflections from contemporary environmental writers. One of the authors is an Episcopal bishop and hymnodist and the other edits ecological writings.
Podcasts
Shifting Climates: Conversations About Climate Justice + the Church
Michaela Mast, Harrison Horst and Sarah Longenecker are climate futures fellows with the Center for Sustainable Climate Solutions. They are preparing a series of podcasts that connect climate change to Anabaptist theology and questions about justice. Their interviews with a diversity of people aim to re-humanize the conversation around climate change. listen now
Website
Christian Food Movement
This directory is a great way to learn more about the connections between faith and growing healthy food in healthy ways. Search for faith-based farms, food and faith curriculum, dinner churches and more. The site is a ministry of Plainsong Farm, north of Grand Rapids, Mich.
Webinar Series
Luke's Jesus Shows and Tells Sabbath Economics
Modern economic models assume scarcity. Ched Myers, a political theologian, argues that Jesus' economics were based on the Sabbath and built on a foundation of abundance. Learn more in a series of five webinar lectures available through Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries.
|
|
ECO CHALLENGES
 A column based on tips by Carole Suderman, Boulder Mennonite Church, Boulder, Colo. Carole has been offering her congregations challenges like these for the past 20 years. Tips are adapted for a broader audience.
* The word, home, was spoken as oeco or oiko in Latin and Greek. From this, we get our modern term, ecosystem which is the collection of living beings that form a dynamic web in a particular area. Pope Francis subtitled his 2015 encyclical, The Care of Our Common Home. This week, reflect on what it means to claim the earth or your local piece of it as home.
* Installing a programmable thermostat is a simple, inexpensive way to conserve energy. Save money, fossil fuels and pollution by setting the temperature lower when you are sleeping or away. Current models cost between $125 and $225 and are compatible with cell phones and devices like Alexa.
|
|
GOOD NEWS FROM ALL OVER
Someone Has a Plan
Legislation Could Shrink U.S. Emissions if Passed
In late 2018, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act was introduced in both the House and the Senate. This bi-partisan legislation would tax carbon at the point where it is mined. The taxes would be returned to citizens in the form of equal rebates. Lower income Americans would benefit and the tax would encourage innovation and use of renewable energy. A number of MCCN members are enthusiastic supporters of the plan. See a summary from the Citizen's Climate Lobby Details and analysis
100 Solutions to Reverse Global Warming
In this TED talk, strategist Chad Frischmann reviews the many effective ways that are already available to reduce climate change. The talk is based on the best-selling book, Drawdown, and is a quick, free way to access its content. The solutions offered are eclectic, from rooftop solar to educating women and girls. Eight of the top twenty relate to the food system. view now
|
|
|
|
