CONGREGATIONS
Church Boosts Lancaster Infrastructure for Electric Cars
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East Chestnut Street Mennonite Church now has two charging stations for electric cars on its property in downtown Lancaster, Pa. Dan Weinhold, above, donated time and oversight to keep the project moving.
MCCN's Pam De Young Net Zero Energy Fund assisted with a grant of $1,800. MCUSA congregations can apply for $5,000 to $10,000 toward solar projects or $1800 toward car charging stations. The next deadline is June 30, 2019.
apply now
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Wildwood Becomes First Solar Mennonite Church in Saskatchewan
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Wildwood Mennonite Church, Saskatoon, S.K., has installed a ten-kilowatt array expected to generate about 60% of the church's energy needs. Pastor Brenda McDonald reports that "the project took off" and within a few months, the congregation came up with the pledges needed. Global News article
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Church and Nature Reserve Partner to Offer Renewal
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A small group from Hyattsville Mennonite Church, Hyattsville, Md., enjoyed this snow-glazed view at Rolling Ridge Study Retreat Community, Harper’s Ferry, W.V., this February.
Rolling Ridge is a wilderness preserve designed to offer healing of body and the spirit. The retreat provides programming on themes such as faith, earth-keeping, community and global issues. The Hyattsville congregation is a partner group with this ministry, contributing service on a regular basis. Photo by Daniel Daughtry-Weiss.
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NETWORK NEWS
 We Need Your Faces
Mennonite Creation Care Network is gathering photos of network members for our booths at the MCUSA Convention and MCCanada Assembly in July 2019. The display will make our network concrete, featuring the variety of people who care about creation: gardeners, activists, building geeks and more. What gifts do you bring? We hope to hear from people of all types, skin colors and ages. This could also be a great way to honor friends or mentors if you ask permission. You don't need to be a "green star" to participate.
Add yourself now.
MCCN seeks Canadian SOOP volunteer
MCCN has never had staffing in Canada. Our Canadian council members have worked hard on Canadians' behalf, but they've always been people with full-time jobs. We are seeking a part-time volunteer via Mennonite Central Committee Canada's SOOP program.
SOOP provides service opportunities for adults and families. While many SOOP volunteers are retired, they can be of any age. See job description.
Creation on Mennonite Minds
Both The Mennonite (USA) and Canadian Mennonite have planned creation care themes this spring. Canadian Mennonite's issue, "Reflections of Creation" came out in March. Here's a sampling:
Meanwhile, The Mennonite is planning a May issue entitled, "God so loved the whole world." See their call for submissions and respond by April 4. It would be great to have MCCN members represented!
Upcoming Pastoral Retreats on Climate Change
The Center for Sustainable Climate Change and MCCN work together to host these gatherings. Doug Kaufman, Goshen, Ind., is the lead presenter. More info.
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Camp Mennoscah, Murdock, Kansas
Monday, April 8, 5 p.m. to Wednesday, April 10, 1 p.m.
- Camp Deerpark, Westbrookville, New York
Friday, May 3 to Saturday, May 4, 2019
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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.
- More paper is thrown away every day than anything else. For every 100 pounds of trash, 35 pounds are paper. Print on both sides of the paper. Make this the default setting of your printer. Reuse backs of one-sided paper and recycle it in the end.
- E.B. White once said, "I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it difficult to plan the day." Many of us work hard to save the earth, but it is equally important to enjoy the world we are improving. Go outdoors today and celebrate the beauty of God's creation.
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Sophia of Hyattsville Mennonite Church, Hyattsville, Md., joined a school climate strike on Friday, March 15, along with classmates from Christian Family Montessori School, Washington, DC. See photos of school strikes around the world.
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RESOURCES
2019 Shared Practice for Congregations:
Intergenerational Conversations on Climate Change
Mennonite Creation Care Network is encouraging its congregations to break open the topic of climate change with both older and younger members. Here are resources:
- You'll find discussion ideas on the MCCN website.
- The Climate Futures Fellows at the Center for Sustainable Climate Solutions have created four sessions based on clips from their podcast interviews. The three fellows have traveled around the country collecting stories of people who have been affected by climate change. They connect their Anabaptist heritage to the issue.
- Want to wrap this around Earth Day? Creation Justice Ministries has chosen The Next Generation Rises as the theme for their Earth Day materials.
Doctrine of Discovery
From the Bartimaeus Kinsler Institute on Indigenous Justice and Christian Faith:
- An app for Indigenous history: Whose land are you on? Enter your zip code into this map and find past tribal ties, languages and treaties.
- "Healing from Lies that Make Us Crazy: Practices of Restorative Solidarity," by Elaine Enns and Ched Myers. This article offers a fresh take on New Testament passages on truth telling and provides models for Christian Settlers who want to recover and address the truth about the past.
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GOOD NEWS FROM ALL OVER
Costa Rica Plans to Eliminate Fossil Fuels by 2050
In February, Costa Rica's president launched a plan to eliminate fossil fuels by 2050. Can they meet this challenging goal? Costa Rica has a track record:
- Nearly 100% of Costa Rica's electricity already comes from renewable sources. Transportation is the largest remaining source of emissions.
- Costa Rica has doubled its forest cover in the last 30 years.
- In 1948, after a bloody civil war, Costa Rica abolished its army.
Reuters, Unprecedented Push for Zero Emissions
TedSummit, A Small Country with Big Ideas
Peo ple Love Trees
The city of Melbourne, Australia, gave 70,000 trees email addresses so that passersby could report on their condition. Find out what happened instead.
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