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Brooding

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often have I wanted to gather your children together as a mother bird collects her babies under her wings—yet you refuse me! ~ Luke 13:34

Most all birds protect their young by keeping them literally under their wing. We typically picture altricial birds when we think of nestlings. These are the species that are naked and blind when they hatch. They simply cannot survive without the protection of the adult. But these aren’t the only species that are gathered under the wing. The other possibility is precocial. No, not precocious, but there clearly is a connection. These are the birds that can begin feeding and caring for themselves immediately after hatching, think chicks. Precocial species are typically ground nesters, often with nests that are barely more than a cleared area in which to lay the eggs. These hatchlings start wandering away almost immediately, sometimes scattering from one another, not knowing the necessity of sticking close to their own kind, particularly the adults. This precocious behavior makes gathering the brood under the wing quite a challenge.

Jesus spent time longing to provide that protection for us precocious wanderers. He did a fair share of brooding about the brood that resisted being sheltered under God’s wing. Odd, isn’t it, that he had the power to multiply food, give sight to blind folx, and even raise a person from the dead, but didn’t exercise the power to compel us to do what makes us safe, well, and whole. It could be that the divine is incapable of that sort of compulsion. Whether through self-limitation or the wisdom that comes from love, God obviously has granted us the freedom to resist the warm, comforting, protection of being nestled into the holy bosom. I suppose any parent, grandparent, aunt, or uncle who has ever forced a hug on a squirming toddler has a hint of that longing that Jesus speaks of as he laments over Jerusalem.

There is so much out of our control in this life and along with the freedom to choose to not let those things control us, comes the freedom to go it alone, even when our God longs to help us.

Prayer: Heavenly Hen, never stop chasing us, your precocious brood. Cover us with your mighty wing, smother us in your love. Amen.

JOYS
CONCERNS
  • Mark Serdjenian: Prayers for Tina’s sister who continues to suffer with her condition, Ehlers-Danlos.
  • Joan Brown: Prayers for the Ukrainian people
  • Gina: prayers for friend in OH who fell on ice and is in hospital with brain bleeds.
  • Prayers for Vanesa & Charley on the loss of Jimmy due to gun violence.
  • Prayers for the hungry & the homeless.
Refugee Support in Poland!
In response to the current humanitarian and refugee crisis as a result of the invasion of Ukraine, we have heard of the good work of one of our colleagues who hails from Poland, The Rev. Dr. Kazimierz Bem, Pastor of First Church of Marlborough, MA.

The Rev. Bem is still very well connected with the work and mission of the Diakonia of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Poland. He is helping the Southern New England Conference, and any other churches who would like to support that work to care for the many refugees fleeing to Poland.

If congregations are seeking ways to put their concern and care into action, please feel free to join in this effort. Gifts may be made through the giving page for First Church Marlborough, indicating “Ukraine” in the memo line.

Those that would like to know more could be in touch with The Rev. Bem at: kdebem@gmail.com
 
 
Supporting Our Neighbors In Ukraine!
The United Church of Christ, alongside faith communities around the world, offers opportunities to support our neighbors in Ukraine with humanitarian aid.  Follow these links, and watch for updates, to learn more:

https://www.ucc.org/ucc-issues-appeal-for-ukraine-calls-on-u-s-to-provide-humanitarian-aid/
https://www.ucc.org/global-h-o-p-e/ukraine-emergency-appeal/
Click to join Zoom
Click here to download study materials for Lent
 The Health Ministry Team checked in this week to evaluate changes  in COVID-19 precautions and practices. At this time, no one on the team is comfortable doing away with the mask requirement, or with changing any of our current practices. We believe caution is still the best practice. We will continue checking in with you and with each other. Please feel free to talk with any of us about your concerns.-- Sally Melcher-McKeagney, FCN, for Your Health Ministry Team. 
Essentials Closet update.

We are now heading into the third month of the year and we would like to provide an update to the congregation on the Essentials Closet. 

In the month of January we served 193 households representing about 430 people in their homes. In February we served 156 households representing 332 people in their homes. We continue to receive new clients each month. With snow storms and ice it has not been easy for folks to reach us but those in need have found a way. 

As predicted the prices on items we offer have increased by 25 cents per item. This has increased our costs by over $500 per month. Our finances are OK at this point but as the year goes on we may need to decrease what we offer. Please continue to make your donations as you are able and encourage others to do the same. Your donations are so appreciated.

Our Volunteers continue to remain strong and we currently have 2 Colby students working with us on Thursday evenings.They are delightful and are very eager to help us out. The volunteers all work hard and great those who come seeking what we have to offer with enthusiasm and understanding.

We have just ordered a large number of cases (128) which should be received at the Waterville Dollar Tree in about a week. There is a shortage in some categories such as bath soap, Dove soap is not currently available. We are also unable to buy the large bottles of laundry detergent at this time. We have made substitutions which people will have to adjust to.

We continue to have the help of Ron Caouette with his van to assist in picking these items up. It is always nice to have assistance in unloading his van at church. 

If you are interested in helping unload many cases of supplies or in volunteering at the Closet please let us know. 
arthurdowning9@gmail.com  or Lora's cell 207 649-2534
Two quotes from theologian and ecologist Sallie McFague. The first was read during the Creation Care Moment this past Sunday. 

 "We, all of us, are being called to do something unprecedented. We are being called to think about 'everything that is,' for we now know that everything is interrelated and that the well-being of each is connected to the well-being of the whole. This suggests a 'planetary agenda' for all the religions, all the various fields of expertise."

"Given our twin planetary crises of climate change and unjust financial distribution, what is needed is not more information but the will to move from belief to action, from denial to profound change at both personal and public levels. The religions of the world, countercultural in their assumption that “to find one’s life, one must lose it,” are key players in understanding and promoting a movement from a model of God, the world, and the self focused on individualistic, market-oriented accumulation by a few, to a model that sees self and planetary flourishing as interdependent. We live within our models and make decisions on the basis of them. . . . The interdependent model demands self-emptying (Christian kenosis) or “great compassion” (Buddhism) on the part of the well-to-do, so that all human beings and other life-forms may live just, sustainable lives." —Sallie McFague "Blessed are the Consumers: Climate Change and the Practice of Restraint."


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Is Carbon-Capture-and-Sequestration a Thing?

When concerns about the high greenhouse gas emissions of fossil fuel power plant, particularly coal plants, is discussed fossil fuel supporters often say CO2 isn’t a problem because we have a solution; capture CO2 in the exhaust gasses and store them harmlessly underground. Also known as “carbon capture and sequestration” or sometimes “Clean Coal”.

Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the primary driver of the “greenhouse effect,” that condition in which CO2 forms a nice blanket around the biosphere, keeping it warm enough for life to have evolved as it has. For a million years or so, atmospheric CO2 levels were relatively stable, fluctuating between 200 and 300 parts per million, and all life as we know it was maintained.

Small human-caused increases in CO2 began with agriculture, but the industrial revolution triggered an abrupt and profound rate of CO2 increase, from roughly 280 parts per million to around 420 today. In just over 200 years we have released the carbon from fossil plants and animals that took several hundred million years to form.

To prevent catastrophic warming, we need to stop emitting CO2. And since we didn’t start cutting back 20 or 30 years ago, we will likely also have to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Even if the world achieves its net zero 2050 goals through abrupt cuts, the IPCC estimates that we will have to also actively remove 10 to 20 billion tons (metric tons) of CO2 from the atmosphere every year until 2100. 
We hear more and more about carbon capture and sequestration, or CCS, essentially intercepting or extracting CO2 that’s been emitted and putting it somewhere safe or finding a use for it. Some of the largest fossil energy companies are touting this as The Solution to our CO2 emissions.

The bad news? There is currently no successful cost-effective CCS being done at any significant scale, and its development timeframe is uncertain. Importantly, climate activists ask whether CCS will be used by the fuel industry as license to continue emitting CO2, claiming net zero operations.  But let’s examine it.

One of the methods being used at an experimental scale captures CO2 where it is at high concentration, in the exhaust stream of coal or natural gas power plants. Removing CO2 here is much more effective than taking it out of the air, but still expensive and energy-intensive, requiring 20% to 40% of the energy being produced at that plant. 

CCS usually involves compressing captured CO2 and pumping it  deep underground where it is expected to react chemically to form relatively permanent storage. There are attempts to find markets for captured CO2 to provide incentives for carbon capture. In some cases the CO2 is pumped into existing oil and gas wells in order to extract more of the fossil fuel. (Does this sound like an effective approach to fossil energy reduction?) Though some of the CO2 could be utilized in other ways, that market is a tiny fraction of the CO2 we need to capture.

Another approach is “direct air capture,” where CO2 is taken directly out of the air around us. This process is more energy intensive and more costly than flue gas capture because of the lower CO2 concentration. It could cost between 50% and 90% of the energy of the fossil fuel that produced it.

The world’s largest direct air CCS plant in Iceland recently became operational. It captures 4000 tons of carbon dioxide per year, and is powered by low-carbon geothermal energy. But the fact is, this wonderful plant would compensate for the CO2 output of about 300 American citizens (The average American is responsible for around 13 tons CO2 per year). The cost to run it is around $600 per ton of CO2 captured. The developers hope to get the cost down to $200 per ton by the mid 2030s. One million such plants would have to be constructed to compensate for the current US output, and more than six million to compensate for world output. 

Could the government incentivize CCS effectively enough to save the atmosphere in time?
The US government currently subsidizes CCS by paying $50 per ton of captured CO2. If direct air CCS costs $600 or more per ton, there is no incentive for industry to pursue it. Exhaust stream capture is more cost-effective on a “per ton” basis, by some reports as low as $85 to $100 per ton. If the subsidy were to be increased and the cost were to decrease, there might at some point be enough profit in the capture to make it worthwhile for business. 
 
What about carbon pricing? By “putting a price on pollution,” charging fuel producers a meaningful amount per ton of CO2 emitted by any given fossil fuel, we would be encouraging industry to find ways to economize on CO2 emissions. Capturing emissions would then be much more valuable to the emitters. Without charging for CO2 emissions the fossil fuel companies will profit whether or not the CO2 is captured. That is, fossil energy companies today profit as their products dump CO2 into the atmosphere with no penalty for polluting. Those profits come from you, the consumer, and then you (taxpayer) get to pay the cost of its removal with government subsidies? A carbon price would close that loop. 

So, yes, CCS is a thing - but no, it probably isn’t The Solution, nor even much of a solution at all, unless it is coupled with aggressive public policy that includes a meaningful carbon price. 

Paul Stancioff, PhD., is professor emeritus of physics at UMF. Cynthia Stancioff re-words everything he writes. Email: pauls@maine.edu or cynthia.hoeh@gmail.com  Previous columns can be found at https://paulandcynthiaenergymatters.blogspot.com/.

When you give to One Great Hour of Sharing, you deploy resources to people in need all around the world, and in our own communities.  When man-made or natural disasters strike, love responds.  Not just for the immediate future, but for the long haul.  When you give to One Great Hour of Sharing, you are working alongside families to restore not only structures, but hope.  Your giving ensures that no matter how difficult the situation, Love remains.
We will receive this offering on Sunday, March 27th.
Whether joining the daily prayer check-in or attending Sunday worship via Zoom, the safest and most reliable way is to open the Zoom app on your device and enter the meeting ID and passcode listed below. Or you can click on the green icon next to the meeting you want to open.
It is also possible to join with audio only by calling 1 929 205 6099
Daily Prayer Check-in          . . . . .           Daily Prayer Check-in . . . . .
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