Environmental Concern

CREATION CARE

“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world,

and those who live in it” Psalm 24:1

Join us in restoring God’s earth..

The greatest healing work and moral assignment of our time!

“Now is the time for religious leaders to come forward and to do what it takes to inspire those in our congregations to make responsible environmental choices.

Join the Massachusetts Council of Churches Creation Care Network email us at council@masscouncilofchurches.org and add you name and email address to our network.

The Council has created an environmental task force "Creation Care" to address issues and spread the word throughout the Commonwealth on current issues and programs.

The Council's newsletter "Intersect" for the fall of 2009 has several articles of interest on environmental issues on pages 1, 2 and 3.

The Rev. Dr. Jim Antal, Conference Minister and President of the United Church of Christ has outlined 9 opportunities you and your congregations can join in to care for God's creation.

Odyssey Networks will be convening the Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen this month. Odyssey will be posting video on their website - 9 minutes of new video each day. 2 minutes of highlights dally will be sent to you if you add you link to their website www.odysseynetworks.org These video highlights are free to you for use to keep others informed, they must not be altered in any way.

Sunday, December 13 "Let the bells ring, the conch shells, drums and gongs sound 350 times for climate justice! Learn more about the "Interfaith Call for 350" at www.350.org/people/faith

Monday November 2, 2009: Laura Everett, Associate Director of the MCC, gave testimony before the Joint Committee on the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture in support of H-757 & S-442, An act for a competitive economy through safer alternatives to toxic chemicals and in opposition to H 803, An act to further regulate the toxic use reduction act.

PROGRAM OPPORTUNITIES

A Call to Prayer… Sunday, December 6^th a day of prayer for the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen…Conference begins on December 6^th, concluding on December 18^th. Worship resources will be available on the Council web site on September 1^st.

Earth Day 2010… Place on your church calendar the 40^th Anniversary of Earth Day, Thursday, April 22^nd. More resources to follow.

Energy justice.... "Energy justice" is a concept that started to develop on Cape Cod several years ago. The goal is to provide all people, in all places, with an adequate source of energy that is safe, affordable, and sustainable. Environmental protection concerns are combined with traditional social justice programs.

The Cape Cod Council of Churches is a co-sponsor for this year's energy justice meeting. The focus is on religious organizations and their involvement with energy. In addition to helping religious organizations with energy conservation, the program will ask, "How do we help our neighbors meet their energy needs?" Lots of practical information that can be used by congregations in Massachusetts.... The program happens on Sunday afternoon, October 4th, at the Unitarian Universalist church, 840 Sandwich Road, in Falmouth, on Cape Cod. Program starts at 1:30 pm and continues until 5:00 pm. Afterwards, there's a light dinner and a discussion. Presentations by Mass. Interfaith Power and Light and other groups. It's all free, including the dinner, but preregistration is encouraged. admin@uuffm.org Telephone: (508) 563-5948.

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Ethical eating.... The Unitarian Universalists have been devoting a lot of attention to food issues. In Massachusetts, one of the goals is to "reinvent Thanksgiving celebrations," to encourage multicultural,

multiracial awareness with a new emphasis on creation care and environmental justice. Several religious and community groups work together on Cape Cod to present new models for harvest dinners..... The Sunday, October 25th, harvest celebration will happen from 6 to 9 pm, at the Navigator Center, at 55 Ashumet Road, Falmouth. All of the money raised at this harvest dinner will be donated to community

food pantries. For more information, contact the Unitarian Universalist church in Falmouth. admin@uuffm.org Telephone: (508) 563-5948.

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RESOURCES

Healthy Kids, Healthy Churches, Healthy Communities… A curriculum published by the MCC intended as an eight week adult Christian education course on protecting health and community well being in Massachusetts. The eight study sessions are divided in two parts: Four sessions include a framework for understanding environmental health and environmental justice from a faith perspective. Four sessions address the question: What can we do?

Download the curriculum here and view other resources.

“Renewal” a documentary film/DVD (2008) How Religious Communities are Responding to the Climate/Energy Crisis.

The combined energy of these diverse religious activists is the driving force behind a feature-length documentary entitled RENEWAL. The RENEWAL project has been designed to make the documentary and its inspiring stories available to your church to protect life on our planet and reverse the damage that humans have done to the environment. Learn how you can get involved today! http://renewalproject.net/

For updated and additional information… Contact the Eco-justice program office of the National Council of Churches info@nccecojustice.org 202-544-2350 or visit www.neccecojustice.org. Also the Massachusetts Interfaith Power and Light www.MipandL.org