Green Chalice News
A monthly e-newsletter from Green Chalice, a ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

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In This Issue
Scott Hardin-Nieri
Thought
Black Church Webinar
Lent
Fasting
Eco-Palms
Earth Day
Become a GC Ministry
Midway Christian Church
GC Congregations
Sign On
Green Chalice
is a partnership Creation Care ministry of Disciples Home Missions and the Christian Church in Kentucky. 
Our mission is to connect Christian faith, spiritual practice, and creation consciousness in order to demonstrate the fullness of God's shalom. 
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Green Chalice News
February 2015
A New Partnership
Throughout American history, people of faith have been at the forefront in addressing the greatest injustices of any era, transforming hearts, minds, and the course of our country. Today, religious communities are called to bring leadership to a new moral challenge - climate change.


Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) through the ministry of Green Chalice has formally entered into a partnership with Blessed Tomorrow in order to join with the ecumenical community to address climate change.
  

Blessed Tomorrow is a coalition of diverse religious partners united under a call to serve as faithful stewards of creation. 

By joining Blessed Tomorrow, we have committed to work together across different faith traditions to express our thanks for God's earth and to engage our congregations and communities in leading on climate change.

 

More information about this partnership coming soon! 

Introducing Scott
Rev. Scott Hardin-Nieri is the new Associate Minister for Green Chalice. He has joined the Green Chalice team to coordinate the partnership work with Blessed Tomorrow.

Scott lives with his partner, Becca and two children Olivia and Nicholas in Asheville, North Carolina. Scott and his family finished a stint last year in Costa Rica where they served as Global Ministry Volunteers in a vulnerable cloud forest in Monteverde. Their time in Costa Rica confirmed Scott's call to care for creation in his ministry, as well as, his daily life. 

Thought for the day

In the dew of little things, the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

Kahlil Gibran

The Prophet

Black Church Webinar
Green Faith

GreenFaith is hosting a Black Church Environmental Leadership webinar on Feb. 23 at 8:00 p.m. EST. Dr. Melanie Harris is the Green Faith Black Church and Environmental Justice Scholar in Residence. Dr. Harris is Associate Professor of Religion and Environmental Ethics at Texas Christian University, where she teaches Environmental Ethics, Interfaith Dialogue, Womanist Theology, African American Religion, and Media and Religion.  She is an African Methodist Episcopal pastor, an accomplished singer and performing artist, and a former broadcast journalist for NBC, CBS, and ABC affiliates. REGISTER NOW!

Lent 2015
Commit to a daily time of study, reflection, prayer, and giving during the season of Lent, the 40 days (plus seven Sundays) leading up to Easter (February 18 - April 5, 2015).

Traditionally, Lent is a season of penitence, a time of asking God's forgiveness for our sins, and seeking a new way of life in Christ, day by day, as we approach the death of Jesus and look forward to his resurrection.

Participate in a Carbon Fast. Sign up for a daily email here or text "Carbonfast" to 22828 for a daily text. Both will provide
tips to lower your carbon footprint.

Read Into the Wilderness, a daily devotion booklet by Society of St. Andrew. Devotional booklets and coin banks are free, and may be ordered in quantity. You may also download a copy of the devotional booklet for your e-reader or sign up to receive each days devotion by email.
Fasting
Fasting is an ancient exercise practiced by most every world religion. Fasting provides a way to disconnect from "the world" and connect with God. It provides a way to journey through a day or days in mindfulness. It connects our physical state and spiritual life. 

Many Christians fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday by going without any food. A good number of Christians give up one type of food during the 40 days of Lent (chocolate, snack foods, meat, fried foods, etc). Green Chalice invites you to participate in a Fast for Lent 2015.*  
* Children, people with compromised immune systems or chronic health problems, pregnant women and elderly people should check with their doctors before participating in a fast. 

Click Here for Society of St. Andrew's  Good Friday Fast booklet with instructions and readings, reflections, and prayers for the mealtimes through which you are fasting.
Palm Sunday March 29th
IT IS TIME TO ORDER YOUR PALMS

Harvesting palm products is an important source of supplemental income for many individuals and communities. Unfortunately, over harvesting palm can threaten the livelihood of these communities and the shaded forests where the palm plants thrive. Uncontrolled exploitation of these forest products will lead to the rapid depletion of their rich biodiversity, including the many bird species that migrate to these regions during the winter. Protecting these forests and local jobs requires a delicate balance between retaining a market for palm and encouraging sustainable harvesting practices. 

  • At least half of the farmers in the Central Peten of Guatemala earn an additional income from harvesting fronds, and more than a quarter of household heads support themselves exclusively by collecting fronds.
  • Each palm plant produces 2 to 5 harvestable leaves over a 2 to 4 month period.
  • Palm purchases for Palm Sunday may be worth up to 4.5 million dollars/year.

Partner communities in Guatemala and Mexico.

 

Mexican Communities:

Capitan Luis Vidal

Sierra Morena

 

Guatemalan Communities:

Carmelita

San Andres

Uaxactun

 

The deadline is approaching so ORDER YOUR PALMS from our a Green Chalice partner today!
Earth Day Materials
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Earth Day is April 22nd and Earth Sunday can be celebrated either April 19th or 26th. This year Creation Justice Ministries selected the theme Sustainable Food in a Changing Climate to explore the relationship between climate change and the food that we eat. Rev. Carol Devine (Green Chalice) and Rev. Rebecca Barnes (PC USA) worked together to write, compile and edit an expanded resource for 2015 that includes a children's sermon, children, youth and adult education materials, a prayer station and more. 

 

The resource will be available digitally for download in February and is appropriate for Sunday School teachers, worship leaders, youth directors and ministers. Sign up here if you'd like to be notified when it's available.  

Become a GC Ministry!
Many congregations already qualify to be a GC Congregation and simply need to apply.

STEPS: 

1. Have an active Green Team.

2. Sign the Alverna Covenant as a team or as a congregation. 

3. Make at least 3 changes that demonstrate your congregation's commitment to caring for God's creation. 

THEN e-mail the following information :  

1. Congregation name, City, State, address and phone number; 

2. the date the Alverna Covenant was signed;

3. and the changes made by your congregation to walk more gently on God's creation.

New Certified GC Congregation
Midway Christian Church in Midway, Kentucky has completed all the necessary steps to become the newest congregation to earn Green Chalice Certification. 
Green Chalice
Welcome First Christian Church, Harrisonville, Missouri to the Green Chalice Family!

Green Chalice Congregations
Arlington Christian Church, Lexington, KY

Butler Christian Church, Butler, KY

Cairn Christian Church, Lafayette, CO
Central Christian Church, Lexington, KY

Central Christian Church, Marshalltown, IA

Central Woodward Christian Church, Troy, MI

Community Christian Church, Tempe, AZ  

Crestwood Christian Church, Lexington, KY 

Crestwood Christian Church, Lincoln, NE

Desert Dove Christian Church, Tucson, AZ  

Disciples Christian Church, Bartlesville, OK

Disciples Christian Church, Cleveland Heights, OH

Downey Avenue Christian Church, Indianapolis, IN

Edmond Trinity Christian Church, Edmond, OK.

Evergreen Christian Church, Athens, GA  

First Christian Church, Bardstown, KY  

Green Chalice Logo

First Christian Church, Beaumont, TX 

First Christian Church, Bellingham, WA

First Christian Church, Carbondale, IL    

First Christian Church, Danville, KY

First Christian Church, Eugene, OR

First Christian Church, Farmville, NC  

First Christian Church, Frankfort, KY  

First Christian Church, Glasgow, KY  

First Christian Church, Henderson, KY

First Christian Church, Leavenworth, KS

First Christian Church, Lexington, TX

First Christian Church, Little Rock, AR  

First Christian Church, Lynchburg, VA

First Christian Church, Mount Vernon, WA

First Christian Church, Ocala, FL 

First Christian Church, Owensboro, KY

First Christian Church, Paducah, KY 

First Christian Church, Paris, KY

First Christian Church, Pasadena, TX

First Christian Church, Puyallup, WA

First Christian Church, Rockwall, TX

First Christian Church, West Palm Beach, FL  

Florence Christian Church/Harmony Place, KY

Harmony Springs Christian Church, Uniontown, OH

Heights Christian Church, Shaker Heights, OH

Hood River Valley Christian Church, Hood River, OR

Journey of Faith, Ann Arbor, MI  

Lake Washington Christian Church, Kirkland, WA

Lakewood Christian Church, Lakewood, OH   

Lee's Summit Christian Church, MO

Marshall Avenue Christian Church, Mattoon, IL 

Midway Christian Church, Midway, KY

Midway Hills Christian Church, Dallas, TX

Mt. Zion Christian Church, Richmond, KY

Nicholasville Christian Church, Nicholasville, KY 

North Christian Church, Fort Wayne, IN

Northside Christian Church, Knoxville, TN  

Norwalk Christian Church, Norwalk, IA

Providence Christian Church, Nicholasville, KY

Ridglea Christian Church, Ft. Worth, TX

Saint Andrew Christian Church, Olathe, KS
Salvisa Christian Church, Salvisa, KY

Southern Hills Christian Church, Edmond, OK

Southside Christian Church, Kokomo, IN

South Street Christian Church, Springfield, MO

Sugarbush Christian Church, Guelp, Ontario

The Healing Cathedral Christian Church, Memphis, TN

Valley Christian Church, Birmingham, AL 

Waling Faith (Korean-Am) Christian Church, Sunnyvale, CA

Webster Groves Christian Church, Saint Louis, MO

White Oak Pond Christian Church, Richmond, KY 

Woodland Christian Church, Lexington, KY

15th Avenue Christian Church, Rock Island, IL

 

Green Chalice Ministries  

Christmount Retreat and Conference Center

Black Mountain, NC  

 

Green Chalice Regional Offices

Christian Church Capital Area 

 

CERTIFIED Green Chalice Congregations

Bridgeport Christian Church, Frankfort, KY

Christ Church Uniting, Kailua, Hawaii

Cynthiana Christian Church, Cynthiana Kentucky  

Salvisa Christian Church, Salvisa, Kentucky   

Sign your name

National Religious Partnership for the Environment invites us to add our names to a petition. Call on our political leaders to craft a moral global framework for the UN climate negotiations that will culminate in Paris 2015. Click here to sign the petition. Select "Disciples of Christ" as your religious affiliation. 

Lenten Blessings!

Rev. Carol Devine                

carol.devine@providenceccdoc.org

Minister for Green Chalice
Contemplative Image by Rev. Chuck Summers

Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach.

Clarissa Pinkola Estes