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
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. 
Disciples Home Missions
  DHM hands/words logo
Christian Church in Kentucky
 
Blessed Tomorrow


Green Links

Green Chalice News
June 2015
General Assembly 2015
Green Chalice Scheduled Events:

Birding
Monday, July 20 6:30-8:30 AM
"Consider the Birds; Birds and Faith"-  in partnership with the Audubon Society. This is for birders, walkers, and early risers of all ages. We will meet at the Grange Insurance Audubon Center (2.4 miles from the Convention Center) for a prayerful a short walk, listening and watching for birds along the Scioto River. Our time will be guided by a local bird expert, and we will experience a peaceful beginning to our day. Coffee and light snacks available nearby.
Environmental Racism Resolution
Monday, July 20, 1:30-5:30
Attend the General Assembly Business Session Monday afternoon when the Environmental Racism Resolution will be brought forward before the Assembly. Read Resolution GA 1520

Green Reception
Monday July 20, 9-11 PM
Join us for Connecting and Sharing!

Adult Workshops

Tuesday, July 21, 8:45- 10:45 AM

Feeding Christ - We will look at how our eating habits would change if every meal and snack was prepared for Christ. The food we prepare and serve effects our physical health, our spiritual health and the health of the earth. Come and discover how changing our eating habits as individuals, families and congregations can help bring wholeness to our fragmented world.  Greater Columbus Convention Center - E160A

 

Wednesday, July 22, 8:45-10:45 AM

Repairing Creation - Green Chalice congregations are living out their faith by not only caring for creation but by repairing creation. Come and learn what Disciples are doing in their various congregations to mend and improve the earth. From planting trees, gardens, composting, and worms to solar and geothermal energy, to investing in "green" businesses, Disciples are working to leave their corner of the world better than they found them. We will share ideas and programs large and small that can help you and your congregation care and repair your spaces and places. Greater Columbus Convention Center - E161A

 

Youth Workshops

Monday, July 20, 8:45- 10:45 AM

CYF Group Missional Formation This will be 20 minute conversational workshops with the High School youth as they knit together blankets from plastic shopping bags. The youth and Disciple Women are teaming up to make sleeping mats for our brothers and sisters who are homeless by recycling plastic shopping bags. Make "yarn" ahead of time to support their efforts with directions from this video. 


Tuesday, July 21, 1:30-3:00 PM

Chi Rho Listening and Praying in Nature

We will head outside and find God in expected and unexpected places!

 

Click Here to get Green Tips for the Assembly!
Transportation News:
Bring your bicycle or RENT one from COGO- Green Chalice will have $3 off day passes at our booth! 

Ride the free bus in Columbus. COTA Bus Service

Learn more about the Assembly on Facebook and on the SOAR website
Environmental Racism

Environmental racism is a problem where minority communities are targeted or excluded through practices or policies that negatively affect the quality of the air, water, soil, or natural spaces. 

Contemporary studies show that it is easy to predict the placement of  hazardous waste facilities, the creation of food deserts, and the lack of natural space by looking at the concentration of minority and low-income areas across the United States. Racial disparities in the distribution of hazardous wastes are greater now than ever before. And most people who live within three kilometers of one of our nation's 413 commercial hazardous waste facilities are identified as racial and ethnic minorities. Environmental Racism is also felt in the dearth of affordable grocery stores with healthy foods and fresh produce. It is felt by children who grow up without access to parks and natural spaces, vital for physical, public, emotional and spiritual health.

 

Since the 1960's, the Christian Church has dedicated itself to addressing racism wherever it exists in our society and our institutions. This is in keeping with our faithful mission, as Jesus taught in the Parable of the Good Samaritan and elsewhere, to care for all our neighbors, regardless of race, income, or life circumstances. It is clear that, in caring for our neighbor, we must repair creation on which we all depend for life.

 

Addressing environmental racism will have widespread effects. It will empower disadvantaged people to take back their communities. It will improve physical, emotional and spiritual health and the financial burdens that come with such hardships. It will help keep families in their homes and neighborhoods.

You can research the pervasiveness of environmental racism in your area by clicking here. And then educate others in your congregation and community. And then lobby your elected officials for stronger standards and enforcement.

 

Green Chalice is co-sponsoring an Environmental Racism Resolution at the 2015 General Assembly in Columbus. It will be presented at the Monday afternoon Business Meeting. Read Resolution GA 1520.

VBS
ABUNDANCE ORCHARD: where faith grows and hungry people are fed 


GOD'S GREEN EARTH  

created by Janice Burns-Watson, 

Music Bryan Sirchio

Hocking Valley Parish, Ohio.

 

Green Sunday

On Sunday, April 26th, Valley Christian Church, Birmingham, Alabama, a Green Chalice Church, observed its third annual Green Sunday celebration. Members were asked to wear something green and worship together outdoors in the beauty of God's creation. The program was a service of thanksgiving for the wonderful gifts God has given us. The worship concluded with a "Greening of the Cross" service as each member placed a flower on the cross and processed into the fellowship hall for a meatless meal. Jim Davis of Wetumpka, Alabama introduced the group to "bee keeping" as a way to increase the pollen suppliers needed for our plants and crops.

Submitted by Lola Kiser, Valley Christian Church



greenchalice.org
The Pope Speaks for Care for Creation

Thursday, June 18th, the Vatican is scheduled to release the papal encyclical which is expected to address climate change as a moral issue. 

It will be entitled "Praised Be: On the Care of Our Common Home."

Pope Francis and his urgent environmental call to action will provide a big boost for people of all faiths who care about global warming and the environment.

 

A papal encyclical is a teaching document in the form of a letter from the pope that discusses a wrong that needs to be addressed. This is a very significant event that will raise the profile of our moral obligation to address climate injustice, and influence the global climate talks in Paris at the end of this year. 

 

According to Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace who prepared a first draft of the encyclical, it will focus on "human ecology" and "explore the relationship between care for creation, integral human development and concern for the poor."

 

Pope Francis chose as his name that of Saint Francis of Assisi who was dedicated to the poor and founded the Franciscan Order to continue his work of service to poor and oppressed people. Saint Francis is also honored for his special respect for and closeness to nature, especially animals. He was named the patron saint of all who promote ecology by Pope John Paul II in 1979. Pope Francis declared in his inaugural address to the Church that he would be especially attentive to the ecological crises of our time. 

Thought for the day

If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought.

Peace Pilgrim

Sharon Watkins Speaks

Blessed Tomorrow

At the Annual Momentus Leadership Summit in Washington, DC, Sharon Watkins provided a faith perspective on the climate crisis. Climate change is a moral issue because it impacts our relationships with and obligations to God, our neighbors, our families, our communities, and the planet.

 

 

 

Gardening

 

 

Tell us about your community garden at Return to the Garden 
join the GC movement!
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.

Green Chalice Ministries
We would love to welcome YOU to the family before the General Assembly!

Welcome to the family: 

First Christian Church, Wilmington, OH

 

Green Chalice Congregations
Arlington Christian Church, Lexington, KY
Burgin Christian Church, Burgin, 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, Harrisonville, MO

First Christian Church, Henderson, KY

First Christian Church, Houston, TX

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, Torrance, CA

First Christian Church, West Palm Beach, FL  

First Christian Church, Wilmington, NC

First Christian Church, Wilmington, OH

Florence Christian Church/Harmony Place, KY

Harmony Springs Christian Church, Uniontown, OH

Harbor Christian Church, New Port Beach, CA

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

Plymouth Creek Christian Church, Plymouth, MN

Providence Christian Church, Nicholasville, KY

Red Rock Christian Church, Boise, ID

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  

Midway Christian Church, Midway, 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. 

Connect with us at General Assembly! Stop by the Green Chalice Booth in the DHM section and attend our events!


 

Rev. Carol Devine                

Minister for Green Chalice

 


 

Rev. Scott Hardin-Nieri

Associate Minister for Green Chalice

Contemplative Image by Rev. Chuck Summers
ebony jewelwing damselflies

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