Green Chalice News

A monthly e-newsletter from the Creation Care ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

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In This Issue

Faith Leaders Unite

Talk Climate

Eco Palms

Earth Sunday

National Youth Event

Climate Preaching

Sign This Letter

Thought

Food

Black Church

Become a GC Ministry

GC Congregations

Climate Video

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

Christian Church in Kentucky

Blessed Tomorrow

Green Links

DOC Ecology Resolutions

Facebook

Eco-Palms

Disciples Coffee Project

Facebook

Green Chalice News

February 2016

Season of Creation Devotional

Midway Christian Church in Kentucky is sharing their Devotional. CLICK HERE to download

Scripture: Isaiah 40: 28-31

But those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Reflection: (by Phil Burchell)

Sometimes we forget how small we are in comparison to creation, believing we are the center. We also forget that our God is the creator of all the earth and everything in the universe. We were created with God's own breath and God continues to create each day of the seasons. How can we show gratitude? We only need to remember what he has done in our own lives. Attempting to make this world a just and forgiving place, where everyone is treated with respect and dignity. We've also been given the responsibility to care for God's creation. This task is one that requires us to feed, clothe, and provide shelter to the needy. Also taking steps to protect the waters that sustain all life. Thus reducing the amount of pollution we create. These tasks may seem impossible but God will give us the strength when we grow weary and lift us up when we feel defeated. Thanks be to God!

Prayer: Heavenly God, the morning stars sing together, the heavens rejoice, the earth is glad and the people of earth chant to you a new song. Joy pervading all the earth comes from you. You biddest the sun to beam over the smiling earth and you light up our hearts with gladness. Whenever our souls rejoice may we learn to feel kinship with all your natural servants and grow aware of your gentle grace flowing within us. Admit us into your presence in times of joy, O heavenly God. We seek you that our joy may be hallowed with you, that our happiness may be deepened, that we may join the chorus of the universe, lands and oceans, the stars and infinite space in joyous adoration. Amen.

Action: Bring into your home or office a small plant to add to your table or bookshelf. You can also ask for a cutting from someone else's houseplant. "Plant people" love to share.

Faith Leaders join their voices on the Climate Crisis

Last September, Scott and I joined climate leaders in Washington D.C. for

Coming Together in Faith on Climate to celebrate and amplify Pope Francis' message on climate. At the event Christian, Muslim, Hindu and other faith leaders, including Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins, spoke with conviction and commitment, encouraging all people to action combatting climate change.

Click here to watch a short celebration video of the event.

Let's Talk Climate

Messages that inform and empower faith leaders to effectively open the conversation on climate change within their places of worship and in the community.

Download the Report HERE.

Report Webinar HERE!

Learn more about Blessed Tomorrow.

Order Eco Palms Today

Palm Sunday: March 20

Deadline to Place an Order: February 26
Deliveries: March 14-18

Care for the Earth, Palm Farmer's and their communities by ordering from our Green Chalice Partner!

Learn more and Order Now!

Earth Day Resources

It's time to start making plans to celebrate Earth Day 2016 in your congregation on April 17 or 24.

Creation Justice Ministries 2016 theme is

Care for God's Creatures. Furry, feathered, finned, four-legged, and winged, the diversity of God's creatures inspires wonder and awe. From the Garden of Eden, to Noah's Ark, to barn animals surrounding baby Jesus, to the vision of the lion dwelling with the lamb in Revelation, God's creatures play an important role in the Bible and our Christian faith tradition. By their very being, all creatures give praise to God. Knowing and loving God's creatures helps us better know our Creator. Earth Sunday 2016 will include liturgical resources, Bible study material, and invitations to take action by creating habitats and getting loud on social media for animals.

Interfaith Power and Light

'"Faith Climate Action Week" will encompass nine days in April surrounding Earth Day. The theme is "Paris And Beyond" and will focus on how achieving the climate protection goals in the Paris Agreement require action from all of us. In addition to sample sermons on caring for Creation and the climate, IPL will have resources and links for outdoor activities, films, music, service projects, postcards for policy makers, and more to help involve and educate your congregation on how to protect the climate.

National Youth Event

Join Green Chalice at this Huge Youth Event this Summer in Orlando!

Learn more Here

Book Review

Creation-Crisis Preaching: Ecology, Theology, and the Pulpit by Leah Schade has arrived at the perfect time, passionately providing preachers and seminarians with the foundational background and strategies needed to craft creation-centered sermons. Since Americans who hear clergy speak on climate change are more likely to care about the earth, and Schade

walks us through her process of writing several different sermons for a variety of audiences and settings. She includes "behind the sermon writing" commentary with the manuscripts and reports how the sermons were received. Schade aptly and powerfully concludes the book by calling us to live our faith like the women who visited Jesus' tomb on Easter morning. "The women did not go thinking they could save Jesus. They went because that is what they were called to do.... Likewise, we do not do this work thinking we can 'save' the planet. We do this because it is what we are called to do.... We are called to be faithful."

Learn more and purchase the book here!

Sign this Letter

Mr. President and Members of Congress:

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a part of God's creation that stands alone in its wilderness, ecological integrity, and beauty. This sacred landscape is also home of the Gwich'in, Alaska native people who depend upon the Porcupine caribou herd for their daily subsistence. The possibility of oil exploration in the Refuge jeopardizes the ecological integrity of the Refuge and the way of life of the Gwich'in people. As members of the faith community, we ask you to grant the Arctic Refuge the strongest possible protection. It is our hope that you will join us in recognizing that the precious gift of the Arctic Refuge deserves our best efforts at stewardship and preservation by permanently protecting the Refuge for this generation, and generations to come.
Sincerely,

YOUR NAME

Learn more and sign on here!

Scripture for your heart

Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord from the heavens;

praise him in the heights!

Praise him, all his angels;

praise him, all his host!

Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars!
Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he commanded and they were created.
He established them forever and ever;
he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.

Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps,
fire and hail, snow and frost,
stormy wind fulfilling his command!

Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds!

Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and women alike,
old and young together!

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
    for his name alone is exalted;
    his glory is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his people,
    praise for all his faithful,
    for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the Lord!

Psalm 148

Christian Food Movement

This new guide aims to be the most comprehensive collection of resources at the intersection of Christian faith and sustainable agriculture in the US and Canada. It has almost 200 resources and links including one about the Green Chalice Gardens program.

Check it out!

AND then Tell us about your Garden

Black Church Climate Statement

As leaders in the Black Church, we view climate change as a moral issue and one of the greatest public health challenges of our time, particularly for black and other marginalized communities. Black and lower income communities are often hit the hardest by climate change in the United States. In Genesis, breath is declared a God given right, yet, almost 40 percent of the six million Americans living in close proximity to a coal power plant are people of color....

We affirm the natural world as God's handiwork and dedicate ourselves to its preservation, enhancement, and faithful use by humankind.... We urge our national, state and local decision makers to craft policies that strengthen black communities.

DRAFTERS: Dr. Samuel Tolbert, Jr. (President, National Baptist Convention of America), Dr. Jessie Bottoms (Vice President, National Baptist Convention USA), Bishop Seth Lartey (AMEZ), Bishop Ronald Cunningham (CME), Dr. Carroll Baltimore (Global United Fellowship), Dr. Leonard Lovett (COGIC)

Click Here to Sign Click Here to Learn More

Join the GC movement!

All it takes is ...

1. Have an active Green Team.

2. Sign the Green Chalice Covenant as a team or 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 Covenant was signed;

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

Green Chalice Ministries

Green Chalice Congregations

Arlington Christian Church, Lexington, KY

Bolindale Christian Church, Warren, OH

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

Eastgate Christian Church, Indianapolis, IN

Edmond Trinity Christian Church, Edmond, OK.

Evergreen Christian Church, Athens, GA

First Christian Church, Bardstown, KY

First Christian Church, Beaumont, TX

First Christian Church, Bellingham, WA

First Christian Church, Carbondale, IL

First Christian Church, Concord, CA

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, Scottsdale, AZ

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

Johns Creek Christian Church, Johns Creek, GA

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 Joplin Christian Church, Joplin, MO

South Street Christian Church, Springfield, MO

Sugarbush Christian Church, Guelp, Ontario

The Healing Cathedral Christian Church, Memphis, TN

University Christian Church, San Diego, CA

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

Midway Hills Christian Church, Dallas, TX

Salvisa Christian Church, Salvisa, Kentucky

Woodland Christian Church, Lexington, Kentucky

Sharon Watkins on Climate

"Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground."

Holy Ground Video

All of creation waits for us...to step up to preserve our God-given planetary home. How long must creation wait? - Rev Sharon Watkins, General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Lenten Blessings!

Rev. Carol Devine

Minister for Green Chalice

Rev. Scott Hardin-Nieri

Associate 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