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| "CC-365" Archives | | |
Please click on the above link to find an indexed list of our archived issues. |
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Issue #67 "A Place at the Table"
| February 28, 2013 |
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Greetings!
Tomorrow, March 1st, a powerful new movie will open in theaters throughout the U.S. -- A Place at the Table: One Nation. Underfed.* This is an important movie for all who care about eating in ways that are just and ecologically sustainable. This is an important movie for all who care about the fact that "fifty million people in the U.S. -- one in four children -- don't know where their next meal is coming from." This entire issue of Creation-Care, 365 is dedicated to the links between nourishing God's hungriest children and all of God's creation. As a body, The United Methodist Church recently affirmed the importance of these links in the new Social Principles' "Food Justice" paragraph, which "decr[ies] policies that make food inaccessible to the communities where it is grown and the farm workers involved in its growth" (please see our " More Tools..." section below to read and download a bulletin insert announcing this new paragraph). And so, it is especially timely that we understand how we can help eliminate hunger in our country and bless God's entire creation.
Grace and Peace be with you,
Creation-Care Projects Coordinator
PNW Office of Connectional Ministries
Footnote
*The movie will also be available March 1st, on ITunes and On Demand
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 Creation Quote | |
From "Enough for All"
A song by Rev. John Pitney
Eugene First UMC, our featured "Creation Keeper" below
"There will be enough in all Creation,
when we finally accept Creator's grace
And in her image, we behave
like members of this place
Of incredible elegant abundance,
one extravagant banquet set for free!
The winds and woodlands all hold their breath.
The silent specie's plea:
'Will this communion be for all?' Will there be enough?
Will there be enough? Will there be enough?
There will be. Enough."
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Small Steps... for Greater Good
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See the new movie: A Place at the Table
On March 1, 2013 A Place at the Table -- a major new documentary about hunger in America -- will be in theaters and will be available on-demand. Here is a description and trailer from Bread for the World's website -- one of A Place at the Table's main campaign supporters:
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Click here to watch A Place at the Table Trailer
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"How is it possible that people in this country continue to go hungry, despite our abundance of food? "A Place at the Table, a new eye-opening documentary, answers that question through the lives of three people. Barbie, a young Philadelphia mother, fights to make ends meet and break the cycle of poverty. Rosie, an imaginative fifth-grader, tries to distract her mind from hunger pangs as she learns and grows in rural Colorado. And Tremonica, a sunny Mississippi second-grader, struggles with health problems caused by the poor nutritional value of the food that her mother can afford. Their stories reveal the depth of the hunger crisis in America and the factors that drive it. "The film also shows that we have made progress against hunger in the past-and that we can do it again." Please keep reading: our "Tools for Renewal" section has resources for helping to move forward the "progress against hunger." Please also note that one of the film's key speakers, Marion Nestle, will join us in person at Queen Anne UMC (Seattle)/The Well on June 18.
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Tools for Renewal
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Bread for the World's
2013 "Offering of Letters" and
Resources for A Place at the Table
If you and/or your congregation watch the movie, A Place at the Table (see above), please consider deepening your understanding of and involvement with ending hunger using the resources that Bread for the World (BFW) describes below.From BFW: "We are pleased that the launch of A Place at the Table coincides with Bread for the World's 2013 Offering of Letters. Together, they magnify our focus on ending hunger through changes in public policy. Our association with Participant Media does not end when the film hits theaters across the country. We are also partners on the social action campaign accompanying the film.  | |
Click here to watch an introduction to BFW's "A Place at the Table" - 2013 Offering of Letters
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"Through A Place at the Table's social action campaign, Bread members [and other concerned people] have more avenues for action -- at both the local and the national level. Bread for the World and Participant Media will regularly ask our advocates to take action throughout this joint campaign." In addition, here are resources specifically from BFW:
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MORE Tools for Renewal
| "Food Justice" Bulletin Insert
From the article, "Food Justice: New Social Principle under 'The Natural World,'" by Wayne Rhodes, Editor, Faith in Action (UMC-GBCS), 7/26/12
"The United Methodist General Conference, the denomination's highest policy-setting body, has added a paragraph, 'Food Justice,' to the Social Principles. ...The text of 'Food Justice' follows:
'We support policies that increase access to quality food, particularly for those with the fewest resources. We affirm local, sustainable and small-scale agriculture opportunities that allow communities to feed themselves. We decry policies that make food inaccessible to the communities where it is grown and the farm workers involved in its growth.'"
To share this new Social Principle with others in your congregation, please click here to download a "Food Justice" bulletin insert.
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| Lectionary Links | Some excellent, on-line sermon helps -- most of which coincide with the Revised Common Lectionary:
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| Events & Actions | Winter-Spring 2013
- March 9 (Kent, WA): Seattle-Tacoma Districts' Training Day with creation-care workshop (2:15-4:15 p.m.)
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March 15 (Portland, OR): "Making Peace with the Land: Shaping Food Ethics" with Norman Wirzba
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March 16 (Salem, OR): "Food Ethics Conference" with Norman Wirzba
- March 22 (Beaverton, OR): EcoFaith Recovery's Ecology of Grace & Justice series - "The Cosmic Story, Part II"
- March 23 (Bellevue, WA): First UMC Bellevue's 4th Annual Earth Friendly Gardening Seminar Plant Exchange
- March 23 (Seattle, WA): Queen Anne UMC's The Well - Joel Salitan on Sustainable Farming
- April 10 (Seattle, WA): Queen Anne UMC's The Well - Mike Wallace on Climate Change: Myths, Facts, & Us
- April 14 (Eugene, OR): First UMC Eugene hosts Ched Myers, speaking on "Responding in Faith to Climate Change & Ecojustice"
- April 19 (Seattle, WA): Faith, Hope, and 20 Years: Earth Ministry's Anniversary Celebration
- April 26 (Beaverton, OR): EcoFaith Recovery's Ecology of Grace & Justice series - "Organizing the Biocommons: Where do we go from here?"
- April 28 (Seattle, WA): Queen Anne UMC's The Well - Bill McKibben on Coal, Climate Change, and the PNW
- May 8 (Seattle, WA): Queen Anne UMC's The Well - Charles Montgomery on Urban Design and Happiness
- May 15 (Seattle, WA): Queen Anne UMC's The Well - Norman Wirzba on Food, Faith, & Creation
- May 28 (Seattle, WA): Queen Anne UMC's The Well - Robert Paarlberg on the Politics of Food, Food Policy, Nutrition, and Feeding the World
- June 18 (Seattle, WA): Queen Anne UMC's The Well - Marion Nestle on Public Policy, Nutrition, and SNAP
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Creation Keeper
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Rev. John Pitney
Eugene First UMC, Eugene (OR)
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Rev. Pitney savoring the fruits of God's earth
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For decades, one United Methodist pastor has woven his love and passion for God's earth into every aspect of his ministry and life. This pastor is John Pitney, who currently serves as associate pastor at Eugene First UMC. On John's own web site he boldly declares, "I speak on behalf of a ravaged planet, withered soil, too warm air, dead oceans, junky food and junkier conscience. I stand with powerless and delinquent humanity, dominating systems and the alternatives known variously as redistribution of wealth, sacred economy, wise community, love, shalom and the sense we were born with." John lives out his bold declaration in countless ways -- perhaps most frequently in his ability to promote practical "food justice" that benefits family farmers and the hungriest among
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From UMTV: "That's My Farmer" video
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us. For example, please watch this video that highlights his " That's My Farmer" ministry. This brief video shares some of John's ideas around how
"consumers can make choices that support the local economy; preserve the family farm; and help protect the soil, water and air."
John is also a prolific, excellent song writer. He has produced 3 creation-caring CDs -- for adults, youth, and children -- titled, "Keeping the Garden," "A Home Like This," and "Walk Lightly on the Earth." By clicking on the link above, you can listen to song clips, purchase CDs, and download lyrics (including chords and the rich stories behind the songs).
Keep rocking, John! May God continue to bear abundant fruit through your life and ministry!
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