Pacific Northwest Annual Conference
 Creation-Care, 365
   

 
 PNW United Methodists
Caring for God's Creation
 

 
IN THIS ISSUE
Creation Quote:
Taylor Burton-Edwards

Small Steps:
"Sunday Morning Sustainability" Tips

Tools for Renewal:
Earth Day/Festival of God's Creation Resources

Lectionary Links

Events & Actions:
Spring-Summer 2013

Creation Keepers:
Wesley UMC, Yakima

UMC Creation-Care News

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"CC-365" Archives
Please click on the above link to find an indexed list of our archived issues.
Issue #69
"Earth Day/Festival of God's Creation"
April, 2013
Greetings!
Earth & Heaven
With Earth Day (April 22nd) just around you and your church may be preparing a special worship service, educational opportunity, and/or hands-on experience.  If you are, you're in good company.  Like you, many United Methodist churches will be doing just what the UMC Book of Resolutions suggests:
"As disciples of Christ, we are called to be good stewards of
God's creation. Accordingly, we call upon The United Methodist Church to adopt fresh ways to respond to the perils that now threaten the integrity of God's creation and the future of God's children. Specifically, The United
Methodist Church: designates one Sunday each year,
preferably the Sunday closest to Earth Day, as a Festival of God's Creation, celebrating God's gracious work in creating the earth and all living things, incorporating it into the church's liturgical calendar, and developing appropriate ways for congregations to celebrate it. ..." (Resolution #1027, "God's Creation & the Church")

This issue of Creation-Care, 365 is for those of you who (like me!) still may be planning this "festival."  And, please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of any help in your planning.  Have a most blessed festival!

Grace and Peace be with you,

Creation-Care Projects Coordinator

PNW Office of Connectional Ministries 

  
QuoteCreation Quote

From Taylor Burton-Edwards

Director of Worship Resources, The UMC General Board of Discipleship, excerpted from "A Great Thanksgiving for Festival of God's Creation" liturgy.   

 

"We are yours, all yours, blessed Triune God...
Yours the blessing, yours the praise,
from the unimaginable silence before the big bang,
beyond the farthest reaches of time and space
our instruments may ever find,
from infinity to infinity, everlasting to everlasting,
you are God, boundless in love and power."
 SmallStepsSmall Steps... for Greater Good
"Sunday Morning Sustainability:
Eco-Justice Impacts and Opportunities" NCC Earth Day 2013
We have excerpted the following tips (a few among many!) directly from the National Council of Churches' 2013 Earth Day resource, "Sunday Morning Sustainability" (please read below for more information on this resource):
  • When it is time to get rid of [an electronic] device,
    donate it to a charity that wants it or find an e-Stewards certified recycler at http://e-stewards.org. 
  • Purchase shade grown, fair trade coffee for your home and encourage its use in your faith community. Two great sources are Equal Exchange (www.equalexchange.coop) and Just Coffee (www.justcwoffee.coop).
  • Learn how modern-day slavery impacts the
    goods you buy at www.slaveryfootprint.org. 
  • Install water-saving toilets and low-flow faucets, run dishwashers and laundry loads when they are full, and water outdoors in the evening to avoid rapid evaporation.  
  • Look for ways to decrease your electricity
    consumption. Resources are available at
Small_StepsTools for Renewal
Festival of God's Creation/Earth Day Resources
From The United Methodist Church (UMC) & National Council of Churches (NCC)

If you're looking for worship resources for your congregation's Festival of God's Creation (FGC)/Earth Day, here are but a few designed by and for United Methodists:

NCC2013I.  NCC/UMC Earth Day 2013 Resource: "Sunday Morning Sustainability: Eco-Justice Impacts and Opportunities" -- a comprehensive, congregational resource for Earth Day Sunday, which includes a bulletin insert (with an entire order of worship), sermon starters, and very practical "Eco-Justice Impacts and Opportunities" related to transportation, electricity, clothing, food, water, and other choices that one might make on any given Sunday.  The PNW UMC's very own Rev. Jenny Phillips authored this excellent resource, which is FREE to download through the NCC Eco-Justice Programs' website.

II.  New liturgy for 2013 from The UMC General Board of Discipleship (GBOD): "A Great Thanksgiving for Festival of God's Creation," by Taylor W. Burton-Edwards

III. Archived FGC/Earth Day resources from The UMC GBODs include: "Propers for a Great Thanksgiving for the Festival of Creation Sunday," "Music for Earth Day and the Festival of God's Creation," "Prayer of Confession for Earth Day and the Festival of God's Creation," and many more.

IV. Earth Day Sunday Resources from the NCC -- dating back to 2004, you'll find an extensive archive of free resource packets (similar to #I above) around themes like: "Ethics of Energy," "Eco-Justice as Community," "Our Daily Bread," and many others.
Lectionary Links
Some excellent, on-line sermon helps -- most of which coincide with the Revised Common Lectionary:
Events & Actions
Spring-Summer 2013

 

Creation Keepers
Wesley Green Team
Wesley UMC's Green Team*
Wesley UMC (Yakima) to Install Its First Solar Panels on "Earth Sunday"

After many years of planning and work, members of Wesley UMC in Yakima, WA will witness and bless the instillation of their first -- of 42 -- solar panels on April 21, 2013.  Here is a bit of background on their energy-efficiency work:

"In the last ten years our Trustees have been working with Pacific Power and Light to increase our energy efficiency.
We have installed energy efficient lighting in many places and thermal pane windows in the offices and classrooms. We have upgraded our heating and cooling system from equipment that was 65% efficient to its present 95%! Our utility bills have been greatly reduced.  Trustees have identified further energy saving projects that would cost $30,000 to $40,000.

"For about three years our Green Team has been investigating solar panels as a way to bear witness to a sustainable future of renewable energy sources on a planet experiencing the limits of fossil fuel supplies and limited capacity of the atmosphere to absorb more carbon dioxide without drastic changes in the global climate."  (From Pastor Ron Hines' congregational letter, "Hope for Energy Futures.")

There's great support at Wesley UMC for the solar panels -- as indicated in a recent congregational survey:
"65 of 75 worshippers responding to a recent survey think that solar panels are a great idea. Here are a few of their comments:
  • 'We need to be an example to the community.
  • 'It would pay on so many levels.'
  • 'We are serving God's Creation.'
  • 'Someone has to be a leader. If it works, others will follow.'
  • 'Our children will be inspired by our faith and investment in a green future.'" 
Please click here to read more about Wesley UMC's process and future plans.  May you sense the heavens and earth rejoicing with you, Wesley friends, on April 21st!  We rejoice with you as well!

Footnote
*Photo care of Earth Ministry.

 

UMC Creation-Care News
"Creation-Care, 365" is a free, e-resource of the PNW Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.  Subscribers are welcome to reprint any/all of the materials contained within; cite "Creation-Care, 365, www.pnwumc.org." Thanks and God bless you in your creation-caring efforts.