Green Chalice New November 2012 - Center for Faith and Giving

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Green   Chalice   News 

Green Chalice News is a monthly e-newsletter from Green Chalice, a ministry of Disciples Home Missions in collaboration with Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Kentucky.

In This Issue

Local Saturday

Sabbath Effect

Sabbath Keeping

More on Keeping the Sabbath

Lessons as I Walk

A Poem

GC Congregations

Green Chalice?

Green Chalice is the stewardship of creation ministry that began in Kentucky in 2007. Disciples Home Missions and the Region of Kentucky joined in partnership in May 2011 to expand the work of Green Chalice to the denomination.  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

Green Links

DOC Ecology Resolutions

Disciples Coffee Project 

Subscribe to receive Green Chalice News each month. The link will take you to Disciples Home Missions features. If you receive e-mails from DHM, you can update your preferences to add Green Chalice News. If you are a new subscriber, you may select as many or as few DHM news areas as you like. 

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November 13, 2012  

Green Thanksgiving

  See how many local foods you can serve your family and friends this thanksgiving.

Here in Kentucky you will find local turkey, sweet potatoes, peppers, beets, yellow potatoes, squash, greens, lettuces, cheeses, black walnuts, breads, honey, milk, butter and pumpkin for pie. There are also canned and frozen local foods like corn, tomatoes, peppers, green beans and pesto that are in our freezer.

Use real dishes and cloth napkins instead of disposable for this special meal.

Eat at home and invite neighbors to join you instead of traveling to conserve fuel.

Compost the food waste or give it to someone who has chickens!

 
Give thanks for the earth in your prayer.

Take a walk or play a game instead of watching one on tv.

Take a sabbath on one of the days that you have off.

Say NO to Black Friday

If you want to shop over Thanksgiving weekend, participate in LOCAL SATURDAY by shopping and eating at businesses with products and foods that were created in your area. Buy local art, clothing, pottery, jewelry, wood crafts and more. Eat foods grown and made in your community. Say NO to the insanity of Black Friday and keep a Sabbath instead. Eat leftovers, take a walk, read a book and take a nap – spend time with God.

Sabbath Effect

My colleague Rebekah Simon-Peter wrote about the Sabbath Effect on her blog BridgeWorks in 2010:

Jonathan Ormes, retired NASA scientist, said. “In fact, we can tell from space where and when people are observing the Sabbath all around the world. We can see that levels of nitrous oxides-byproducts of fossil-fuel combustion, among other things-fluctuate during the week. They go down on Friday in Islamic countries; down on Saturday in Israel; and down on Sunday in the United States, Europe, and Japan. Those levels don’t go down at all in China; the numbers stay pretty steady throughout the week.  This lowering of nitrous oxide levels is called the Sabbath effect or the weekend effect.” In other words, the less people drive and the less industry produces, the cleaner the air.

Sabbath Keeping

Matthew Sleeth, founder of Blessed Earth, has gifted us with a simple guide for a healthier life. We would never ignore the other 9 commandments and we should not ignore the 4th. I highly recommend this quick read for individuals, couples, small and large groups.

Passages from 24/6:
The morning of the seventh day, God makes nothing out of something. Rest is brought into being. The concept is holy. We need rest from being hurt, rest from our heavy labors, and rest from our fast-paced world. We  need rest from the speed of change, rest from our jobs, and rest from information overload. Rest gives our souls the time they need to heal. Resting is even more necessary in uncertain times. It helps us remember that God is in control.

The word sabbath means “cease from working.” The three Rs of Sabbath are rest, renewal, and reverence. When we are young, we don’t know what day it is. Time seems endless. Give [God] the space to blow the breath of life into you, wherever he has grounded you.

Restraint is refraining from doing everything that one has the power to do. We need to recognize how much we have. The Sabbath is a reality check. It says you have enough.

Purchase 24/6
Available in print and electronic form.

More on Keeping
the Sabbath

Eugene Peterson wrote about his Sabbath practices in his memoir, The Pastor. 

 
After getting the children off to school, I prepared a simple lunch of sandwiches and fruit. We took our day-pack, walking sticks, binoculars and appropriate clothing for whatever weather faces us–rain, snow, sunshine. We drove to a trailhead, usually not more than thirty or forty minutes away. Jan read a psalm and prayed. …We entered a morning of silence, an Emmaus-walk silence in which we listened to Jesus. After three hours or so we found a rock alongside the river or a fallen tree in the woods, broke the silence with a spoken prayer, and ate our lunch. And then we talked: observations of the kingfisher and wood thrush, red fox and beaver, bloodroot and trailing arbutus; conversations of the past week; reflections on Sunday’s worship.

Lessons as I Walk

Costa Rican Rain Forest

Entering the Rainforest

John-Mark Hack, photographer

“Please wait here, at the edge of the rainforest,” the Australian Aboriginal guide requested of his pilgrims. “In my native language, I will ask the rainforest for the go-ahead to bring you inside.”

After asking us to wait together at the edge of the Daintree, the oldest living rainforest on Earth, the guide walked alone-slowly and with care-to get closer to the trees. He entered silence before petitioning the forest for permission to bring his fellow travelers inside. He assured the forest we were friends and that we would not stay long. He then paused for a yawning moment, listening for a response from the forest.

Through the wind, the sounds of birds, and the trickling waters of nearby streams, the rainforest offered an affirmative response for the pilgrims to enter the vast rainforest.

Shared by Lisa Maas from Spiritual Directors International

A Poem

Forever Oneness,

who sings to us in silence,

who teaches us through each other.

Guide my steps with strength and wisdom.

May I see the lessons as I walk,

honor the Purpose of all things.

Help me touch with respect,

always speak from behind my eyes.

Let me observe, not judge.

May I cause no harm,

and leave music and beauty after my visit.

When I return to forever

may the circle be closed

and the spiral be broader.

-Aboriginal poet Bee Lake

GC Congregations

Become a GC congregation:

1. Form a Green Team at your church.

2. Sign the Alverna Covenant as a team.

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

THEN e-mail the following information to cdevine@dhm.disciples.org: your church name, address and other contact information, the date you signed the Alverna Covenant and the changes made by your congregation in caring for God’s creation.

Green Chalice Congregations
Bridgeport Christian Church, Frankfort, KY

Butler Christian Church, Butler, KY
Central Christian Church, Lexington, KY

Central Christian Church, Marshalltown, IA

Community Christian Church, Tempe, AZ  

Crestwood Christian Church, Lexington, KY

Desert Dove Christian Church, Tucson, AZ  

Disciples Christian Church, Bartlesville, OK

First Christian Church, Beaumont, TX     

First Christian Church, Carbondale, IL    

First Christian Church, Danville, KY  

First Christian Church, Frankfort, KY  

First Christian Church, Glasgow, KY 