"Now the green blade rises from the buried grain"

"Ours is not the struggle of one day, one week, or one year. Ours is not the struggle of one judicial appointment or presidential term. Ours is the struggle of a lifetime, or maybe even many lifetimes, and each one of us in every generation must do our part." 

–the late U.S. Representative John Lewis

"If we do not do the impossible, we shall be faced with the unthinkable." 

-Petra Kelly (founder of the Green Party in Germany)

Creation Advocacy: Vote for Climate

The most important action step you can take for climate this month is to vote with climate in mind.

The ELCA has created a civic engagement guide, which you can access here

Find further resources on election engagement from the ELCA here

EcoFaith is hiring!

The EcoFaith Network is hiring a Communication Coordinator! Our current communication coordinator, Rachel Wyffels, will conclude here time with EcoFaith on February 1, 2025, to pursue a very full spring semester at Luther Seminary. We are grateful for all the gifts she has brought during her time with EcoFaith.

The EcoFaith Network Communication Coordinator is a part-time, shared position of the Northeastern Minnesota Synod’s EcoFaith Network with the St. Paul Area Synod’s Care of Creation Work Group. The Communication Coordinator coordinates all forms of online communication and publicity, and maintains databases. They are invited to participate in group meetings as their schedule permits. The full position description is available here.

Inquiries and résumé preferred by December 15, 2024. Please email pastor@gloriadeiduluth.org and revkristinfoster@gmail.com.

Stories from Congregations and Synods

Christiania Lutheran Church and Urban Ventures

Growing Together – Farm & Nutrition

The Saint Paul Area Synod Care of Creation Work Group has been able to listen to many stories about creation care in congregations. Several stories have been enthusiastically repeated to us over the years by many members of Christiania Lutheran in Lakeville. They tell about bee hives on site, chickens in coops, a large pollinator garden, huge vegetable gardens and wildflowers on the ballfield. In addition, there’s quite a farming operation used to grow vegetables by and for Urban Ventures, a Minneapolis not-for-profit organization. The following is an article about the partnership:

The Story of an Unlikely Alliance Between City and Countryside

“Much of our ministry in the world has been agricultural in nature,” Pastor Jon explains. He is the pastor of Christiania Lutheran Church in Lakeville. The church began around the same time Minnesota became a state, nearly 170 years ago.

At the time, the community was a fair bit away from the growing city of Minneapolis. These days, the city feels less distant than it used to. The area is a mix of newly constructed homes and shopping areas alongside acres of farmland that local families have tended for generations.

The church owns some of that farmland. Portions are leased out, while other portions are used for ministry. It was fortuitous, then, when Christiania’s former senior pastor, Dave Mesaros, connected with Mark-Peter at Urban Ventures (UV).

UV was looking for somewhere to grow more nutritious food that could be distributed to families in South Minneapolis. The church thought they might be able to help.

Read the full article here

Learn more about Urban Ventures, Minneapolis

2024 Minneapolis Area Synod EcoFaith Summit:

A Spirit of Power, Together

November 16, University Lutheran Church of Hope, Minneapolis

The EcoFaith Network of the Minneapolis Area Synod invites you on November 16th for their “2024 EcoFaith Summit: A Spirit of Power, Together.” (2 Timothy 1:7):



"Join together with others for a day of worship, community, and action at University Lutheran Church of Hope. Workshops and the keynote include opportunities to learn how to improve energy efficiency at your church or home, bring faith practices into your life that center creation and climate justice, and take action using your own powerful stories to inspire change."

Learn more and register here

Highlights from Pollinator Fall Lunch and Share

Does your congregation have a pollinator garden or is interested in planting one? Check out highlights from the Pollinator Steering Committee's Fall Lunch and Share! Highlights include information on choosing plants and when to plant them, seeding, and Thrivent Action Grants.



Read more here

EcoFaith Summit of the Upper Midwest 2025

Earth’s Cries, Earth’s Call

Becoming Midwives of Hope for the Healing of Creation

Saturday, April 5, 2025

First Lutheran, Duluth and online

Lead speaker: Dr. Cynthia Moe-Lobeda

Presenter: Dr. Kelly Sherman-Conroy

Please note that there will be several book discussion opportunities before the Summit to discuss Dr. Cynthia Moe-Lobeda's new book,  “Building a Moral Economy: Pathways for People of Courage," which is available here through Fortress Press. Discussion schedules will be available in the December edition of Green Blades Rising!

This Month's Green Tips 

Here are Laura Raedeke's Green Tips from Lutheran Church of the Cross, Nisswa

Lessons from Hurricane Helene on the Impact of Climate Change on Every Aspect of Our Lives, Including Our Household Finances

The Green Blades Preaching Roundtable weekly reflections by a variety of preaching writers on the ecological implications of each Sunday’s lectionary. 

The writing schedule for the Green Blades Preaching Roundtable in 2025 is now open. Please email revkristinfoster@gmail.com if you would like to write for a Sunday. Here are the guidelines for writing reflections.

All Saints Sunday

November 3, 2024

Rev. Emily Meyer

Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9 OR Isaiah 25:6-9

Psalm 24

Revelation 21:1-6a

John 11:32-44

Wisdom gives us another Way to live - in this world. Seeing the Divine within all creation, living within the bounds of that sacred relationship and out of compassion for all creation - this is righteousness that leads to immortality.

And we recognize that the great miracle of New Life performed by Jesus prior to his own resurrection - the raising of Lazarus - did not find Lazarus in some other world or dimension or heavenly realm. Lazarus was raised to New Life here, amidst his sisters and family, his home and community. Lazarus’ New Life was on Earth.

What does this mean for us on the eve of these highly consequential elections?

Read the full reflection here

25th Sunday after Pentecost

November 10, 2024

Pastor Logan McLean Strike, Grants Pass, Oregon

Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17 and Psalm 127

1 Kings 17:8-16 and Psalm 146; 

Hebrews 9:24-28

Mark 12:38-44

In May, I gave birth to my son, Beau. Never in my life have I been so responsible for another, and never in my life have I been so dependent upon others in those early days after birth. I will remember the nurses who cared for me so tenderly. I will remember the people who brought by food and made sure my bedside water glass was always filled. I will remember the support I received as I navigated that raw time of life. I will also never forget that around the same time I checked myself into the hospital, another young woman preparing to give birth was scrambling to find a place to land after being evicted from her home. When she was discharged from the hospital, who fed her? Who cared for her baby while she rested? I know very little about what it means to be utterly dependent on others. I know even less about a life with limited support. 

The widow in today’s Gospel lesson would have been someone who had limited support. She likely was without voice, without legal standing, and few resources. I imagine the widow in our story was invisible to most—all except Jesus. We may find ourselves tempted to turn this woman into a “cheerful giver,” someone who gives and gives and is happy to keep on giving no matter her circumstances. But her circumstances matter. Such an offering would lead to destitution if not death. Jesus notices her, and causes other people to notice her. Why does he point her out?

Read the full reflection here

26th Sunday after Pentecost

November 17th, 2024

The Rev. Karen G. Bockelman, Duluth, MN (retired)

Daniel 12:1-3

Psalm 16

Hebrews 10:11-14 [15-18] 19-25

Mark 13:1-8

November is a transition time, a mixed time. It is a time of endings and looking forward to new beginnings...Transitions are not without their risks—a time of anguish (Daniel), wars and rumors of wars, nation rising against nation, earthquakes and famines (Mark). How can we hear those words and not think of the Middle East (Gaza, Lebanon, Israel), of Russian and Ukraine, Sudan, Haiti. And in our own nation, fires, hurricanes, flash floods. Although this reflection is being written in mid-October, by November 17 the presidential election will be past, but perhaps not over. Echoes of 2020 linger and perhaps have been revived. No matter the election outcome, some will be in anguish, for some a sense of renewed life, for some shame, for too many, everlasting contempt toward the other.

I cling to the promise that this is but the beginning of the birth pangs. And I am drawn even more to the wisdom of the wise shining like the brightness of the sky, like the stars forever and ever. In the holy dark, the stars shine even more brightly. 

Read the full reflection here

Reign of Christ Sunday

November 24, 2024

Rev. Melinda Quivik, St. Paul, MN

Daniel 7:9–10, 13–14

Psalm 93

Revelation 1:4b–8

John 18:33–37

The purpose of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension is to rule the Kingdom of Truth––or, as we say with more inclusive language––to reign. We celebrate the Reign of Christ in order to set in the center of our faith the wisdom given to us by Christ's reign. That reign extends far beyond our beautiful blue planet, but for our purposes, the things of creation that God has given to us reside at the heart of our responsibilities. Our task is to recognize the intimate relationship we have with this Christ who reigns as king. 

Read the full reflection here

Connections with Creation

November

November 3 – All Saints Sunday

On All Saints Sunday we faithfully hold those who have died and hope in what is to come. A common practice is to light candles. This year, perhaps kindle a “new fire” from dead wood, akin to the new fire that begins the Easter Vigil. Or, facing the real decomposition from death, you could place taper candles in garden compost, the light arising from what was dead and will foster new life. You could hold stones, recalling the stone removed from Lazarus’s tomb. You could splash baptismal waters, “a gift from the spring of the water of life” (Rev. 21:6). You could use local wine for communion, marking the feast of Isaiah 25. Reject disembodied death, and cling to God’s home (Rev. 21:3) and eternal connection with creation.

Read all Connections with Creation for November and December

EcoFaith Book Corner

What if we Get it Right?

by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

Review by John Hanson, EcoFaith NE-MN Synod

The title of the book represents the positive, hope-filled approach Ayana Johnson uses to flesh out the current discussions and actions revolving around climate change issues.  She spends three pages on the crisis and how bad things are, the rest of the 433 pages are devoted to current thinking in various areas related to climate issues, and solutions to the problems that human actions have caused that threaten our planet.  The author’s stated purpose:  “This book is about possibility and transformation. It’s about what the world could be if we charge ahead with the array of climate solutions we have at our fingertips, solutions at the intersection of science, policy, culture, and justice.”

Read the full review here

When the Ice Is Gone

by Paul Bierman

Review by Fredric L. Quivik, Saint Paul Area Care of Creation

One of the consequences of our current climate crisis—of the inexorable global warming we are witnessing due to humanity’s pumping greenhouse gases into Earth’s atmosphere—is the melting of our planet’s ice sheets, including those on Greenland, Antarctica, and glaciers in mountains throughout the world.  We know this will lead to changes in weather patterns and to rising levels throughout the globe, but beyond that, most of us have little understanding of the long history of global ice and the complexity with which ice behaves.  Paul Bierman, an environmental scientist at the University of Vermont who studies ice, has written a marvelous book on the subject that vividly presents more than most of us thought there was to know about ice and our planet’s ice sheets.

Read the full review here

Book Discussion Opportunities

Through the College of St. Scholastica, Pastor Dave Carlson of Gloria Dei in Duluth facilitates two monthly book discussion groups, to which all are welcome: 

• Earth Harmony, Thursday, November 14 - Black Earth Wisdom: Soulful Conversations with Black Environmentalists, by Leah Penniman (2023). Meeting 8:00-9:00 a.m. in person at Chester Creek Cafe in Duluth. 
• Religion & Science, Wednesday, November 20 - The Road to Wisdom: On Truth, Science, Faith, and Trust by Francis Collins (2024). Meeting 8:00-9:00 a.m. via Zoom. Contact Pastor Carlson for the link or for more information, pastor@gloriadeiduluth.org

Check out the Green Lectionary Podcast!

Creation Justice Ministries produces a podcast that it describes as​ "a conversation on scripture with a creation justice lens." Check it out here!

Trying to figure out how Faith and Science work together every week? 

Listen to The Faith and Science Podcast, following the Revised Common Lectionary each week and try to answer that question. It can be found at wherever podcasts are found or at

https://thefaithandsciencepodcast.podbean.com/

Trees and land absorbed almost no CO2 last year. Is nature's carbon sink failing?

The Guardian

U.N. says only a 'quantum leap' can keep global climate goals within reach

The Washington Post

The U.S. gets a new national marine sanctuary, the first led by a tribe

NPR

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