Now the green blade rises from the buried grain |
|
An online publication of the EcoFaith Network NE-MN Synod with Saint Paul Area Synod Care of Creation |
|
The EcoFaith Leadership Retreat: Cross+Pollination in This Kairos Time
|
|
On August 27-29, 32 EcoFaith leaders from 6 synods gathered at Camp Onomia in Onamia, MN.
The retreat centered on the church's unique role at this kairos time for our planet and ecosystems and on nurturing relationships among those engaged in the care of creation in the Upper Midwest.
Thank you to the wonderful staff of Camp Onomia for their hospitality!
|
|
The NE-MN Synod's Pollinator Project in Action:
St. Andrew's Meadow
by Jan Bilden, St. Andrew's Creation Care Team and EcoFaith Leadership Team
|
|
St. Andrews Lutheran Church in Grand Rapids has a new project: a planned meadow of natural flora designed to provide pollinator habitat, to beautify their landscape and to emphasize the congregation’s commitment to creation care.
The church buildings on 16th Street NW are nestled into the woods behind a stand of pines, a pollinator plot and a large mowed area fronting the road. Enbridge Energy’s pipelines run underground from the northwest side of the city and under this mowed area, so when congregational president Conley Janssen heard they would be doing some work on the lines and disturbing the ground, he informed the congregation’s EcoFaith Advocates team and they went to work...
Replacing the mowed area with a meadow will add to the natural beauty of the site, support pollinators, and make a statement to the community about how the congregations is caring for God’s creation. And the volunteers who mow the area are quite pleased too!
Read the full article here
|
|
Fall Pollinator Project Gathering |
|
The Pollinator Steering Committee invites the over 30 congregations involved in the Pollinator Project and anyone who is interested to a fall check-in. We will host two virtual check-ins to accommodate schedules, one on Tuesday, Sept. 26th from 12-1 and one on Thursday, Sept. 28th from 6-7, and you are welcome at one or both.
We know that some of you are gathering information, some of you are doing site preparation, some of you will be planting seeds this Fall, some of you will be planting seeds and/or plugs in the coming Spring, some of you are mulching to help root development, and some of you already have big, blooming, beautiful Pollinator Gardens. We can all share information, ask questions, learn and help each other in our quest to help those pollinators.
Please email Tom Uecker here for more information and the Zoom link
|
|
Brake Bread
Our Daily Bread: Regeneratively Grown & Offered for Sale
by Fredric L. Quivik, Saint Paul Area Synod Care of Creation
|
|
As someone who grew up on a dairy farm near Northfield, and whose father practiced crop rotation because of his Christian faith that inspired him to strive to leave the soil on his farm better when he left the farm that it was when he inherited the farm from his father, I have long followed conservation issues in agricultural practice, even though neither I nor my siblings went into farming.
As we now stare directly into the face of our looming climate crisis, my background interest in farming has helped me to understand that one of our biggest challenges as a species is figuring out how to feed the 8 billion people on our planet in ways that not only nourish people but also foster soil health while reducing our dependence on fossil fuels for mechanical power, fertilizers, and pesticides and herbicides. I’ve been especially interested, as a member of the ELCA’s Saint Paul Area Synod’s Care of Creation work group, to have learned about the movement for regenerative agriculture. I’m inspired by the work of Walker Farms, which we visited in 2021.
The thought that has concerned me, however, is that I live in Saint Paul, in a city. I’m not a farmer, so deciding to switch to regenerative practices is not a direct option for me. Although we have a backyard garden, we depend on retail outlets for most of our food. This means that, if I want to promote agricultural practices that are consistent with my sense of call to care for God’s creation, I need to look for ways to do that as a thoughtful consumer. One surprising way I’ve found to do that is through the bread we buy from a Saint Paul bakery on West 7th called Brake Bread.
Owned by Nate Houge, Brake Bread got started some years back as a neighborhood enterprise predicated on the idea that the business would deliver the staff of life to its subscribing neighbors using bicycles. (The “Brake” in the name refers to bicycle brakes.)
Read the full article here
|
|
Got Climate Questions? The NYT has Answers.
by Diane Jacobson, Professor Emerita, Luther Seminary, member of NE-MN EcoFaith Network and Saint Paul Area Synod Care of Creation
|
|
Beginning in 2022, writers from the New York Times Climate Desk have been answering reader’s questions about climate change. Both the questions and answers are exceedingly informative and helpful.
What follows and what is attached are the readers’ questions and the answers from the NYTimes writers, as compiled and formatted by Diane Jacobson. To access the cited references within the writers’ answers, one must be a subscriber to the New York Times.
|
|
Do you have a story to share? We want to hear it! Please email Rachel, EcoFaith Network Communication Coordinator, at ecofaith@nemnsynod.org.
|
|
2023 Farm Bill Reauthorization: Invitation to Action |
|
Policies impact how we live our lives, and our actions in the public sphere can impact those policies as citizens and concerned Christians on priorities shaped by our values. This year, 2023, the Farm Bill is in a reauthorization process that has far-reaching impact in our communities, locally and globally, now and for generations to come. Consider writing to your federal elected official to express your priorities as that policy takes shape.
Learn more and find a sample template here
|
|
Presbyterians for Earth Care presents their annual Earth Care Conference from September 20-23 online and in-person at Westminster Presbyterian Church.
Connect with others in the care of creation and learn about topics from Going Carbon Neutral as a Church, Ubuntu Ethics, and the Farm Bill.
Learn more and register here!
|
|
This Month's Green Tips
Use these in your congregation's bulletins, Facebook pages, websites, or newsletters!
Here are Laura Raedeke's Green Tips from Lutheran Church of the Cross, Nisswa
"What Do We Owe Our Children? A Livable Climate, a Life-Giving Earth"
|
|
Worshipping with the Whole Creation |
|
Green Blades Preaching Roundtable |
|
The Green Blades Preaching Roundtable weekly reflections by a variety of preaching writers on the ecological implications of each Sunday’s lectionary.
The Green Blades Preaching Roundtable is taking a two month summer pause after June and will resume again in September. The Roundtable editor, Kristin Foster will be scheduling writers for 2024 and she welcomes new ones! Please email her if interested at revkristinfoster@gmail.com.
|
|
John Dietz, First Lutheran, Hibbing, MN
14th Sunday after Pentecost
September 3, 2023
Matthew 16: 21-28
In the first verse, we might be drawn to the phrase: “… suffering at the hands of …” As Jesus seemed to know that he would suffer at the hands of the religious leaders of his time, we also know that God’s creation is suffering at the hands of God’s very own creatures. At this point, you would have to go to great lengths to convince yourself that humans are not somehow complicit in the current climate crisis. Some to whom we preach and many with whom we share our lives are doing just that; denying either the crisis or our participation in it, or both. Perhaps when we personally recognize and share in the earth’s great suffering will we be able to confess our part in its cause. Then, as part of our repentance, we might begin to seek real ways to be part of the healing of creation.
Read the whole reflection here
|
|
Pastor Jamie Brieske, Immanuel, Eau Claire, WI
15th Sunday after Pentecost
September 10th, 2023
Psalm 119:33-40
Romans 13:8-14
Matthew 18:15-20
In our scripture from Matthew today, Jesus is guiding his followers in conflict resolution within the community. This process of truth telling and confronting another member of the community begins individually and then expands to include more witnesses from the group. It is a compassionate response to someone who has made a mistake. There is grace in first responding to this person individually and working to resolve the issue. Then, if this fails, there is still another opportunity, a second chance afforded to that person, now with more people involved. Finally, there are clear boundaries for those who cannot live within the bounds and expectations of the community of love and care that is created in Jesus’ name.
This process follows the values that Jesus teaches. Forgiveness and reconciliation are top priorities in Jesus’ teaching of how to embody the kingdom of heaven right here on earth. Jesus even teaches us to love our enemy and pray for those who hurt us. That is how serious Jesus is about reconciliation and what it should look like in the lives of those who follow him. Perhaps this model for community conflict can also be used on a broader level as well.
Read the whole reflection here
|
|
Pastor Lisa Buchanen, Bethany Lutheran, Deer River, MN
16th Sunday after Pentecost
September 17th, 2023
Genesis 50:15-21
Psalm 103: [1-7] 8-13
Romans 14:1-12
Matthew 18:21-35
What continues to hold my interest as I consider these passages is the connection between forgiveness and freedom. Joseph’s brothers are trapped (so to speak) in their fear and projections of how Joseph would punish them or continue to trap them in unforgiveness. The brothers confess, “we are here as your slaves” (Gen. 50:18b), suggesting they will do whatever Joseph wants them to do, without thought of their own desires, personhood or dreams, since that is what slavery kills in a person. Joseph, who knows a thing or two about dreams (wink) does not keep them bound as slaves but forgives them and restored them to the status of brothers, citing his faith in God (50:19) as the means by which he can forgive.
Read the full reflection here
|
|
Luke Pederson, SAM Trinity of Norden and Good Shepherd Parish, Mondovi, WI
17th Sunday after Pentecost
September 24th, 2023
Matthew 20:1-16
Philippians 1:21-30
Psalm 145:1-8
Jonah 3:1—4:11
Wildfires in Maui and Canada. Drought in the Midwest. Heavy rains and flooding in Vermont. Record ocean temperatures. The year 2023 is not over, yet we have already seen the effects of extreme weather exacerbated by rising global temperatures. Indeed, it seems that warnings over the past decades by scientists who have monitored the change in the average global temperature, and who have studied ice cores from the ice caps in Greenland and Antarctica, analyzing the bubbles of ancient air to compare its composition, its percentage of Carbon Dioxide to the present day, are manifesting before our eyes. It is a difficult and uncomfortable truth to face; that our actions have and are altering the climate on a global scale, and that in order to mitigate and reverse the damage, it is imperative that we collectively make significant changes to our lifestyles. The latter can be especially difficult as it means self-examination, repentance-Metanoia, change of heart-and discerning what comforts and luxuries we enjoy, especially in a first-world nation, that come at the expense of our brothers and sisters next door and around the world.
Read the full reflection here
|
|
Connections with Creation
September
September 10 – 15th Sunday after Pentecost
Night can be an eschatological image. In the night, Paul counsels, “live honorably as in the day” (Rom. 13:13). While living under oppressive systems, we are called to countercultural practices of wakefulness, integrity, and expectation. The binary of light and darkness can sometimes be moralistic and racist, as if there are only two ways of life—night and day—and two sets of people—dark and light. But people who spend much time in nature know that night is not simply the opposite of day. Rather, navigating at night involves all our senses: feeling the land beneath the feet, sensing differences in the shade of light and darkness, gradients of temperature change, even a sort of echolocation as sound reveals the structure of surfaces around us. Living in the night as if it is day? The earth teaches that it doesn’t require binary thinking, but coming to our senses, attuned to the wonders of the world around us.
|
|
Trying to figure out how Faith and Science work together every week?
|
|
Join our Teams in the Work of Caring for Creation! |
|
The Northeastern Minnesota Synod EcoFaith Network Leadership Team
includes lay and ordained participants from throughout the synod (and synod affiliates) whose mission is to nurture a growing network of congregations and other companion partners in living out God's call to be stewards of the earth for the sake of the whole creation. We meet as a whole team monthly via Zoom and have work groups who help with specific aspects of our ministry to connect, equip, and encourage congregations, neighboring synods, and other church-based organizations. We oversee the work of a part-time EcoFaith Network Communication Coordinator, including the publication of the Green Blades Rising Newsletter. We have one in-person planning meeting, usually in January, and are participant hosts in the summer EcoFaith Leadership Retreat. Please contact revkristinfoster@gmail.com or ecofaith@nemnsynod.org to learn more and join us!
The St. Paul ELCA Care of Creation Work Group is an inspired active group of approximately 12 members. We are seeking to expand to at least 18 members. The only Our Work Group meets approximately 10 times per year in the afternoon or evening. At least half of the meetings are held online via Zoom. The remaining meetings are in-person and often include a potluck dinner. Our members are also encouraged, not required, to attend and assist in the planning of an annual eco-faith summit and leadership retreat, both involving eco-faith leadership teams from other synods. The only prerequisites are a passion for caring for God's gifts of creation, a willingness to learn, and help spread the message. Please contact pr.bob.lehner@gmail.com or ecofaith@nemnsynod.org to join us!
|
|
Thank you to our EcoFaith NE-MN Synod Network Partner Congregations!
Bethel-Trinity, Bovey $100
Calvary, Mora $200
First, Hibbing $250
First Lutheran, Aitkin, $50
Gloria Dei, Duluth, $500
Holden, Isle $300
Gloria Dei, $500
Zion, Milaca, $50
Zion WELCA, Grand Rapids, $50
The EcoFaith Network thanks the 2023 Partner Congregations for your prayers and your financial commitment as we live out God’s call to be stewards of the earth for the sake of the whole creation.
Help nurture the growing ministry of the EcoFaith Network by becoming an EcoFaith Network Partner Congregation in 2023. Become an EcoFaith Network Partner Congregation in 2023 and make a financial contribution of any amount.
Learn more and find partner congregation forms here
|
|
Read. Watch. Listen. Share! |
|
NYT
Minnesota Reformer
NASA
|
|
The EcoFaith Network NEMN Synod
Living out God's call to be stewards of the earth for the sake of the whole creation.
|
|
SPAS Care of Creation
We are called to care for God's creation as a central part of our Christian faith and identity.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
