|
|
View as Webpage
Where the Creator and creation pray, play, and wonder together
|
Beatrice the Bumblebee Invites You to Join the Creation Justice Team of the MN Conference United Church of Christ
The Creation Justice Team is looking for more members who are interested in finding and creating ways for our MN churches to engage in the work of Creation Care. This team would like to expand its current work to include resourcing, advocacy, study, and supporting congregations in their Creation Care/Justice activities.
If you are interested, please contact Rev. Jeanne Bringgold-Pro, [email protected] or Rev. Sheri Nelson, [email protected], or join us for the next meeting on March 11th at 9:00 am. HERE is the Zoom link.
|
There is Still Time to Register for the Last of Our 3-Part Zoom Gathering Series
We talked about the 2023 Farm Bill in January, we discussed Microplastics in our Watersheds and our Bodies in February, and now, we are going to learn more about mining pollutants, especially in the Boundary Waters of Minnesota.
All are welcome to join the discussion. Invite others from your congregation, friends, co-workers, and other organizations. This is a free event.
| |
March 9, 7:00-8:00 pm CST
REGISTER to receive the zoom link
Mining pollutants have been on the forefront of Minnesota’s environmental conversations for many years. The effects on our water, habitats, and health are well documented. However, the push for copper-nickel is an urgent concern, especially from the PolyMet mine.
Water Legacy organization is working diligently on the front lines and in the courts to stop these mining practices that will increase toxic runoff into rivers and streams, which flow into tribal lands, farm lands, lakes, and the entirety of the Minnesota watershed.
Advocacy Director and Counsel Paula Maccabee, is an attorney who has worked with non-profits to protect Minnesota’s water resource and the many lives that rely on clean water and healthy soil. She has been diligently working to reverse permits granted to PolyMet Mining and hold them accountable for their mining practices.
Information for past events may be found HERE on the MN Conference website, along with extra resources provided by facilitators.
| |
Mark Your Calendars for the 2023 Outdoor Ministry Adult and Intergenerational Retreats!
| |
Because of some last-minute changes, our adult and intergenerational events have been slowly coming together. However, the list is complete, and registration will open for all the events by the middle of March. Check out the list and mark your calendars now!
- May 19-21 | Our Whole Lives (OWL) training at Camp Onomia, Onamia
- Aug 5 | Family Day Camp at People’s Congregational Church, Bayport
- Aug 6 | Family Day Camp at First Congregational, Mankato
- Sept 8-10 | Women’s Retreat at Camp Onomia, Onamia
- Sept 22-24 | Women’s Wilderness Retreat with Walking Spaces, Houston, MN
- Sept 29-Oct 1| Queer Walk with Walking Spaces, Houston, MN
And Don’t Forget the Youth Events.
All Registrations Are Open Now!
- April 28-30 | Spring Conference Youth Event at Camp Onomia, Onamia
- July 5-7 | Summer Youth Camp at Osprey Wilds ELC, Sandstone
- Oct 6-8 | Fall Conference Youth Event at Osprey Wilds ELC, Sandstone
All Conference Youth Events (CYE) are open to 6th-12th grade youth. Summer Camp is open to those entering 6th grade in the fall of 2023 through seniors graduating in the spring of 2023.
For more information and to register click HERE.
| |
Does Your Church Have an Eco-Justice Team? Or maybe You Want to Create a Team?
Thank you to those teams who have contacted me. I would love to hear from more of you, even if you are a group of one; or wanting to know how to get a group started.
If you have a team that is working on planet health, whether it be soil, water, recycling, advocacy, etc., we would like to hear from you. Even if your team is one person, we would like to know who you are, where you are, what you are currently doing, and what you like to do. The more we know, the better we can serve your team and connect you with other churches who may be doing similar things.
Please contact Rev. Sheri Nelson at [email protected] with contact information.
| |
Did You Know?
An Energy Law Designed for You - A Message from the Creation Justice Team
A 100% carbon-free electric energy bill is now law right here in Minnesota! UCC folks have worked on this policy proposal for many months (years actually), with individual lobbying, marches, social media; we didn’t give up. It’s now law! And there are more climate proposals coming up for us to work for.
Electric energy is pretty carbon free now; Minnesota utilities lead the nation. The mandates of the new law will make Minnesota’s electricity more and more carbon free as carbon free generation under the new 100% law replaces remaining fossil fuel generation.
Now it’s up to us to minimize using fossil fuels, and use this cleaner electric energy when it’s time for us to replace appliances for space heating and cooling, cooking, drying clothes, and heating water; vehicles for transporting people and things; lawnmowers for the lawns that we don’t replace with perennial plants; power tools for felling trees and trimming branches, and removing snow; light fixtures for indoors and out; etc. All this is consistent with the Electrification Resolution we adopted at the 2022 Annual Meeting.
Moneys in the form of tax credits (federal) and rebates (state and federal) provided by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will facilitate a lot of these replacements. You may take any IRA tax credits you earn when you file your taxes for 2023. The Federal government has said it will issue in March its guidelines for how states develop their programs for disbursing IRA rebates for qualifying electric appliances. The state Department of Commerce will develop and implement the IRA rebate programs in Minnesota; the Department says it will roll out those programs in September or October this year. We will keep you posted as these programs develop.
| |
Resources
Book: "Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage". Authors: Daniel C. Esty and Andrew S. Winston
Organization: Nuns and Nones Land Project About the Land Justice Project — Nuns & Nones (nunsandnones.org)
Articles: Many plans for green infrastructure risk leaving vulnerable people out (sciencenews.org)
|
| | | |
