|
|
|
|
MEET OUR PERMACULTURE PLANTS:
Tulsi. This unique herb can be found in our apple guild. Tulsi is thought to be a sacred herb in India, and is referred to as Holy Basil. There are several varieties, and ours is a special one - Amrita Tulsi, with seeds generously shared with us from North Chapel, that they acquired directly from India. Tulsi is flavorful and medicinal, and makes an excellent addition to tea blends. You can read more about its amazing properties here.
|
|
|
SOLAR BY THE NUMBERS
This Month
Generated: 1214 kWh
Used: 502 kWh
Donated: 712 kWh
Estimated Value to BBC: $176
Estimated Value to TCMF: $92
Total: $268
Grand Totals
Estimated Value to BBC: $2900
Estimated Value to TCMF: $1231
Total: $4131
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fact:
St. Francis of Assisi believed that actions were the best example, telling his followers to "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words."
|
|
|
|
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT - KEN GLICK
Q: What is something you love about creation?
A: I like the wonderful variety of all the landscapes, plants, animals, and people. I LOVE His Creation because it allows me a place to commune with Him and escape all the distractions that keep us apart.
Q: What is something you do to care for creation?
A: As I build and maintain trails for hiking , biking, and skiing I am able to educate people on the benefits of healthy ecosystems. This gives them an understanding and respect for the world around them.
|
|
|
|
KID'S CARE CORNER
Look for signs of fall... changing leaves, cooler air, apples, pumpkins, geese flying south. With each changing season, God provides new things to look forward to. What is something you love about this season?
|
|
|
|
A NOTE FROM STEVE
During the Season of Creation our sanctuary has displayed several beautiful pieces for the "Nature of God (Part II)". This exhibit--and even what I wrote in last month's newsletter--draw attention to ways in which the character of the Creator is displayed in Creation. There are biblical reasons for thinking in these terms (for details, refer to the previous four editions of this newsletter), and the practice of using Nature as a reference point for insight about God has a long history in the Judeo-Christian tradition.
At the same time, even as we can identify "invisible attributes of God made visible in Creation" (cf. Romans 1), Nature alone does not give us the whole story. On Creation Care Sunday--commenting on Acts 19-- I considered how the worship of Artemis, the "wild hunter-goddess of the woodlands" might be contrasted with the worship of one transcendent God who is the Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer of all things. In this context I suggested that Nature-alone and even the deification of facets of Nature are insufficient to have an enduring vision for Creation-Care:
"The trouble with locating all of these things--the woodlands and cute woodland
|
animals (like skunks) and even Nature itself--as your center of orbit, is that Nature has a tendency to be capricious and cruel. Nature can bring us hurricanes, and bee-stings, and ferocious beasts; Nature is not only unstable but a morally ambiguous point of reference. We have plenty of opportunity to interact with Nature (and the serenity of Nature can be restorative) but where do we find our 'center' in the midst of all the storms that Nature provides us with? Where do you find your 'peace' that empowers you to flourish in the midst of Nature; when Nature itself may be harsh?"
The implication is that in order to have a moral compass and an enduring sense of purpose for why Creation-Care matters, we can--thankfully--look beyond Nature as to how we can best care for her. The Christian faith argues that the same God who is the Creator of our world has also spoken to us a Word about how we can best "live and move and have our being" within this world; that Creation (what God has created) is best understood through the lens of Revelation (what God has spoken).
|
|
|
EXPLORE MORE
Mennonite Creation Care Network
https://www.mennocreationcare.org/
Vermont Interfaith Power & Light
http://www.vtipl.org/
|
|
|
|
CONTACT US
Have ideas, stories, resources you'd like to share related to creation care?
Contact Heather Wolfe,
Taftsville Chapel's creation care liaison
|
|
|
|
|
to hold flowers from our church gardens. the $100 cash prize is in our creation care fund. Feel free to submit ideas for how to use the winnings
