A new chapter at Earth Ministry

Dear friends,

My name is Kevin Raymond, and I’m thrilled to have joined the Earth Ministry staff as program director of Washington Interfaith Power and Light (WAIPL), a brand new project here at Earth Ministry. WAIPL joins other “Interfaith Power and Light” efforts in dozens of states that are helping mobilize an interfaith response to the urgent threat of climate change, including through public policy advocacy and renewable energy and energy conservation measures.

All of us at Earth Ministry are excited that our climate work from here on out will be intentionally interfaith. We believe God calls us in this direction, and that the world’s “table” needs to get keep getting bigger and bigger if we are going to meet big challenges like climate change.

As we ready to launch WAIPL, we’d greatly appreciate your ideas for this program, and also your suggestions of leaders from a wide variety of faith traditions who might be interested in helping shape and implement WAIPL. So, please do send your ideas and names!

A little bit of personal background. Like everyone else, my life path has included twists and turns. My dad was a mountaineer, and I spent a lot of time in the mountains and woods growing up. I was an environmental science major in college, where my introduction to systems thinking helped me see the interconnectedness of all things in a way that was profoundly spiritual, even though I didn’t think of it in those terms then.

It wasn’t until after law school and the birth of my daughters that I finally made the connection between my sense of the connectedness of all things and my growing sense that we live in a universe that is in some mysterious way not indifferent to us. Science alone could not explain the miracle of my children, and that’s when I started to make the connection between faith and creation (and what science tells us we are doing to creation).

Along the way, I attended seminary and on August 24th I was ordained into ministry at Earth Ministry through the United Church of Christ. My home church is University Congregational UCC. I serve on the board of trustees at Western Washington University, and my wife and I race bikes with the Wines of Washington team.

I’m excited about the work ahead with WAIPL, and hope to connect with readers of this blog soon! Please feel free to contact me anytime!

Let's Stretch the Advocacy Muscles

By Mikaila Gawryn
Outreach Associate

I'll admit it, I am an advocacy lightweight. Up until very recently I lived life believing that I was one of those people that took action "on the ground" instead of in politics. Arrogance aside this probably came from the fact that I didn't think I could make much of a difference in politics. I was much more into volunteering, changing one lightbulb at a time, that sort of thing. And then
I heard someone ask the question "How good are those light bulbs if the energy company is grossly inefficient?" She explained to me that the power of my individual action could be magnified, when I worked within a larger system. Thus, I decided to pick up the weights, even if I had to start very small.

Government 101

Of the three branches of government the legislative branch is responsible for listening to the people (who vote them in and out of office!), and forming laws based upon the people’s will. In the legislative branch there are three levels of government, depending on what kinds of laws you want to create. These levels are the federal, state and local branches. As citizens we have access to these branches, because they represent us!


Legislative Branch

Federal: congress (Senate and House of Representatives)
State: legislature (Senate and House of Representatives)
Local: city council (some cities have different names)

Perhaps you don't feel like "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" material (I sure don't!). The great news is that you don't have to be versed in political lingo or fluent in the scientific terminology of an issue. In fact, as Jessie Dye, our Outreach Coordinator often says, political advocacy is as easy as ordering pizza.

1) Know what you want on your pizza. If you’re not an expert on an issue find one that you trust and see what they are advocating for. Many organizations have the time and resources to research important issues and summarize what they believe should be done, take advantage of this!

2) Know who to call to get your pizza. Call the toll-free Legislative hotline to convey your views on bills and issues. Give the nice operators your name and address (like the pizza place) and they will contact your legislators for you. Tell the operator what bills or issues you are supporting and why; the why involves your values. Remember, you don’t have to explain or defend specific points, any more than you have to tell them how to make the pizza. Legislative Hotline: 1-800-562-6000

Ten to fifteen contacts is all it takes to get the attention of a representative.

Already have the legislative hotline on speed dail? When the legislature is in session call you representative at their office. Or go to the Washington State Legislature website, click and email them. 10-15 calls or letters to a legislator is enough to get their attention. One way to expand the impact of one call is to set up a phone tree. Telephone Trees are time-honored because they work. They work because most people respond better to a personal call from someone they know than to an impersonal piece of mail or message. The mechanics are pretty straight forward.

Finally, accept the invitation to speak through the media. Local papers have Letter To The Editor sections and online forums where you can post your thoughts on issues for other citizens and representatives to read. These venues are a breeding ground for conversation on contemporary issues and are taken seriously as one way for the voice of the people to speak. Take a look at these opportunities for participation in local media or similar ones near you:

Seattle PI-Sound Off

Seattle Times Letters to the Editor

So let's try this advocacy thing out! Luckily we have lots of issues to talk to our representatives about. See you at the Capitol!

Mikaila


Sources:
Advocacy Essentials Handout, Jessie Dye
Faith Based Advocacy, Jessie Dye
EM 2008 Advocacy Days Bulletin
Effort to Overturn 20-cent Bag Tax, Kathy Mulady & Amy Rolph
Effort to Overturn 20-cent Bag Tax, Kathy Mulady & Amy Rolph

Ask Deanna: Field Games for Kids

by Deanna Matzen

I'm afraid my timing isn't the best with this blog post. In Seattle it feels as though summer is drawing to a close as kids are getting ready to start school. While I hold hope for a beautiful September and October, this post may not do you much good. But hopfully it will plant a seed that will mature next summer.

This issue of Ask Deanna is about field games for kids with an ecology theme. "Anne" was in charge of her church's family camp and wanted to know if we had any resources for their camp with the theme of "Handle with Care".

Thankfully, I had not the power of the internet at my finger tips, but rather the power of interns who have worked at summer camps. So I want to share with you the games we suggested to Anne. If you have a favorite field game with a sustainbility theme, please post a comment with the description.

Mosquito, Salmon, Bear

There is a field with a line drawn half-way across. Before the round, each team decides what they're going to be, either mosquito, bear, or salmon, without letting the other team know. One team stands on one side of the line, about three feet away from it, facing out, and the other team stands on the other side of the line, about three feet away, facing out. At the count of three, the teams all turn around (so the two teams will be facing each other) and make the noise/action of the animal their team chose. Salmon chases mosquito, mosquito chases bear, and bear chases salmon to the other side of the field. Whoever is the chasing team tries to tag as many people as they can, and when they do, that person joins the other team.

The learning part comes after a few rounds, where you take one of the animals out of the food chain (the salmon) and just have the bear and mosquito. And what happens? There will be a ton of mosquitoes and no bears. In the first part you can (hopefully) point out that generally the teams moved back and forth in size and all stayed relatively equal because that's how the food chain works. When one animal gets taken out, problems arise and the food chain doesn't work. So even though mosquitoes might be annoying, they feed the salmon, which in turn feed the bears, which feed the mosquitoes.

Nature Scavenger Hunt

Send out teams to find different items in nature (i.e. leaf, needle, flower, pine cone, etc.). The first team back with an example of each item or the team with the most items wins. Items to be "found" can include things to describe. A variation could be to have the children take photos of what they find using a digital camera.

For further ideas, see:
Nature Scavenger Hunt (National Wildlife Federation)
Earth Day Nature Hunt (Windstar Foundation)

Recycling Relay

Start with a loose pile of recyclable and non-recyclable items, have teams move them from one end of the field to the other, placing them in the appropriate recycling or garbage receptacle. Points are deducted for mis-placing items and bonus points are given for the first team to finish. Alternatively you could have the children sort the items into three categories: Reduce, Reuse, or Recycle.

For further ideas, see:
Recycling Relay (Idaho Department of Environmenatl Quality)
Lesson Plan: Recycle Relay (Solid Waste District)

Greetings from a Wisconsinite!

Hello, Hello!

My name is Chris Olson and I am the new volunteer from the Lutheran Volunteer Corps at Earth Ministry. I come to you from the little town of Cumberland in northwestern Wisconsin. I recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where I studied rural sociology and environmental studies.

"Rural sociology?" you say, "What the devil is that?" Well, rural sociology examines rural people and the numerous issues facing rural (or relatively urbanized) populations. These issues include urban sprawl and loss of farmland, changes in rural populations over time, poverty in the rural setting, the evolution of agriculture and agricultural technologies, organic farming in rural and urban environments, sustainability issues, and natural resource consumption and conservation to name a few. It took me almost two years to I settle on rural sociology as a major but it was an experience during the second semester of my freshman year that pointed me on a path that would help me discover my passion for the environment and how people interact with the world around them.

During the spring of 2005 I took a class titled Environmental Studies:The Social Perspective taught by Jack Kloppenburg, who would later become my rural soc. adviser and good friend. One of the projects for the class was to spend a morning working on a nearby CSA farm. Waking up one cool, spring morning I gathered with a small group of other students to carpool across town. As I arrived at the CSA and stepped out of the car, I soaked in the view of the rolling fields stretching out before me. Over the next few hours I took comfort as the morning sun slowly warmed my back as I crouched to plant potatoes, felt the dark soil give way as I learned how to use a push plow, and listened to the stories of those working in the field next to me. I was connected to the earth and the people around me in ways I had never been before. This experience stirred something deep inside me and over the next year I struggled to understand its significance. Knowing how my food was grown, where it came from, and who was affected by it became very important issues to me as I thought about the implications of our global and local food systems. I finally realized that I was being called to work for social and environmental justice and through the rural sociology major I could study issues that would empower me to do that.

I'm excited to spend a year as an LVC volunteer where I will focus on living out the ideas of social justice, intentional community, and simple living. I'm also very excited to join the Earth Ministry team where I will learn to empower others working to integrate the tenets of sustainability and creation care into their congregations and faith communities. I look forward to a year of challenge and growth as well as one of fun and celebration.

Thundering Hooves

By Jessie Dye

Have you ever seen that which is in your imagination, that which you have read about or heard tell of, come to full fabulous life as if by some miracle of God or mind? This has happened to me twice; may I live to see it happen again.

The first time, my little son lost his small stuffed wolf (Wolfie) under sad circumstances. One year later he found a tiny abandoned puppy, a Navajo res dog not four weeks old, dumped and alone in Monument Valley. That puppy looked just like the lost stuffed one. “Wolfie, you are a real dog now!” we said. He came home with us and he’s now 75 pounds of big, joyful and goofy dog-hood.

The second time I saw something of fiction spring to glorious life happened last week. LeeAnne Beres and I met Joel Huesbey of Thundering Hooves in his pasture during a warm sunset in the Walla Walla Valley. Joel spoke eloquently about the end of oil, the need for healthy agricultural systems, his grandfather’s farm ethic, and the Omega 3’s and 6’s of pasture finished beef. It was as if Wendell Barry’s Mad Farmer had sprung to wiry, handsome life in front of us and was extolling sustainable agriculture in real time.

Joel is one member of a multi-generation family farm in Touchet (pronounced too-chee), Washington. Their German Lutheran immigrant ancestors founded Thundering Hooves more than 100 years ago. It was a good farm, a team effort to raise the beef cows that supported them. The family worked hard and made a living for most of a century. They still do, but a new vision came to the ranch when Joes graduated from Washington State University in agriculture.

Water was scarce, petroleum based fertilizer expensive, and feed lots grew more inhumane. Joel realized cows could be raised for beef differently than the huge agri-business spreads that bought from his neighbors and paid the farmers darn little for their work. He decided to pasture-finish his cows, feed them what God and nature wanted ruminants to eat (author’s note: not corn), and preserve them from the heath risks and awfulness of feedlots.

To do this, the family had to market their beef differently; Clarice and Keith Swanson, Joel’s sister and brother in law, joined to manage the business end. I met Clarice seven years ago at the University District Farmer’s Market in Seattle on a clear Saturday morning in October. I’ve been buying their meat ever since, to the satisfaction of my coronary arteries and the spirits of the cows I eat.

T. Hooves continued in Jessie’s next blog; or see www.thunderinghooves.net

Greetings from Bellingham

by Eric Pfaff, former Earth Ministry Intern

Did you miss the early spring plantings of vegetables? Have you been jealously watching your neighbors' gardens grow from patches of soil into ripe, red tomatoes and thick green beans?

While there's nothing that can replace a full summer of gardens, there are vegetables you can plant now for a late harvest and some "baby vegetables." Spinach, lettuce, arugula, beets, carrots, and radishes are all popular, the first three for doing better in cooler weather. More quick information can be found here, a la my good friend Martha Stewart (and her syndicated column).

And just remember: There's no time like the present... to start gardening!

The Cowness Of It All

By: Mikaila Gawryn
Earth Ministry Intern

The "unadulterated cowness", as Billy Collins writes, grounds me. Or is it the "black and white maps of their sides" that captures my imagination? For a hundred reasons the image of a cow on green pasture under a bright blue sky tells me that the world is at peace.


Sadly, this image, though familiar to many American's is less and less a real representation of how cows actually live in the U.S. As you may know, most conventional diary operations (and conventional now means large-scale) are a industrial mix of laboratory and production line, appropriately dubbed factory farms. These factories turn out dairy products quickly and in huge quantities, but at what price and with what quality?

One of the best parts of our 3 Months 300 Miles Food Challenge so far
has been getting to know the fabulously "unconventional" Golden Glen Creamery located in Bow Washington. This family run dairy produces the finest milk, butter and cheese I've ever tasted and all with a commitment to healthy cows and healthy environments!

One aspect of this commitment is Golden Glen's choice to be rBGH free. Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone has been a controversial topic since its approval by the FDA in 1993. Physicians and nutritionists have made strong cases against its use for human and environmental health reasons. However, going against the flow can cost small dairies like Golden Glen Creamery a lot. In a 2007 press release Puget Consumer Cooperative explained that rBGH cows produce on average ten percent more milk than non-rBGH cows do.

Unfortunately, our country's farming policies don't help Golden Glen out either: “The use of rBGH has been banned by every developed country in the world, including Canada and members of the European Union, except the U.S. . . . this is due in part to the fact that rBGH has been proven to increase the amount of IGF-1, Insulin-like Growth Factor, in cows milk and that further research strongly links IGF-1 to colon, breast and prostate cancers". rGBH is not a safe option for human health, but what about the cows?

"The use of rBGH has been banned by every developed country in the world, including Canada and members of the European Union, except the U.S."

rGBH also affects the dairy cows that are injected with it. According to the same 2007 press release rGBH has been linked to higher udder infection rates and hoof disorders, causing pain and discomfort to the cows themselves. Supporting family run and rBGH free dairy farms strengthens local economies, protects human and environmental health and promotes treating God’s animals with care. Golden Glen Creamery also keeps their cows in the pasture as much as possible, meaning the cows are actually eating the green stuff they are supposed to!

So as a part of our 3 Months 300 Miles Food challenge I am committing to buy from Golden Glen Creamery. Their milk can be found all over Seattle at PCC Markets in beautiful glass bottles (that's right! Like the ones the milkman used to deliver!). Or check out one of the farmers markets where they will be selling in person! Just go to their website and check out their Calendar of Events.

What if you don't have Golden Glen Creamery products near you? Ask for them! As a small business literally churning out high quality products Golden Glen's success is dependent on you and I requesting them! So chat up your local super market and tell them that you want to see the milk from the green pastures and the blue skies!



Sources:
- Dairy Products rGBH Free. http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/.
- http://riannanworld.typepad.com/my_weblog/2005/10/afternoon_with_.html

Carbon bombs

by Eric Pfaff, Earth Ministry Intern

Check out this video. It discusses how your ordinary, average cheeseburgers may actually be quite harmful to the environment.

I find, personally, it is much easier to look at the carbon footprint of food I purchase from grocery stores--but at restaurants, I tend to ignore it. It's always a "treat" to ignore the implications my eating has on the environment when I eat out, or it's too difficult to find a restaurant that specializes in organic and/or local.

Unfortunately, though, restaurants can be some of the most unsustainable places, even withholding the cheeseburger. I guess the problem is finding these restaurants around the Puget Sound Area (where I am). Any suggestions?

Friday Farewell...

By Kaitlin Torgerson, Outreach Coordinator

Last August, I journeyed into the Lutheran Volunteer Corps after a summer of working at a Bible camp in the wilderness of Montana. I went straight from the backcountry to a week of orientation in Washington, DC to the Puget Sound and the Earth Ministry offices. I showed up straight out of college without an ounce of an idea of what this year would hold. Now here I am, after one year, one major auction event, two new staff members, three wonderful housemates and friends, four trips to Olympia for lobby days, and five final days at Earth Ministry. This Friday, I say farewell to Earth Ministry and start searching for my next steps.

Earth Ministry has been a true blessing for me this year. It’s hard to even begin to describe what I’ve learned this year, and I’m sure I’m just starting to realize what a gift this year has been. More time and space is needed to fully understand its impact. But just to start things off, here’s a quick top-ten of what I’ve learned with Earth Ministry:

• What it really means to be a person of faith and how to live out my values
• A greater definition of Creator
• Website Maintenance
• Appreciation for ecumenism
• How to read a bus map
• Nonprofit and office etiquette
• Some of my skills and talents and embracing who I am
• Advocacy 101—speaking with my legislators
• More about climate change and its impacts, local foods
• Why people of faith care about the environment

I’m certain in a few months this list will quadruple. It’s hard to wrap my head around leaving this place and hearing my next calling. I do know something here has touched me deeply and I’m not ready to leave Seattle just yet. My plans are still uncertain, but I do know I’m staying in Seattle and am busy job searching (and am certainly open to suggestions) Thank you to all the Earth Ministry staff, congregations, and colleagues I’ve worked with in this past year. Thanks for sharing part of you life with me and allowing me to learn from you. It’s been a wonderful opportunity to work with such talented, passionate, and caring people. I couldn't have asked for a better agency to be placed.

And in a few short weeks, please give a warm welcome to Chris, the new intern with the Lutheran Volunteer Corps. It sounds like he's going to be great!

Paper and plastic and foam, oh my!

Eric Pfaff, Intern

The local environmental blogs are buzzing: The Seattle City Council has approved a fee for plastic grocery bags and a ban on foam food containers. Despite the obvious benefits of a “green fee” for plastic bags and banning foam food containers, Kaitlin, Mikaila, and I started thinking about it.

“What?” you ask. “Aren't you environmentalists? Don't you love the earth?”

Brian Naasz, an Earth Ministry board member and my former chemistry professor, taught me that we must look at all sides of an argument: paper is not necessarily “better” than plastic; Styrofoam cups aren't necessarily “worse” than ceramic mugs. It depends on the angle you take, and the trick is to fit all the angles together.

Mikaila and Kaitlin took a social justice stance on the recent decision, and I looked at it through energy consumption of plastic bags versus reusable bags. The City of Seattle looks at the ban as a means of waste reduction. Each lens brings its own benefits and problems.

Go here (http://www.seattlebagtax.org/) to read news articles, references and information on the decision, and also find out what other local governments around the world do. I would also recommend the FAQ, written by the City of Seattle, which answered some of our questions.

Worshiping By the Waters

By Deanna Matzen

This was my second visit to Holden Village. But this time, there was an added depth to my experience. As part of the Earth Ministry teaching staff, I was in charge of holding a Caring for All Creation, By the Waters worship service. At first, I was intimidated. The church I worship in today, and have worshipped in for the last 10 years, is not liturgical. So I just didn't even know how to structure a service of that sort. With the Caring for All Creation By the Waters module in hand and God bringing people along to help me, a beautiful creation-honoring service came together.

First, I got a lot of help from the Earth Ministry staff: LeeAnne gave me a copy of her church bulletin so I could get a sense of liturgical structure, Mikaila helped me refine the order of service and musical selections, and Beth and LeeAnne prepared a flute duet for the special music. To lead worship, God brought me Kathy, one of our members who attended the retreat. She emailed me about carpooling and mentioned that she played instruments and wanted to make her skills available. We coordinated over email and practiced at Holden. I have to say, I was so blessed to have her help!

I thought we were set until Brian Naasz, an Earth Ministry board member, told me that Jens, a young man from his church and another retreat attendant, had his cello with him and asked if he could help with the service. The answer was an emphatic, "Of course!" So Kathy played guitar and led singing while Jens accompanied on his cello. His cello brought just the right sound to fill out the music. Not only that, but Jens played a solo with his mom accompanying on piano and it was the perfect fit for the special music during the blessing of the water ceremony. I could not have picked a better song! It was majestic, meditative, and moving! As I reflect on that service, I am in awe of how God brought all these components together.

Part of the service was a Blessing of the Waters ceremony. Almost everyone had brought a sample of water from a nearby body of water whether a stream, a lake, a pond, or a rain barrel. People came up in a line, like communion, and poured their water in a large communal bowl. I especially loved how the couples held each others hands as they poured the water together. After everyone finished we sat and soaked in the song that Jens was playing. I wish I could have stopped that moment in time and held it for eternity.

The other challenge and blessing for me was giving the sermon/homily/message. It was only the second "message" I've ever given, but the first one was rather informal for a childern's retreat. I have to tell you that I was very stressed out about that sermon for several weeks before going to Holden. I just couldn't get my thoughts together. I knew I had the sermon helpers in the By the Waters module, and they were really helpful, but I still had to construct a thoughtful and organized sermon. But again, God showed up and as I rose early and went to the Holden labyrinth in the early morning, my thoughts began to come together. I prayed and studied that passage over and over again as I walked the path. The sermon passage was the story of the Samaritan woman at the well. And I tell you, I have never read that passage with such clarity and excitement for the revelation of God through that story. But I won't give away my sermon now. You'll have to wait til August when it will be posted on Holden Village's website.

What amazes me the most is the way the story, the liturgy, the music, the people, the entire week, wove together in a beautiful tapestry. I heard the same messages with slightly different flavors all week long. There was an amazing synergy at Holden that week. I would venture to guess that there is synergy every week at Holden as people gather together in community and wilderness in the name of God. I am so blessed to have been a part of that week. I will carry it with me for a very long time.

Hike in Paradise

The snow is melting, the wildflowers are blooming, and the weather is warm and clear. It’s the perfect time for an Earth Ministry hike at Mount Rainier! (Wow, that’s almost poetic!)

On Saturday, August 2, join members, friends, and various Earth Ministry staff for an inspiring day on the flanks of this gorgeous mountain. We’ll meet in front of the newly-renovated Paradise Inn at 9:00am—yes, this makes for an early morning for folks traveling from Seattle, but the day will be well worth your effort!

We will hike the Skyline Trail from the Paradise parking lot to Panorama Point, where we will have lunch and enjoy the spectacular vistas. After lunch we’ll make our way back down to the cars and reflect on our time together before heading home.

Please RSVP to beth@earthministry.org or eric@earthministry.org as soon as possible—we’d love to help you arrange a carpool, which requires a little advance planning. Feel free to invite friends and family; just let us know how many people you’ll be bringing.

We look forward to meeting you and experiencing God’s Creation together!

Familiar & Unexpected

Fresh mountain air, bright sun illuminating the backdrop of snowfields and craggy peaks, conversations with friends—new & old, a monstrous dish of butter pecan ice cream at the end of the day…

For me the Earth Ministry trip to Holden was both a return to the familiar (I’ve been there several times before) and a leap into the unexpected.

Holden Village is all about community, so each experience in the Village is different, depending on who happens to be a part of the community on that particular day or week.

I had never been a member of the teaching staff before, and the privilege of adding to that portion of the week’s conversation was very exciting! LeeAnne and I led a movement prayer session, and the response from the participants was wonderful. I heard reports of folks adding movement practices into their daily routine after their experience with us, and I was part of a spontaneous Earth Body Prayer practice on the shores of Holden Lake. Pretty amazing!

The teaching sessions on “The Ethics of Energy,” led by Earth Ministry board members Brian Nassz and Kevin O’Brien, added another element of excitement to my week. Kevin & Brian allowed the Holden community to drive the dialogue, and many of us were able to insert our unique backgrounds and values into the conversation. We each left with a broader appreciation of the issues surrounding energy use—I, for one, plan to challenge myself to ask bigger questions!

Thanks again to all who were able to join us in the Holden community this year--I look forward to seeing you again soon.

Our Planet, Ourselves

By Jessie Dye

"One can lie about the body, but the body will not lie about itself." Thus spoke a character in the powerful James Baldwin novel, Another Country, a favorite of mine from college. This line keeps coming back to me now that I am facing a health problem that can only be resolved by a greatly modified, low fat, healthy local foods diet (can you believe it?) at the same time as our beautiful Earth is facing a health problem that can only be resolved by human choices. In the spirit of the great series on women's health, I title this blog "Our Planet, Ourselves".

It is so simple; it makes me want to cry. We are made and nurtured by the Creator to live on this good earth; the limits of our bodies are the same as the limits of our world. If we put toxics into the air and water we do the same to our bodies. If we care for our bodies and steward what we have, we support our health and happiness. If we care for the earth, the animals, and each other, our world flourishes with all the good gifts of the Creator. If we do neither, we can hide from ourselves. We can believe the spin of those who want us to consume our lives away; but the earth and our bodies will not lie. We face catastrophe.

So I can go on overindulging and live a painful, foreshortened, medically-invaded and diminished life span (not to put too fine a point on it!). Or I can make the hard choices right now to give up some comfortable indulgences (fat and alcohol) but feel much, much better. If I feel my feelings and grieve my losses, the actual joy of making the changes and identifying my true needs comes flooding in to me. And lo, I actually feel better. The farmer's market calls me and I will indulge in the fabulous fresh fruits and vegetables of the season; this illness is a gift in disguise for me in many ways.

I can't help but think the same applies to our cultural life. Does driving everywhere and buying junk really make us happy? Somehow my own psyche isn't comfortable when I know others are truly suffering from preventable causes, like desertification and systemic poverty. Would not our whole society feel more peace and joy if we truly support the common good? "Me first, at your expense" is not a Christian social teaching I learned, and it feels rotten to boot.

So there it is. I committed to eating a healthy, local, sustainable diet for 3 months and the hand of God reaches down and impels me to do it for the rest of my life. May our leaders commit to sustainable energy and food policies as well as equity for the poor, to be shown by Grace of God that honoring the true needs of our world is the healthier, more joyful way indeed.

Degradation and Forgiveness

By: Mikaila Gawryn
Earth Ministry Intern


If the contrast between silent, lush, mountain forest and dehydrated orange mine tailings wasn’t enough to startle me the white stone cross with mining steaks driven into its extremities surely was. I stood gazing at it, quietly humbled. I had wandered, on a whim, into the graveyard of the Holden Mine, which from 1937 to 1957 produced what is valued at over $500 million in copper, gold, zinc and silver.















As I walked the trail up to the tailings with MaryFrances Lignana, one of our Earth Ministry board members, I realized that I have had the privilege of growing up without seeing the environmental scars of industrial production. I use the word privilege intentionally because only a privileged few see the shiny new “products” created from mines like this one. I have not seen the consequences of a lifestyle dependant on industrial scale use of the environment. I definitely haven’t had to breath, drink or eat the consequences as many in our world do every day. Maybe going to the tailings that afternoon was partially due to my desire to see the harsher side of this industrial lifestyle.

What I found most astonishing was the close proximity of splendor and disfigurement. As we followed a creek up the mountainside, it turned from gurgling clear to chalky white, until the tanned rocks were covered by milky sediment that appeared indifferent to the flowing water. Tracing the creek up to its source led us to a rusty “Danger! Do Not Enter!” sign, and a stagnant pool of water emerging from the opening of the mine shaft. Yet, the fresh green trees and undergrowth extended uninterrupted framing the wide wooden beam entrance. The sounds of forest life could be heard through the thick hot silence of the open tailing plane. Rusting equipment seemed to blend into the dusty rock of the tailings, only yards away from creeping vines and leaves full from a wet spring. It was as if a deep wound had been gashed into the living flesh of the mountainside. The splendor of God’s creation was disfigured here.

















I can’t deny the benefits that industrial “resource” use has brought. Yet the damage done by such use is plain to see. It is these dichotomous situations in life that should lead me to prayer. All too often though, prayer is not where I go. Instead I thought to myself: How can we work against environmental degradation when destruction of the natural world is so systematically part of our society? How could I change these things? Any of these things?

In this mindset it is no surprise that I found the image of the cross startling. The white stones had been clearly visible from the entrance to mine the shaft, though I had to walk a few hundred feet to see the mining steaks driven into the ground. I had to walk closer to read the word underneath it: “forgiven”.

It was a good reminder of where my mind should have been. I shouldn’t have been thinking of what I could do, because when it comes down to it I am only human, and only one. The cross at the mine tailings reminded me of my tendency to despair in the face of degradation. Thankfully, I realized that I can do nothing on my own. We can do nothing on our own. As we live as witnesses to both the splendor and disfigurement of creation let us look to God for guidance and courage and let us lean upon the power of God for forgiveness.

Until my next post,

Mikaila


Sources
http://www.chelanvalley.com/mine_closing.htm

Holden, Home!

After a beautiful week at Holden Village, the staff of Earth Ministry is home.

Sixty-five members, friends, board members and staff of Earth Ministry came together last week for a wilderness retreat. This was officially the second retreat Earth Ministry has held at Holden Village and by far the largest. People came from as far away as Maryland and Wisconsin and they were as warm and friendly as our friends here in Washington.

The staff led five teaching sessions: Toxics and Environmental Health, Greening Congregations, Movement Prayer, Advocacy for all Creation, and a By the Waters Worship Service. Two of Earth Ministry's board members, Brian Naasz and Kevin O'Brien, led a series on the Ethics of Energy. In addition to the sessions provided by Earth Ministry staff and board, teaching staff from around the world were at Holden that week and provided incredible teaching that filled the heart, mind, and soul.

Recordings of all the teaching sessions should be available on Holden's website sometime in August. We hope you will check out Earth Ministry's offerings and we highly recommend the Bible study provided by Allen Storey (a methodist minister from South Africa) - he will blow you away!

In addition to a great time of learning, the staff enjoyed getting to know new members and friends as well as reuniting with old friends while hiking, eating, resting, making music, travelling, and playing. Holden is a unique intentional community and the mix of work and play makes for a dynamic time together. Thanks to all who made the long trek to Holden; you enriched our lives and our work.

You may be wondering, "will there be another retreat"? We have not committed to that yet, but we are seriously thinking about it. Stay tuned... In the meantime, you can enjoy the forthcoming blogs from the Earth Ministry staff as they personally reflect on their time at Holden.

Buy a Bus Pass

by Eric Pfaff

I have a short blog entry for you today, with the message: Buy a bus pass.



Of course, it is easy to say you will ride the bus. I have been telling others to do it for years now. But even with gas prices at easily over $4/gallon, I still found myself filling up my car's gas tank. Then, through Earth Ministry, I received my very first bus pass.

It's a lot easier on the mental pocketbook to swipe a card than shell out $1.25 in cash, and if you have already purchased a bus pass (especially the 1-month to 3-month long passes) then the less you use your pass, the more you overpaid for something (and the more you use your pass, the cheaper it gets per ride!).

Go here: http://buypass.metrokc.gov/

The more you ride, too, I have discovered, the easier it gets to navigate the bus system--imagine that! So don't let that scare you off. I know I have probably pointed to it before, but Trip Planner (link below) can tell you how to get anywhere by bus using the time you want to leave, or the time you want to arrive to your destination.

http://tripplanner.metrokc.gov/cgi-bin/itin_page.pl?resptype=U

Alright, this post ended up being longer than expected. Maybe it's because my co-workers are off gallivanting in the woods of Holden Village and I am holding down the fort here, with only the blog readers to keep me company. . . or maybe not.

Bye-bye, Bananas!

By Jessie Dye

The Cavendish banana is on the road to extinction, both world-wide and certainly in my home for the next three months. Before we review this prospect, let us first consider the fact that someone named a banana Cavendish.

Cavendish sounds too upper-class for this humble subsistence fruit of the world. It's the African equivalent of the potato of my Irish ancestors, a healthy sustainable food for the poorest people of many lands. My image of an upper-crust Cavendish banana appears as a fruit on only the best tables and would be consumed by such aristocracy as the founder of the Golden Retriever blood line, Sir Dudley Marjorybanks, Earl of Tweedymouth. Regardless of the ridiculous name, this type of banana is not local to North America, is fraught with environmental problems, and is facing extermination by blight similar to the potatoes of my above-references ancestors. Because it is the staple food of much of East Africa, this potential banana apocalypse may create a famine ten times the size of the one that famously eradicated half the population of Ireland in the 1800's.

As it turns out, 100 billion Cavendish bananas are eaten world-wide; our local Washington state apple is less popular by half. The ubiquitous golden fingered fruit, however, is no longer welcome in my home because we are only eating food produced within three hundred miles for the next three months.How can we complain? Rainier cherries are in the markets now, and there is no more glorious tree fruit. The strawberries are late this year, and more delicious than I can ever remember. The earliest apricots peeked out at Wallingford farmer's market last Wednesday and Asian pears, blueberries, raspberries, and our tiny local kiwis have yet to show their sweet faces. We have the best fruit in the world in our own back yard, Sir Cavendish bedamned!

And then there are the apples: sweet, tart, red, yellow, golden and green. All within hiking distance from my home town, coming to fruition during the crisp autumn season. The local foods challenge becomes difficult when the Rainiers and Bings have been plucked for the year and the last pears have fallen. But apples last all winter and give away their goodness throughout the darkest most miserable months. My family can afford eat avocados andCavendish bananas and asparagus from Peru when the winter rains come, but I don't want to anymore. The limits of the land and the season are becoming my personal limits. I don't want to pay Chiquita or Dole (or worse, Exxon and Mobil) when I can support Wenatchee famers and keep my foodprint small. By eating local apples, I don't contribute to poison in the bodies of the workers of Honduras who pick bananas with a pesticide lode toxic to them and to the volcanic soil of Central America. Not only that, but I know the farmer who raises the apples; my food dollar pays for his kid to go to WSU and study agriculture to strengthen the farms to produce the apples that grow so well here in Ecotopia.

When winter comes it won't kill my family to go without the Cavendish. It might kill the families of our brothers and sisters in East Africa. Genetic diversity is one antidote to the Cavendish crisis and our local farmers produce that 24/7. Buy Washington apples not long-haul bananas; it matters.

Holden, Ho!

By LeeAnne Beres

It’s the day before Independence Day, and all of us here at Team Earth Ministry are scurrying around, organizing ourselves for next week’s retreat at Holden Village. We’ll be leading a week-long creation-care gathering for 65 Earth Ministry members and friends, high in the mountains overlooking Lake Chelan in central Washington.

I have a confession to make. I’ve never been to Holden Village before.

In the faith community, that’s tantamount to saying you’ve never seen the Pacific Ocean. Run as a Lutheran ministry open to all, Holden Village has a mythical status – it’s an intentional community, a place of solitude, an outpost in the wilderness (literally and metaphorically), a learning center, a font for renewal, and much more.

Ask any Lutheran in the Northwest about Holden Village, and they’ll get a faraway look in their eyes and start talking about it like it’s the Promised Land. Daily Bible studies and Vespers worship services. Ice cream socials. Five class options a day taught by leading theologians, scientists, authors, activists, and artists. Hikes with stunning views of the lake. Arts, crafts, and music. Children’s programs for all ages. Great food.

And more than anything else, community. Holden Village is all about community – building it, nurturing it, and sharing it. It’s what I’m most looking forward to next week. I’ll be surrounded by an amazing group of Earth Ministry folks and a have chance to get to know each of them more personally. I’ll find out what calls them to care for God’s great gift of creation. I’ll hear about their families, their jobs, their hopes, their dreams, and their challenges.

Best of all, each of the 65 participants in this retreat will hear each other’s stories. We’ll work, learn, laugh and play together. We’ll form friendships and share ideas.

We’ll all come as individuals, but leave as a community strengthened by our common bond of Holden Village. A Promised Land indeed.

Three Months, 300 Miles Starts Today

By: Mikaila, Earth Ministry Intern

“Unseasonably anxious”, I noted to myself, “I am unseasonably anxious today, but why?” As a recent graduate summer is not predictably a time of high stress. Yet today marks the beginning of a very big project for us here at Earth Ministry. As Jessie Dye announced a few weeks back we are holding our very own Three Months, 300 Miles food challenge starting….today!!

If you’re like Jessie you’ve probably taken a food challenge of this sort. Thus today’s task may seem like the natural next step. But, as you already know, this challenge makes me…well anxious.

I have appreciated the fruit of regional food systems over the last few years, but never taken on a pantry makeover. Thankfully, I realized that many of you may be in the same position! With Regional Food Challenge Veteran Jessie Dye speaking for the more experienced participants I am ready to take my place as…

The Rookie

So here I am, prepared to talk about all of the obstacles and challenges of eating within 300 miles for three months for the first time.

I'd like to share some guidelines that I’ve set for myself:

- Start off slow: I will be working up to a full regional diet throughout the 3 months period which means I am not going to panic about that dusty can of condensed coconut milk in the back of my cupboard.

- Live the challenge with grace: I hope to see this as an opportunity to become more connected to regional food systems, and not a time to berate myself for the ways I “mess up”.

- Prepare for time, ahead of time: I anticipate the biggest challenge for me will be adjusting my expectation of how long it takes to go shopping. I will need to find local farmers markets and travel there for the first time as well as peruse for local products in stores. At first this will take more time, but I want to remember that it is an investment and will only get easier!

- Be available to YOU: Not sure where to start looking for regional cheese? Check out Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, located in Pike Place Market. Tell us about those difficult-to-find products and other obstacles and we’ll try to help you out!

As we enter July 1st and our first day of the Three Months, 300 Miles food challenge I am assigning myself some homework (forgive me…I seem to miss school already!) Feel free to take it on too, perhaps as a first step!

1) Find a farmers market near me with the 2008 Puget Sound Fresh Farm Guide.

2) Visit Sustainable Ballard’s website and see what great regional products they’ve already found.

3) Buy three regional products and share them with you!

Unseasonably anxious no more, I look forward to sharing this challenge with all of you!

Signing off until my next post,

The Rookie
Mikaila Gawryn
Earth Ministry Intern