Christians and the poor

Jim Evans has challenging observations. I can identify with the push-back that he has gotten from "good Christians" on his perspective on Jesus, the poor and us Christians.
Check out his column at http://ethicsdaily.com/article_detail.cfm?AID=11417. Would appreciate seeing your response, in this blog site or directly.
(Note that one can easily find his earlier posts at ethicsdaily.com.)

Paul Newman's Lesser Known Legacy

Check out http://www.sojo.net/blog/godspolitics/?p=2574. I continue to be quite impressed with this man, his career and his commitments.

Creation Care Magazine

Check out The Evangelical Environmental Network. They have a great magazine called "Creation Care." I've received 2 or 3 of these and they're very good. This latest edition, which I got today is quite good too.

I'm posting a couple shots of an article from it for you to get a flavor...and to hear from local Christian Ethicist from McAfee, David Gushee...Let me know if you have trouble viewing the full picture.

Sustainability Prayer

See the Sustainability Prayer below (that's my name for it)....


Lord, I already know the best way to alter my life-style to the best advantage for all--live like Jesus. The Christian existence ideally is to imitate what you do. You send the sun and rain on everyone, you want me to get back to the basic facts of life, to love without reservation, to distinguish between life's needs and life itself, and seek first your kingdom knowing you will meet all my other needs.

Still it is easy to trust in the "things" of today and feel like it is up to me to see that humanity survives. Keep me from undue worry and pride. Remind me that life is a gift--not a right, and that my attitude toward the ultimate resources and values in life will determine how the earth's resources will be handled and provided for those who need them. I have already formed many habits of consuming and acting. Guide me in aligning my personal priorities to conform to my awareness of a world hungry. May my life-style become more compatible with our biosphere and supportive of peoples around the world.

Lord, help me choose a simpler life-style that promotes solidarity with the world's poor, helps me appreciate nature more, affords greater opportunity to work together with my neighbors, reduces my use of limited resources, creates greater inner harmony, saves money, allows time for meditation and prayer, incites me to take political and social action.

May all my decisions about my style of life celebrate the joy of life that comes from loving you. Amen.

From Visions of a World Hungry by Thomas G. Pettepiece




It reminds us that our attitude and view of God shapes the way that we anticipate and influence the distribution of resources, not to mention that if life is a gift then we are not only offending the individual when taking it away, we are offending God. It also reminds us that through dependency on God we can learn humility that will shape our ethic toward one another. It also holds in tension our significance along with our insignificance. I found this in "A Guide to Prayer" daily devotional published by Upper Room.

Matt

Sermon from Rick and Ellen Burnette Online

Just wanted to let you all know, plus evoke some discussion, on Rick & Ellen's sermon from Sunday. You'll find the sermon online at Wieuca's website as well as on this blog.

Many thanks to them for their courage, thoughtfulness, and prophetic witness!

Matt

Two hilarious but sad things from the FRC

Article on the FRC trying to get pastors to do "civil disobedience" and tell them not to vote for Democrats.

And....if you're not crying or laughing enough....

Here's an article from them saying "Down to Earth Day." Because any action to protect the environment is "environmental extremism." My favorite quote though is, "The crisis du jour is global warming, but even that is just another excuse to fund "Planet" Parenthood and similar groups. Stewardship of God's creation is the responsibility of every Christian. But we must realize that there's a greater threat to the environment than climate change or scarce resources--and that's the threat of environmental extremism that elevates the planet above people."

Since when do we not LIVE on the planet????

PeaceActs Forum

FYI...Deedra passed this along to me. I have greater investment in this given that Dr. Durley was on my Turkey pilgrimage a couple weeks ago. Anybody going already or want to go? I'm interested but it's a little pricey.

--Matt

The PeaceActs Forum will welcome our board co-president Dr. Gerald L. Durley and a Muslim fellow world pilgrim traveler, journalist Andjela Kessler author of "The International Friendship Book,” Wendy Green of the Peace Alliance, and Congressman John Lewis. The early afternoon session with a panel of artists will focus on art as a pathway to peace. This amazing all-day event at the Carter Center on May 3 will conclude with discussion groups on human rights, the global needs of children and families, and other issues relevant to the practice of peace. Visit the website of Peace Acts — a nonpartisan citizen action organization dedicated to the promotion of peace. Find out about registration, reduced fees, and you might even consider sponsoring a scholarship for someone.


http://www.peaceacts.org/forum.php

We Can Solve It

We Can Solve It

Amazing if you haven't seen these ads with Pelosi & Gingrich, and Sharpton and Roberts.

See the other resources on the page too.

Happy Earth Day!

Matt

we're kinda famous....

Hey JEPR folks...

Thanks to Ethics Daily we're famous.
See the article.

Though there's one little detail reversed and my lack of decent grammar is apparent, it's a really good article. :)

Matt

JEPR Viewing?

Hey folks, do any of you want to watch The Great Warming as a preview to the "official" showing that we may do later? Any available tomorrow (4-22) at any time? I have an evening meeting but I think I could work it in before the meeting (7pm I think). Or some other time this week?

Matt

Cool People Care

Check out this website, Cool People Care. It's based out of Nashville. They send out great tips every day for doing small things to help better the world around you. Everything from making it easier to recycle, to encouraging those around you, to living more simply.

You can subscribe for free to either their RSS feed or get a daily email. They call it, "5 minutes of caring."

Enjoy!
Matt

The Great Warming

I have ordered a copy of the "faith edition" of the movie, The Great Warming. Earth Day is April 22nd. I've talked with a couple of you about showing the movie on that day (it's a Tuesday--but we could do Sunday instead of or in addition to).

The Great Warming

Thoughts? Anyone want to help brainstorm the context for showing the film?

Helping Wieuca's congregation become "more sustainable"

This note was sent by GIPL and forwarded to me, with pressure, by Matt. Acknowledging the long unmet need for our group, I will go to the training this Sunday afternoon.

Can anyone else attend so that we can take in both tracks? Otherwise I am not sure which one would be best for me to catch.

Scott

Join us for our spring Congregational Representative Training on Sunday, March
16 at Epiphany Episcopal Church (2089 Ponce De Leon Ave NE Atlanta, GA 30307)
from 2 pm to 5 pm. We will have two tracks – one for congregations just
starting out and one for going beyond first steps. Feel free to bring
multiple representatives from your congregations and go to both tracks!
Topics covered will include: Starting a Green Team in your congregation, Ideas
for Education, Light Bulb Sales and Swaps, Green Worship, Energy Audits, and
more. We will also have an introduction to our new, improved Power Lite
program and to Cool Congregations – a program for engaging congregational
members in taking measurable carbon-reduction steps at home.

Methodist Buy Less Credit Card for Lent

Click here to learn more



In a move that is designed as a challenge to "consumerism as usual" and a reminder of the dominance of money in our lives, the Methodist Church in Britain has launched an alternative Credit Card containing a "buy less" message.

The new Methodist campaign is encouraging people to consume less and live more this Lent, the traditional time of Christian reflection and life review, which remembers the Gospel story of Jesus' sojourn in the desert - when he was tempted, and rejected, various offers of wealth and power.

The alternative Buy Less: Live More credit card cannot be used to make purchases. Rather, it is designed to be placed in a wallet in front of other credit and debit cards to remind people to think twice before they spend.

Buy Less: Live More aims to challenge people to curb their spending and shrink their carbon footprint.

It will also be seen as relevant to current concerns about the consumer credit boom, which has been leaving an increasing number of people in debt.

The Revd Michaela Youngson, Methodist Secretary for Pastoral Care and Spirituality, says: "When we take time to think about the things we buy and why we buy them, it can help us to reconsider our priorities. I may well want to buy something, but does that mean that I need it?"

She continues: "However, Buy Less: Live More isn’t about depriving yourself of those things you want; it’s about looking at life in a new way, trying different things and taking a few risks. So as well as reducing your carbon footprint by getting off the consumer treadmill, you can live life in all its fullness."

The initiative is supported by a website (www.buylesslivemore.org.uk) and a dedicated group on the popular networking site Facebook.

During Lent, in February, people who sign up will receive a daily email with 2 challenges or ideas for buying less and living more. These updates will also be available on the website and Facebook group.

Participants will also be able to share their experiences online, swapping stories, questions and advice.

Buy less: Live More credit cards can be ordered in packs of 10 from mph (www.mph.org.uk , 01733 325002) for free, with a small charge for postage. Product Code: PA 512.

The Methodist Church is one of the largest Christian churches in Britain, with nearly 300,000 members and regular contact with over 800,000 people. It has about 5,800 churches and maintains links with other Methodist churches totalling a worldwide membership of 70 million.

Screening info for Golden Rule Politics

David Key is director for the Baptist Studies program at Candler.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: David Key
Date: Jan 13, 2008 7:30 PM
Subject: Screening info for Golden Rule Politics
To: baptist@emory.edu



Dear Friend,

I want to invite you to a screening in Atlanta of our new DVD "Golden Rule Politics" on Tuesday evening, January 29. Panelists include: Cynthia Tucker, Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist and winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary; and Jason Carter, Atlanta attorney, co-founder of Democrats Work, and grandson of former president Jimmy Carter.

I also need your help. Will you forward this e-mail to your Atlanta-area friends, encouraging them to attend this screening?

Sponsored by the Baptist Studies Program at Candler School of Theology and the Baptist Center for Ethics, the screening will be in Room 311 in Bishops Hall at Emory University's Candler school of Theology, beginning at 7:00 p.m. Seating is limited.

"Golden Rule Politics: Reclaiming the Rightful Role of Faith in Politics" is a 36-minute documentary-style DVD, produced by the Baptist Center for Ethics, that challenges the Christian Right's political myth constructed over 25 years that GOP stands for God's Only Party. The DVD is rooted in the theological conviction that God is neither a Republican nor a Democrat, that neither party is thoroughly moral, nor completely immoral. The DVD explores the rightful role of faith in politics through interviews with clergy and politicians in Alabama, Missouri and Tennessee. It expands the moral agenda from the narrow list of issues prioritized by the Christian Right to the fuller expression of issues found in the Christian tradition, beginning with the biblical priority of doing justice.

In addition to Tucker and Carter, other panelists include: John Peterson, Canon for Global Justice and Reconciliation at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.; and Kasim Reed, Georgia State Senator, who belongs to the Cascade United Methodist Church.

For local details, contact David Key, director of the Baptist Studies Program (404-727-6350 or dkey@learnlink.emory.edu). For a campus map, go to:

http://map.emory.edu/

I hope you will place this date on your calendar and encourage your friends to attend.

Robert Parham

P.S. To learn more the "Golden Rule Politics" DVD, go to:

http://www.ethicsdaily.com/static.cfm?mode=goldenrulepolitics