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Services bring comfort to Texas coast - Hurricane Ike- msnbc.com
Church services provide more than a respite from Hurricane Ike cleanup
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For Iraqis, Swedish life is so different - World Blog - msnbc.com
"Life is so different here than in Baghdad," Duraid Faraj said of his new, unlikely home of Sodertalje, a small Swedish city near Stockholm.
In a country known for its dark winters, and its seafaring and seafood-loving people, Middle Easterners can feel like fish out of water.
In the center of town, Swedes and Iraqis walk along the lakeside waterfront and watch their children play on jungle gyms, but they never appear to mix or talk with each other.
With around 6,000 Iraqis living in this city, refugees arriving here are welcomed by friends, relatives, and neighbors from back home and can easily get by only speaking Arabic. Although many Iraqis in Sweden are Muslim – especially around the southern city of Malmo – the vast majority in Sodertalje are Christian. Iraqi churches here serve as both places of worship and as informal community centers, offering refugees a sense of belonging. "Life is so different here than in Baghdad," Duraid Faraj said of his new, unlikely home of Sodertalje, a small Swedish city... more -
Light's Out for England's Churches?
I'd like to bring up a challenging topic for discussion with you all. What responsibility do churches have to encourage their parishioners to be responsible stewards of the Earth? If all animals and ecosystems are part of God’s magnificent creation, isn’t it imperative that Christians (to name just one faith as the predominant example) step forward to take care of the environment?
The Church of England is setting forth some ecologically-sound guidelines in a newly published book “Don’t Stop at the Lights.” This book proposes that parishioners not only replace their light bulbs, but that churches themselves turn off outdoor floodlights illuminating England’s grand churches in order to cut carbon emissions. The book suggests that parishioners can get together and sponsor illumination for special events.
“Don’t Stop at the Lights” contains other information and resources for environmental stewardship, like setting up swap-shops to avoid throwing away unwanted Christmas decorations, and using Lent as a time to go within and consider what more each person can do for the environment.
I admire the effort put forth by the Church of England, but considering that this is the destruction of God’s creation we’re talking about, wouldn't a more spiritually radical stance be more appropriate?
I have to say it...what would Jesus do? I'd like to bring up a challenging topic for discussion with you all. What responsibility do churches have to encourage their par... more -
Menominee Tribal School students speak out about protecting Mother Earth
Menominee Tribal School students in Keshena, Wisconsin are learning valuable lessons about protecting the environment and learning their tribe’s heritage including keeping native language alive.
In April 2008 the tribal school’s 180 students participated in “Clean Up the Rez Day" by picking up garbage around the reservation. The many environment projects at the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin were part of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day challenge. During a drum & feast to honor the students, teacher Beth Waukechon and culture teacher Dana Warrington explained the importance of taking care of Mother Earth. During a field trip to Green Bay's Pamprin Park, students climbing a replica of the Planet Earth were reminded of their reservation clean up. The 234,000-acre reservation has thick forests and 24-miles of the pristine Wolf River. Sturgeons spawned in reservation portions of the river until two dams were built blocking annual migration. Fifth grader La-Rie Corn hopes to form an Earth Club at the tribal school. After whitewashing gang graffiti at a popular skateboard park, students replaced negative symbols with American Indian art. Corn, 11, knows about 500 Menominee words thanks to teachers & elders that care about saving their native tongue. Fourth graders Tahekiah Bourdon, Raven Webster, Shae Perez, Naneque Latender, & Sherlinda Nahwahquaw learned the importance of respecting the Earth and how it fits their heritage.
Teacher Beth Waukechon said students will hopefully continue environment friendly practices as they grow older. MITW Restorative Justice Coordinator Claudette Hewson said the Menominee Teen Court Panel picked up litter & removed graffiti from roads signs in the Middle Village housing area. Tribal school students learned about the sturgeon, a vital part of Menominee heritage. Named the “People of the Wild Rice,” Menominee legend calls the sturgeon “the protector” of the grain that grows in water.
Corn said sturgeon hold a high place in Menominee culture because they're one of three gifts the creator gave to the Menominee people. Language arts instructor Joe Awonohopay said Earth Week 2008 classes were devoted to the sturgeon including the effects of pollution on life cycle, habitat, biology and more.
The College of Menominee Nation Implementing Sustainable Development Class collected electronic waste & pharmaceuticals. Students collected 23 pounds of medicines including 100 bottles of pills. The college students won 50 recycling bins in the Coca-Cola National Recycling Coalition Bin Grant. The class participated in the 10-week Recycle Mania project for the second year in a row. College Prof. Dr.William Van Lopik said the class is “actually doing something." Including curbside collections, Menominee reservation residents recycled over four tons of electronics.
Sponsors: Community Resource Center, Menominee Tribal Police, Tribal Clinic, Maehnowesekiyah Wellness Center, Probation & Parole, Recreation Department, Community Recycling Project; Menominee County Sheriff’s Department, Keshena U.S. Post Office.
The Earth Healing Initiative assisted some challenge organizers with interfaith liaisons & encouraged churches/temples to participate in Earth Day events. Videos on 2008 Challenge projects made possible ban US Environmental Protection Agency grant, EPA Region 5 office in Chicago, EPA Great Lakes National Program Office.
The EHI involves American Indian tribes, churches/synagogues, other faith traditions working to heal, protect and defend the environment.
Websites:
http://www.menominee-nsn.gov
http://mtsbia.edu
http://www.menominee.edu
http://www.earthhealinginitiative.org/keshenahtml
http://www.earthhealinginitiative.org
http://www.menominee-nsn.gov/healthFamily/maehnowesekiy...
http://www.menominee-nsn.gov/healthFamily/youthDevel/yo...
Interfaith graphics by Justice St. Rain/Interfaith Resources/Special Ideas:
http://www.interfaithresources.com Menominee Tribal School students in Keshena, Wisconsin are learning valuable lessons about protecting the environment and learning the... more -
Southern Love for Gelfo
22 churches, and lots of bells & whistles.
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Obama's pastor says criticism is attack on black church
Reverend Jeremiah Wright spoke at the National Press Club and said that the traditions in black churches are "misunderstood" and "invisible" to many Americans.
I'm not sure I know what that means. Maybe that proves his point that they're misunderstood? Or maybe it only made sense if you were there and got to hear everything he said, rather than the short summary from the AP. Thoughts? Reverend Jeremiah Wright spoke at the National Press Club and said that the traditions in black churches are "misunderstood"... more -
Native Americans, Interfaith groups lead by example in EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth ...
(Marquette, Michigan) - The Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge is in its biggest week with help from interfaith groups and American Indians in reaching the goal of one million pounds of electronics and one million pills.
The EPA issued the challenge to Great Lakes basin residents participating in over 100 projects that are collecting pharmaceuticals, electronics and household poisons. The EPA awarded grants to some of the projects.
Interfaith groups are involved in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania. An EPA grant helped start the non-profit Earth Healing Initiative (EHI).
Trust between religions and interfaith environment projects are vital to protect the future of the earth, said a Lutheran bishop, who has participated in numerous Earth Day recycling projects.
"We are in an environmental crisis in many ways," said Lutheran Bishop Thomas A. Skrenes of the Northern Great Lakes Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. "The Great Lakes watershed is really a kind of a mother to all of us here in the upper Midwest."
The EHI involves American Indian tribes and "a coalition and partnership of churches, synagogues and other faith traditions joining together and sharing their projects and resources to heal, protect and defend the environment," said founder Rev. Jon Magnuson of Marquette, Michigan.
The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin (MITW) is holding a curbside pickup of electronics for members during Earth Week, April 21-24. Over 1,000 pounds of electronics have been turned in at the MITW transfer station since April 1. The College of Menominee Nation hosts pharmaceutical/electronics collections on April 22.
On Friday, April 25, students at the tribal K-8 school are picking up litter and cleaning up the a reservation community. Students recently created "Garbage Monsters" out of bottles other items found in their trash, said Diana Wolf, MITW Solid Waste/Recycling Coordinator. Students gave presentations on other uses for the garbage.
"This interfaith earth healing effort is really a great gift that has been given to all of us," Skrenes said. “The church is called to bring people together to be part of the healing."
Examples of established interfaith organizations that are assisting the EHI include the University of Minnesota Lutheran Campus Ministry, the Duluth Arrowhead Interfaith Council, Marquette University Ministry in Milwaukee, several Catholic interfaith groups and the ELCA office of Ecumenical Formation.
The interfaith EHI is one of numerous environment and Native American projects founded by the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute in Marquette, Michigan including the Earth Keepers who removed more than 370 tons of e-waste, pharmaceuticals and household hazardous waste during three Earth Day clean sweeps.
The northern Michigan Earth Keepers belong to ten faith traditions with 150 churches and temples including Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist, Bahá'í, Jewish, Zen Buddhist and the Quakers. The EHI is working with the same faith traditions.
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EPA:
http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/earthday2008
http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/earthday2008/events.html
EPA Press Release:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/dc57b08b5acd42...
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Earth Healing Initiative:
http://www.EarthHealingInitiative.org
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Interfaith graphics by Justice St. Rain (Bah'i Community)
Interfaith Resources - Special Ideas website:
http://www.interfaithresources.com
1-800-326-1197
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Duluth
University of Minnesota LCM:
http://www.d.umn.edu/lcm/index.html
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Arrowhead Interfaith Council:
http://www.arrowheadinterfaith.org/home.html
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Milwaukee
Marquette University LCM:
http://www.mulutherans.com
http://www.marquette.edu/um
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Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin:
http://www.menominee-nsn.gov
College of Menominee Nation
http://www.menominee.edu (Marquette, Michigan) - The Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge is in its biggest week with help from interfaith groups and American ... more -
Thieves Stealing Lead from British Church Roofs
This reminds me of a story last year about meth addicts in California's central valley stripping the copper from farm irrigation systems.
When commodity prices rise so high, you get some weird crime, that's for sure..., This reminds me of a story last year about meth addicts in California's central valley stripping the copper from farm irrigation ... more -
Interfaith Blessing of the Garden: Native Plants are new lawn for 21st Century in ...
During 2008 a solar fountain will flow - and wild flowers will bloom - in a native plants garden that has replaced the lawn at the Lutheran Campus Ministry "Lothlorien" house for students at Northern Michigan University in Marquette.
An interfaith "Blessing of the Garden" ceremony included chanting, incense and other religious traditions from several faith communities.
Earth Keeper Initiative volunteer media advisor Greg Peterson has the story.
The producers thank Lutheran Campus Ministry student leader Sarah Swanson, NMU sophomore from Rapid River, MI for her videography and photography talents that helped make this video possible
(Marquette, Michigan) - In the spring of 2008 a solar fountain will flow and flowers will bloom in a northern Michigan native plants garden nurtured by university students that was blessed by a Buddhist head priest and a Lutheran pastor
A "Blessing of the Garden" ceremony was held in October 2007 at Lothlorien - the Northern Michigan University Lutheran Campus Ministry house near Lake Superior.
A heavy rain poured the entire day almost causing the ceremony to be moved inside, but the sun came out for 20 minutes and the rain resumed just as the blessing and a tour were completed.
Performing the blessing was Rev. Jon Magnuson, director of Lutheran Campus Ministry (LCM) at Northern Michigan University (NMU) in Marquette, MI; and Rev. Tesshin Paul Lehmberg, head priest of Lake Superior Zendo, a Zen Buddhist temple.
The Lothlorien lawn has been turned into a native plants garden that includes rocks from three of the Great Lakes.
The LCM house name, Lothlorien, comes from the Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien.
The garden includes Michigan plants and others from the Boreal border regions of the northern United States including Black Eye Susan, aster, dogbane, bluestem, and Sensitive fern.
Prayers, incense, bells, and chants were part of the ceremony that included a tour of the garden by NMU Student Michael Joko Rotter, a member of Lake Superior Zendo.
"Lothlorien is a magical kingdom part of what Tolkien called Middle-earth - where time passes differently," said Rev. Jon Magnuson, a Lutheran pastor, who founded the NMU EarthKeeper Student Team. Many of the campus ministry students belong to the interfaith NMU EK Student Team.
"Our natural native plants landscaping - our Lothlorien garden - is a sign of a new way of living with the world," Magnuson said. "It honors the indigenous and native plants of our region."
"Lothlorien came into being first as a song," Rev. Magnuson said. "The garden will be a haven for birds and other small creatures."
"The fountain represents the water of Lake Superior and the waters of our baptism," Magnuson said.
The Central Upper Peninsula Chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans donated $1,600.
"Students are involved - and we like to support things that young people are going to be enthusiastically involved in like this native plants garden," said Judy Quirk, president of the Thrivent central U.P. chapter.
A fountain in the garden is going to be converted to solar power in the spring of 2008 and the sun will charge a battery allowing the water to flow in cloudy weather.
"We hope this will inspire people to learn the benefits that native plants have, such as requiring a third less water, and no pesticides or fertilizers," said Rotter.
Rotter said the "garden represents the hope of the future."
Cedar Tree Institute:
http://www.cedartreeinstitute.org
Lake Superior Interfaith Communication Network:
http://www.lakesuperiorinterfaith.com
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans:
http://www.thrivent.com During 2008 a solar fountain will flow - and wild flowers will bloom - in a native plants garden that has replaced the lawn at the Lu... more -
Blasphemous Coca-Cola!!
440 residents of Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod lodged a complaint against Coca-Cola accusing it of blasphemy in its ad. The ads use images of Orthodox churches and crosses, and some crosses "were even put upside down."
Coca-Cola officials say the ads are aimed at promoting Russia's culture.
What do you say? 440 residents of Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod lodged a complaint against Coca-Cola accusing it of blasphemy in its ad. The ads use... more -
Jesus Factory
You drive by them and wonder what they are, and you may even judge what goes on inside. Take a moment to get a look inside of a Mega-Church. You drive by them and wonder what they are, and you may even judge what goes on inside. Take a moment to get a look inside of a Mega-... more
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Update: 4 confirmed dead in Colorado church, mission attacks
Early Sunday, a guman killed two staff members at a missionary training center after he was told that he could not spend the night. Then, 12 hours later 4 people were shot at a busy "megachurch" in Colorado Springs.
The update: A parishioner was shot at the mega church and died, and the security guard fatally shot the gunman. Early Sunday, a guman killed two staff members at a missionary training center after he was told that he could not spend the night. Th... more -
2 dead in Colo. shootings 65 miles apart
Early Sunday, a guman killed two staff members at a missionary training center after he was told that he could not spend the night. Then, 12 hours later 4 people were shot at a busy "megachurch" in Colorado Springs.
It's not known whether the two shooting are related. Early Sunday, a guman killed two staff members at a missionary training center after he was told that he could not spend the night. ... more
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