Contents:

inspiration

earthcare news
Sustainability At Home: EarthCare's Annual Fall Retreat (Sat. - Nov. 6. 2004 / 9:30am-2pm)

calendar

creation care

At Home 
Starting a recycling program in your home

At Church 
Starting a recycling program in your church

In Our Community and World 
Congratulations, Lee University-winner of the "Environmental Public Service Award"!

For Kids 
Celebrate November 15, America Recycles Day

book review
Caring for Creation: An Ecumenical Approach to the Environmental Crisis, by Max Oelschlaeger

"Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, Let the mountains sing together for joy." (Psalm 98:7-8, NIV)

EarthCare News

Sustainability At Home
EarthCare's Annual Fall Retreat (Sat. - Nov. 6 / 9:30am-2pm)

You are cordially invited to attend EarthCare's 8th annual Creation Care Retreat. The fall retreat provides an opportunity for Christians to fellowship together while learning more about Biblical creation care. This year's theme will be "Sustainability At Home." During the retreat, Dr. Olin Ivey will provide an introduction and theological reflections, and retreat participants will be invited to share their experiences.

Date/Time:
Saturday, November 6, 2004 / 9:30am-2pm

Location:
Pot Point House (TN River Gorge Field Station) at the Tennessee River Gorge Trust, Tennessee. Directions: http://www.trgt.org/potdir.htm (Please note: Sue & Ed's Grocery is now called "The Little Store.")

Speaker: 
Our speaker for this year's retreat is Dr. Olin Ivey.  Dr. Ivey is a
retired Methodist pastor and has been active in Christian environmental
circles for many years. He recently organized Threshold - a state
conference on sustainability.

Discussion Topics: 
Retreat participants will be invited to share from their own experiences, if they would like. The discussion will include: sustainable steps that individuals or families have taken in their own homes, ideas for incorporating sustainability into holiday celebrations, and books or articles that have been helpful for developing more sustainable ways of living.

Music:
The EarthCare Band will be leading us in a time of musical worship.

Lunch:
Lunch will be provided. Those who have signed up to provide food will be making an effort to observe principles of sustainability in the selection and preparation of their menu contributions. During the retreat, they will also have the opportunity to talk about sustainable aspects of the dish that they have prepared.

Dress: Casual

Cost: Free, reservations required - due to limited space

Reservations or more information:
Jerry Faulkner (423) 697-2560 or John Rossing at

Retreat Invitation Flyer:
For a flyer to distribute to your organization, please click here (.pdf Acrobat Reader format).

5 back to top

Calendar

Oct 24   Sun
"This is My Father's World" Worship Service
Sunday, October 24, 10:45am
Location: Fellowship Hall, Brainerd United Methodist, 4315 Brainerd Rd, Chattanooga
Focus: Wonders of God's creation / Slide presentation by Deb Hebert (photographer and writer whose articles and photos have appeared in such periodicals as Tennessee Conservationist)
Reflections: The Rev. Dennie Humphreys, Senior Pastor
Music: The Brainerd Pickers
Refreshments
More information: (423) 698-6951

Nov 6   Sat
"SUSTAINABILITY AT HOME": EARTHCARE'S ANNUAL FALL RETREAT
Saturday, November 6, 2004 / 9:30am-2pm
Pot Point House at the Tennessee River Gorge Trust, TN
Directions: http://www.trgt.org/potdir.htm
Reservations and More information: See article above.

Nov 5-6   Fri-Sat
National Catholic Rural Life Conference - "The Entrepreneurial Spirit"
St. Louis, Missouri
Information: http://www.ncrlc.com/NCRLC-Annual-Meeting.html

Nov 9 - Tues
EarthCare Monthly Planning Meeting
2nd Tuesday of each month. 6:30pm.
Chattanooga State (follow the signs or contact us for info.)
Information: Jerry Faulkner  

Nov 13 - Sat  / rain date: Nov 20 - Sat
EarthCare Adopt-A-Highway Cleanup
9am.  Meet at Central High School.
Contact: Patrick Spiesser to sign up to assist with cleanup (423) 855-7488

Nov 13 - Sat
Chattanooga, Tn. Household Hazardous Waste Collection
2nd Saturday of each month. 8am-noon.
Household Hazardous Waste Facility, 3925 North Hawthorne St.
Information: (423) 698-9531 http://www.chattanooga.gov/pubworks/citywide/sanitation/household.htm

Nov 13 - Sat

Holiday Breads Workshop
Saturday, November 13, 10am - noon
Crabtree Farms. 1000 E. 30th St., Chattanooga

John Sweet, founder of Niedlov's Bread, will demonstrate ingredient selection, preparation, and baking process for hand-crafted, artisan breads, perfect for a fall table delight.

Cost/Registration: $20 per person. Call 423/493-9155 x10, or email.
Complete workshop schedule: www.crabtreefarms.org

Nov 15 - Mon
AMERICA RECYCLES DAY
For information on recycling, to renew your pledge to recycle, and to register for this year's grand price, a Ford Escape Hybrid SUV, go to: http://americarecyclesday.org.

Nov 20 - Sat
Dalton, Ga. Household Hazardous Waste Collection
3rd Saturday of each month. 7am-2pm.
Household Hazardous Waste Facility, Old Dixie Landfill
Information: http://landfill.citydalton.net/hhw.html

Feb 18-20, 2005   Fri-Sun
Southeast Student Renewable Energy Conference
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
The three-day conference will include skills-building workshops, panels, speakers, and discussion regarding the possibilities of a clean energy future for Southeast college campuses.
Information: Contact Nick Algee at (865) 637-6055 ext 22 or nick@cleanenergy.org

5 back to top

Creation Care

"Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long." (Psalm 25:4-5, NIV)

At Home

Starting a Recycling Program in Your Home

Have you considered recycling, but thought that it might be too complicated or time-consuming? Following are some tips to help you set up a program that will be easy for you and your family to follow.

1. Consider what you would like to recycle.
General: Newspaper, mixed paper, plastic containers.  Kitchen: plastic bags, plastic containers, paper bags, aluminum cans, steel cans, plastic containers.  Office: mixed paper, printer cartridges. Auto: oil.

2. Plan your indoor collection containers.
>  Select collection containers that look different than your regular trash cans.
>  Place collection containers where they will be needed the most. Some people like to place their recycle containers beside their regular trash cans. Following are some common locations: kitchen, bathrooms, and home office. If the home is a 2-story house, it is helpful to have at least one container on each level.

3. Think of where and how often you will drop off your recyclables.
>  Do you have curbside pick up service?  (or) 
>  Will you take most of your recyclables to a single drop-off location? Will you be able to incorporate recycle drop-offs into your normal routine?

4. Plan how and when you will collect your recyclables from your indoor containers and drop them off.

Here are some possible options:

>  Curbside Pick-Up 
Collect recyclables when you collect trash, and package them according to your service's instructions.

>  Weekly Drop-Off
-  Sort recyclables into bags or small containers once a week and drop off all recyclables at your recycling center. (or)
-  Sort recyclables into into large recycle containers, and drop off one category of recyclables each week.

>  Once-A-Month Drop-Off
Sort recyclables into into large recycle containers, and once a month load all the containers into your empty car, van, or truck and haul them to the recycle center.

5. To identify places and services in your community that recycle particular items , see the "Earth 911" website www.earth911.org.

5 back to top

At Church

Starting a Recycling Program in Your Church

Following are a few items churches may easily collect and recycle:
>  Church bulletins

>  Aluminum drink cans and steel food cans

>  Educational literature (consider sending to missionaries)

5 back to top

In Our Community and World

Congratulations, Lee University -
Winner of the "Environmental Public Service Award"!

On September 24, 2004, Lee University received the 2003-2004 Cleveland/Bradley Keep America Beautiful "Environmental Public Service Award." Through this award, Keep America Beautiful recognized the University for their commitment to a cleaner environment. This year hundreds of Lee students volunteered their time to help clean up the Cleveland, TN area. Projects included ongoing regular cleanup of 8^th and 15^th Streets and other cleanup projects at Ocoee Regional Nature Center, many public and private schools, elderly housing communities, and other community organizations.

These student projects were coordinated by The Leonard Center, a Lee University service-learning center that is funded by a grant from the Lazarus Foundation. The Leonard Center seeks to facilitate students' education and development in the following areas: (1) Understand the Biblical mandate for service, (2) Recognize that service to others is part of God's purpose for us, (3) Have insight into appropriate service and its impact, and (4) Understand how vocation can be used in service to God and others.

5 back to top

For Kids

Celebrate November 15, America Recycles Day

Learn more about recycling and waste reduction. The EPA's Student Center Waste & Recycling Page offers educational information and activities for children and youth of all ages. Students, parents, and educators may follow the site's links to locate information on waste reduction, recycling ideas, and community service. The site also provides links to educational games and stories, as well as databases for finding out about waste in your community.

5 back to top

Book Review

Oelschlaeger, Max. Caring for Creation: An Ecumenical Approach to the Environmental Crisis. New Haven: Yale University, 1994. 285 p.

     The early to mid-1990's witnessed the publication of a number of carefully thought-out and well-documented books linking ecology, theology, and religion. A number of these books continue to offer a  foundation of substance, especially for those who approach these issues from a Western Christian tradition. Caring for Creation: An Ecumenical Approach to the Environmental Crisis by Max Oelschlaeger, is one of these books. Oelschlaeger spends considerable space and effort investigating and revealing the role Christian religion and  theology played in contributing to ecocrisis and then reviews efforts  to the mid-1990's to reintegrate religion and theology into the  problem-solving aspects of ecocrisis. The author also explores the  role religion has played in the major political crisis facing the  Republic, including those issues focusing on the environment. Oelschlager suggests that Caring for Creation can serve as a powerful metaphor for developing solidarity among the Christian religious traditions in responding to the challenges the world faces in the current environmental crisis. The author spends some time analyzing and contrasting the views of a number of religions or orientations including Christianity (Catholic and Protestant), Judaism, deep ecology, radical feminist ecotheologies, and Native American beliefs.

     Caring for Creation is a good book for the serious student of ecological theology and a good start for those who would like to see where religion and theology have been on environmental and ecological issues and where the author saw them going in 1994. In fact, in looking over the past seven years it appears that most of the major religious sects and denominations gathered under the big Christian tent have developed some response to ecocrisis. The fact that this book, perhaps considered esoteric just seven years ago, is still available says much for the substance and veracity of the thoughts rendered by the author in the text.

       -reviewed by Tom Baugh
White Oak Cottage
 

The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26, NKJV)

About EarthCare Online Update

EarthCare Online Update is a free email newsletter published by EarthCare, Inc. Published approximately monthly, the newsletter focuses on Christians' call to care for the earth, news of EarthCare activities, and resources to assist with daily aspects of creation care.

Please note that the views expressed in resources listed in the Update are not necessarily those of EarthCare. In the Update we attempt to include a variety of books, websites, etc. in order to facilitate readers' education and exploration of ideas regarding the care of God's creation. It is our hope and prayer that before embracing new beliefs or practices, readers will examine them in context of the teachings of the Bible and God's personal call in their lives.

Subscribe/Unsubscribe
To subscribe or unsubscribe to EarthCare Online Update, or change your email address, please email us at . The Update is sent only to those who have registered for our email list. We do not rent, loan, or sell our list to anyone. Current and back issues of the Update are available on EarthCare's website www.earthcareonline.org.