Enough for Everyone

Lenten Living suggestion #6

Every Member a Minister

During Lent this year, we are focusing on cultivating discipleship through service.  “Every Member a Minister” invites every member of the congregation to commit to a ministry of service outside the walls of our church.  We’re giving lots of suggestions, but also encouraging creativity (members can design a new project, work with others, etc).  The idea is to seek discernment of one’s ministry during Lent through prayer and research.  Representatives from various outside ministries will be present during coffee hours to answer questions and engage members (we also have written summaries of volunteer service needs on our website and posted on a dedicated bulletin board).  

Once a ministry has been chosen, members fill out a commitment card, which will be posted on the bulletin board.  Each Sunday during Lent, we will have a short “ministry dedication” prayer and each member who has declared a ministry will receive a woven bracelet as a reminder of their “yoke of service.”  

One of the ministry options is a “ministry of prayer,” in which members commit to intentional intercessory prayer for all the ministries and ministers.  They will receive regular updates of the ministries so their prayers can be very specific and so that they will feel part of the ministries.  The discernment of ministry will take place in Lent; accomplishment of the ministry can happen during Lent or later in the Spring or Summer.  Beginning in September, we will include a “witness” in every Sunday worship service which features a different ministry and how it has made a difference in the community and to the minister.  Our twin taglines are “Serves ’em right. . . serves us right!”

- Rev. Dr. Louise Westfall, Fairmount Presbyterian Church, Cleveland Heights, OH

Lenten Living suggestion #4

Cultivating Mindfulness

 

"These days, it seems like most people (myself among them) are walking around in a state of semi-wakefulness or even complete 'sleepwalking.'  I myself fail to notice things around me from the smallest (my wife asking me to pick up milk on my way home from work or the drivers around me on the interstate) to the largest (loved ones and others who are in need of my help).

 

I have committed to practice regular mindfulness meditation to sharpen my observation skills and my ability to respond genuinely, coupled with a close study of the Gospels to see what is it that Jesus observes, notices, responds to, gets indignant over, gets emotionally involved in.  What an example!  I could learn who and what is worthy of my attention by watching Christ!"

 

- Jesse in Spring Hill, TN

 

Every Day is Earth Day

Every day we hear of Presbyterian churches and families around the country that are changing their light bulbs, carpooling to church and buying more local foods. These actions all reduce greenhouse gas emissions and leave a smaller footprint on God’s Creation. Each of us has a contribution to make in the effort to mitigate the effects of climate change.  

Consider deepening your involvement and celebrating every day as Earth Day. Check out our

Green Living materials as a place to get started. 

-  Engage with family, friends, your Sunday school class or other small group to share ideas, discuss and pray together.

-  Form a discussion group with interested members of your congregation or community.

-  Learn more. Alternatives for Simple Living provides recommendations for educational materials on simple, joyful and green living.

 

What are your green living practices? 

 

(Ideas provided in the Comments section below will help us expand Green Living for future use.)

Back from General Assembly!

We are just back from the 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in San Jose, CA. There we hosted the Global Marketplace in the exhibit hall, featuring both our long-term partner SERRV/A Greater Gift and 10 other smaller-scale crafts and fair trade groups whose mission is related to the PC(USA) and that of Enough for Everyone.

Beautiful scarves from Mayan Hands on display in the Global Marketplace. Photo by Joseph Williams.

We also hosted a reception for fair trade almond growers from nearby Big Tree Organic Cooperative, whose delicious Organic Tamari-Roasted almonds are available from Equal Exchange and the Presbyterian Coffee Project. 

The Assembly considered a number of overtures and items of business related to Enough for Everyone and lifestyle integrity, including the World Food Crisis, adoption of a denominational Responsible Purchasing policy, the re-creation of the PC(USA) Environmental Justice Office, the Publish What You Pay campaign and more. We will blog about these soon so stay tuned!

Love Your Mother Earth

On May 10, 2008 Church of the New Covenant hosted an event dedicated to green and sustainable living called, "Love Your Mother Earth Day." Suzanne Mikalsen, who helped coordinate the event said, "I joined the team to help spread the eco-word: about water conservation, responsible stewardship, wildlife importance, etc.  The event started as an outreach effort.  I believe we went much farther, sponsoring and lifting up this message for children and adults and sharing Christ in this way with our neighbors."

It is great to see churches putting together events highlighting numerous ways in which local communities may be involved in living green and caring for creation as a witness to God in the world. Included below is the write up of this event as it appeared in the Church of the New Covenant newsletter and a schedule of presenters for the event: 

Love Your Mother Earth

A Green Awareness Event

A Spectacular Success!

Love Your Mother Earth Day-What a terrific day Saturday May 10th was! What a great turnout! Great food, interesting talks, informative displays, activities and demonstrations, and lots of fun!  Most impressive of all, however, were the effort so many people gave to make this event a success and the excitement you generated in doing so.  Curt S. & Suzanne H. are co-chairs of the Witness Committee, which sponsored the day; Curt and Suzanne did lots of the planning and structuring of the event.  Suzanne M. met with tons of local merchants and obtained gift certificates, give-aways and the like – in addition to putting in hours of planning.  Nancy M. obtained and prepared the food.  Ann G. and James J. cooked tirelessly.  Jeff D. did a heroic job of setting up and helping organize the church grounds – and he did some of the cooking, too.  Richard R. helped out with setup.  George T. lined up several presenters.  Milly B. was very active in preparation activities.  Bennie and Lucy, Kaitlyn and Jared J. were involved all day in setup and takedown.  All our youth helped with flyer distribution on May 4, and Jared went out the day before with Suzanne H.  Scott H. obtained canopies from several folks.  Jason C. created the banner for the yard.  Donna A. and Marty R. helped inflate 100 balloons and then greet everyone cheerfully.  Many others gave presentations and demonstrations or led activities for children and adults.

Lots of neighbors from surrounding streets stopped by to enjoy a chicken leg, learn about composting or eco-friendly products, and to get to know some of our members.  Everyone – participants, presenters, visitors – commented on how good it was to have an event like this out on our front lawn. Being visible in this way showed our neighborhood the wonderful spirit that makes Church of the New Covenant who we are: a congregation whose lives are anchored in prayer and praise, who practice God’s love in everything we do.

Many, many thanks to all of you.

--Rick Neale. Pastor

Included below is a list of presenters and events for "Love Your Mother Earth Day." Of special note on that list are the Earth Covenant Ministry (a new ministry of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta), and the Imam and the Columbia Seminary Professor, who participated in an interfaith dialogue on how our religious traditions inform our relationship with Creation.:Download lyme_presenters.doc

I want to extend a special thanks to Pastor Rick Neale and Suzanne Mikalsen for all their efforts in putting this event together. Also thanks to everyone at Church of the New Covenant for sharing your ministry with the world!