April 21, 2013 Bulletin - Earth Day/Green Sunday Celebration

Earth Day/Green Sunday Celebration
When confronted with environmental responsibility, people of faith face a choice: to live in despair or to live with hope. We in the United Church of Christ are called to live with hope. We are called to spiritual and lifestyle transformation based on justice and reverence for all of God’s creatures and creation. We are called by Jesus to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves. Today, we celebrate that hope with a special worship service and Green Sunday Exhibits.  

Mission 4/1 Earth Kickoff
Green Up, Power Down, Shout Out Today, our congregation kicks off Mission 4/1 Earth (ucc.org/earth) for the next 50 days, an opportunity to examine and change our patterns of behavior and to deepen our understanding and engagement of earth care and environmental justice in the process. This all-church mission intensive will be a concerted effort, ensuring a greener future for planet earth and a greener faith for us as followers of Jesus Christ.

How can you participate?
Earth Care Hours - take the next step with engaged earth care, including clean up, advocacy, education, and behavioral changes that will impact the environment.
Plant Trees - plant trees or donate to have trees planted on Church grounds, locally, or globally
Advocacy Letters - Collectively write/send ADVOCACY LETTERS on environmental concerns to elected officials and local and national newspapers

Keep track and let the Green Team know as we contribute to the National UCC Goals (1,000,000 Earth Care Hours, 100,000 trees planted, 100,000 advocacy letters).

Green Sunday Exhibits - today during Coffee Hour in Fellowship Hall to inform you and provide opportunities for action.

Fair Trade Sales - support global farmers by cutting out the middle man. Organic coffee, tea, and dark chocolate for sale at wholesale price plus a small donation to ASP. Cash and checks accepted.
 Church Recycling - what can you bring in to recycle at Church in the Coat
room? Where does it go and how is it reused?
Local Recycling - find out more about MDC Hazardous Waste Collection
days, local electronics recycling, local retail recycling.
Donations for Tree Planting on Church Grounds - 2 small Flowering Trees
will be planted on the Church Grounds with a dedication by the Church
School later in the Spring. Please help by making a small donation.
Planting Trees - find out more about the benefits of planting trees from
one of our Green Team Experts. Stonehedge Landscaping generously
will offer a 20% discount on trees to anyone in the Church.
Home Energy Solutions - find out how to sign up for a low-cost home
energy audit to save significantly on your energy costs. Let's get at least
10 people to sign up.
Clean Energy Options - find out how to sign up for clean energy electricity
- Let's get at least 10 people to sign up and GO GREEN!
Composting - find out how to start composting and find answers to your
questions to dispel myths about composting. Let's get 10 people to
commit to composting.
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) - find out what a CSA is, how it
works, and local opportunities (Fair Weather Acres Farm in Rocky Hill,
Urban Oaks in New Britain, Eddy Farm in Newington -pork shares only).
Petitions - petitions will be available to sign to support: GMO Labeling,
Tar Sands/Keystone Pipeline environmental impact, Green Building
codes, Save the Whales. Please support based upon your individual
decision.

Upcoming Green Events
Riverfront Earth Day Festival - Today from 1pm-4pm at Riverfront Plaza in
Hartford. This is to be a full festival event, which weaves together the
threads of fun, family, faith, education and awareness of the sober realities
of climate change. Performers, speakers, delicious food for sale, and
there will be exhibits and activities for adults and kids the entire time!
More events will be announced over the coming weeks.

4/14/2013 Bulletin - Green Team Update

On Sunday, April 21, 2013, our Congregation will be kicking off the National UCC Program, Mission 4/1 Earth 50 Great Days. http://ucc.org/earth/.

Our Worship Service that day will be our Earth Day/Green Sunday Celebration. 50 great days of greening up, powering down, and shouting out.

The National UCC program goals are 1,000,000 engaged Earth Care hours, 100,000 trees planted, and 100,000 Advocacy Letters. Our congregations' goals will be much more modest but will contribute to the National goals in innovative and creative ways.

Plan to get involved and find out how in Fellowship Hall during Coffee Hour.

ConnTact: April 2013 Mission 4/1 Earth

HARTFORD (04/12/2013) -- Sky overhead. Earth below. Living things around us. Stone and sand and soil. This is the stuff that makes our planet so precious and so blessed. In this issue of ConnTact, we tell the stories of Connecticut Conference churches and people caring for God's good Earth. In company with UCC congregations around the nation, we're taking fifty days to help heal, rather than harm, the world in which we live. We're cleaning the rivers. We're using less resources. We're planting gardens. We're working to appreciate and to nurture God's astonishingly gracious gift. Click here to view this issue of the ConnTact April 2013 newspaper.