EARTHKEEPING NEWS A NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COALITION FOR CHRISTIANITY AND ECOLOGY Volume Twelve, Number Two Summer 2003 CHURCHES IN ACTION FROM WIND TO ENERGY "The building permit for the wind farm facility at Crescent Ridge along the Mississippi River in Illinois has been issued. Turbines will soon be installed and we look forward to turning the switch --- with religious celebrations and blessings by all faiths --- some time in the fall. Local churches can elect to replace all the electricity they use with electricity from the wind farm." From the newsletter Faith In Place. Contact: Rev Clare Butterfield, 2125 W North Ave, Chicago IL 60647, clare@cnt.org. FROM CHURCH YARD TO OAK SAVANNAH One hundred years ago rolling oak savanna, sprinkled with wildflowers and shrubs, covered the land where the Lutheran Church of the Reformation in St. Louis Park MN is situated. Under a new proposal, this legacy will be restored with the help of Clean Air Minnesota, a combination of businesses, environmental agencies, and county governments. The building, parking area, and community garden will be nested in a beautiful setting that is long-lasting. The site will provide environmental benefits to the neighborhood and to Twin Lakes, and serve the public good by eliminating emissions of pollutants in summertime, by filtered storm water, creating highly porous soil, nurturing a diverse community of plants and animals, and storing carbon in plant roots. Copies of the site plan are available from the church office, tel. 952/929- 0439. HANGING OUT THE WASH The Oak Park Circle of Faith in Place (Chicago) is encouraging families to hang out their wash. The electric dryer is the 2nd biggest energy consuming appliance in most homes, behind the refrigerator. It uses 6-10% of residential energy consumption. Oak Park residents are being encouraged to install clotheslines --- kits are available through the Circle, including clothes-pin bags sewn by members and bearing the Faith in Place logo. TREE TEMPLE On a recent Sunday, Midnight Sun United Church moved temporarily from its own Fairbanks garden to Creamer's Field, a former dairy transformed into a bird refuge. Under a large spruce, which Rev Leggett calls "a tree temple," worshippers celebrated nature by reciting Matthew 13:24-30, "the parable of the weeds." During Communion, they spread bird seed throughout the garden, near local sand cranes, "to give thanks for the beauty of the winged creatures that inhabit our garden space," he said. FLOATING SANCTUARY On Lake Minnetonka in Mound, Minn., at an annual summer Sunday "Galilean service," members of St. John's Lutheran Church gather to pray in a cluster of their speedboats, rowboats and pontoons. "In the winter, we can literally walk on the water," said Rev Eric Gustavson. "So when the lake is liquid, we're out there boating." Home     Table of Contents