Keeping the Faith 8-31-2023
Dear Ones,
What is evangelism? I write this just an hour before the newly-formed Diocesan Evangelism Task Force meets for the first time. Already I see some indication that we are not all working from the safe definition. One person referred to a marketing expert we might want to talk to…and I immediately thought, “Oh dear! If that’s what they are looking for, I am not the right fit!”
However, I know that a few of the other people are on the same page as I am, more or less. Evangelism isn’t a special program or marketing scheme. It’s not even about getting more people in our pews. I would even go so far to say that our job as evangelists is not to ‘convert’ people to our way of thinking.
It’s about sharing the Good News. God loves us, God is with us. God empowers us to love others into greater shalom. I see our job as figuring out how to give all of you the tools and encouragement you need to be able to share your own faith story when the moment calls for it, and to embody the love of God so that your Christ-light shines out to those who feel lost in the dark. Not everyone who comes forward into the light will decide to worship in an Episcopal church—they may not even land in a faith community at all, at least not at first! That’s why the “marketing” approach really makes me nervous: we’re not selling Jesus in hopes of saving our own church budgets.
We’re sharing Jesus in hopes of making the world look a little more like the place God intended it to be.
I’m sure I’ll have more to share in coming weeks. In the meantime….keep the faith,
Nancy+
THIS SUNDAY’S READINGS
Exodus 3:1-15 * Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c * Romans 12:9-21 * Matthew 16:21-28
BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES
Br. Matthias and Carolyn Tanner 9/4
Mike and Sue Morin 9/9
CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS
Sunday: 10:15 AM Eucharist In-person & online
*BACKPACK AND BACK TO SCHOOL BLESSING*
Wednesday: 9:00 AM Eucharist/Bible Study
Thursday: 9:00 AM Christ Church Book Group/Zoom
7:15 PM Zoom Compline
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Backpack/Back to School Blessing September 3 during worship. Bring a backpack or some item that we can use to be a reminder to you that you are a beloved child of God every time you see it
Season of Creation Sept. 3 through Oct. 1.
School Supplies We will continue to collect school supplies through September 17.
Choir If you are interested in being part of a reconstituted choir, please speak to Nancy or Susan
Isaiah Study group will resume in September. Day/time TBA.
Directory Updates Please provide Linda with any updates to your directory entry by September 22. A new directory will be available on October 1. If you have not filled out a Family Information Sheet, please do so—it contains information not included in the directory.
CREATION CARE TIPS
We’re running out of water!
It’s ironic that I’m writing about water shortages on another rainy day in the rainy summer of 2023, with Hurricane Idalia dumping thousands of gallons of water on the Southeast, but this is a problem that has been decades in the making, and is now attaining crisis levels.
When I was in college (about 50 years ago), my Ecology professor spoke of a problem in the making:
Denver, Colorado, was growing, needing more water, and taking its water from the Colorado River. In 1972, my professor stated that the city of Denver had a 50 year supply of water, if and only if no more growth occurred. Yes, his data was off, but only by a few years. In 2023, we now hear reports that the Colorado River is running dry and that cities and towns in Arizona that rely on it for drinking water are running out of water. This shortage is in part due to municipalities, industries, and large farms taking what they need upstream of the Arizona towns and cities. We can see that more homes and businesses require more water. But why does agriculture need more water? That increased need is due to two factors– there are more and bigger farms, and plants need more water because of warmer weather, which in turn is due to climate change.
In other areas of the country, water for farms and municipal supplies comes not from rivers, but from groundwater. The EPA says that “groundwater is fresh water (from rain or melting ice and snow)that soaks into the soil and is stored in the tiny spaces (pores) between rocks and particles of soil. Groundwater accounts for nearly 95 % of the nation’s fresh water resources.” The Groundwater Foundation gives the statistic that 51% of the US drinking water comes from groundwater, and that increases to 99% in rural areas.
Before there were malls, paved roads, parking lots, and major airports, groundwater was replenished by precipitation filtering through soil. Much of the water that falls on urban areas is channeled into storm drains, running into streams, rivers, and oceans, instead of being trapped underground for local use. Because the water cannot soak into the ground, urban flooding occurs. Water becomes a problem, rather than a resource, when it’s in the wrong place at the wrong time. Somehow, cities and suburban areas must capture the water and allow it to flow back into the ground. One small solution is pervious (or porous) pavement, which allows rainwater to seep through instead of running off or evaporating from puddles.
In researching groundwater for today’s climate care tip, I learned that Arkansas grows half of our supply of rice. I also learned that in producing this crop, groundwater in a large aquifer is being pumped out twice as fast as it is being replenished. If you spend twice as much as you earn you end up with nothing, and then nothing but trouble. This overuse of groundwater could become a major factor in food shortages in years to come.
So what is my climate care tip this week? This week I don’t have a specific tip, but perhaps learning about growing problems and searching for solutions is a step in the right direction.
– Patty
Hurt not the earth–neither the sea–nor the trees. Revelation 7:3
MINISTRIES LIST
This week:
Lector 1: Allison Long
Lector 2: Sue Emerson
Acolyte: José Garcia
Euch. Minister: Sue Emerson
Usher: Peter Hammond
Altar Guild: Mary Bickford & Caroline Leonard
Coffee Hour: Jen Lehr & Christine Hebert
Counter: Peter Hammond
Church Closer: Peter Hammond
Next week:
Lector 1: Bruce Watts
Lector 2: Caroline Leonard
Acolyte: Doug Wall
Euch. Minister: Patty Watts
Usher: David Mering
Altar Guild: Patty Watts & Jen Lehr
Coffee Hour: Caroline Leonard
Counter: David Mering
Church Closer: David Mering