A Religious Response to Climate Change – III: Our Daily Bread

Where: Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church 

602 North Wilmot Road, Tucson, Arizona 85711

When: 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM on Saturday, October 29, 2016
Mass (optional) @ 8:30 AM Lunch @ noon (free-will offering)

What: After our sessions had on 4 October and 13 December 2014 on global climate change and its likely impacts on the environment that sustains our lives, we meet now to review the science of global climate change and its projected consequences that impact our food supply. As a religious people, who pray for our daily bread, we seek understanding, wisdom and courage to take informed actions as good stewards of God’s creation.

Our five speakers on the different aspects of our chosen topic are:

• Katie Hirschboeck - Associate Professor of Climatology, Tree-Ring Lab, U of Arizona; National Catholic Climate Ambassador  CatholicClimateCovenant.org
The science of global climate change: update on where we are now and perspectives on where we are headed

• Clark Hansen - Regional Organizer in Organizing and Grassroots Capacity Building, Bread for the World
Hunger: current status of global food production and distribution; likely scenarios from climate change; and possible responses to meet the global needs

• Marco A. Liu - Director of Advocacy and Outreach, Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona
Hunger: current status of local food production and distribution; likely scenarios from climate change; and possible responses to meet our local needs

• Angel Wang - Committee on Creation Care, Episcopal Diocese of Arizona
Greening Episcopal Churches – What are Episcopalians doing to help address climate change?

• John Leech - Associate Priest, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Tucson, Arizona
Theological reflections: spiritual context for environmental actions

In addition to general and group discussions, we will have opening, noonday and closing prayers.

There will also be information tables for different concerned groups including:

Bread for the World
Community Food Bank
Scraps On Scraps
Iskashitaa Refugee Network
Citizens’ Climate Lobby
Green Church

RSVP by sending an email to hsieh@dakotacom.net by 25 October 2016.  Many thanks!

A Letter from Guatemala

Could someone ask a telling question about climate change and migration?  See below.  Climate change fuels pressures to migrate, and it's only going to get worse.

Ila,

from Guatemala, where all is more or less well, given that it's an election year, and Guatemala remains near the bottom on social indicators, and la roya continues to destroy the coffee cash crop in many areas, and the other great cash crop for small farmers, cardamom, is now afflicted with thripp [climate change definitely has contributed to the la roya problem, don't know about thripp].  We are trying to get an appointment with US AID for Group 2, as climate change is one of their priorities.

Fifty-eight bus drivers, ayudantes, and passengers have been killed by extortionists on public buses in the central corridor since last October, according to Prensa Libre.  As Team 1 traveled from Guate to El Quiche, there were armed national police front and back on the bus.  Very uneventful.

Otherwise, hospitals are without supplies, the people are rising peacefully in the streets against corruption, demanding election reform and immediate resignation of the present president, Otto Perez Molina, but they don't seem to have a clear idea of how to improve the situation.  The health situation in the high-risk Ixil Area where we go seems actually a bit better than we thought, though we don't know what Team 2 will find when they visit three communities where health extension services are no longer functioning.

We seem to be having "un poco verano" in the middle of what should be the rainy season, after significant rains earlier (especially the night before Team 1 had to do the longest, toughest walk through mountains, rocks, tree roots and mud -- they were champs).

I don't have my best project lists here.  Please pass to anyone you like.

A Religious Response to Climate Change – II: Living

Thank you for joining us for "A Religious Response to Climate Change: Learning" held at St Michael and All Angels Parish in Tucson on October 4th. Please join us if you can - and bring friends! - to the followup session, "A Religious Response to Climate Change II: Living" to be held at St Michael's on Saturday, December 13th, 9am-2pm. All are welcome!

A Religious Response to Climate Change – II: Living

Advent, Stewardship, and Metanoia

The Episcopal Parish of Saint Michael and All Angels

602 North Wilmot Road, Tucson, Arizona 85711

Saturday, December 13, 2014, 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Mass (optional) at 8:30 AM & lunch at 12:00 PM (free-will offering)

“We praise you and we bless you, holy and gracious God, source of life abundant. From before time you made ready the creation. Your Spirit moved over the deep and brought all things into being: sun, moon, and stars; earth, winds, and waters; and every living thing. You made us in your image, and taught us to walk in your ways.” – Enriching Our Worship, Eucharistic Prayer

“On November 2^nd the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which represents mainstream scientific opinion, said that it was extremely likely that climate change is the product of human activity... Many factors influence the climate but perhaps the single most important is carbon dioxide (CO₂)… At the start of the industrial revolution, in about 1800, there were 280 parts per million (ppm) of CO₂ in the atmosphere. That had been the level for most of human history. This year, however, concentrations exceeded 400 ppm, the first time it had reached that level for a million years. Most of the increase has been caused by people burning fossil fuels.” – The Economist, November 2, 2014.

How do we respond to the realities of climate change with an eye to stewardship of earth’s resources and responsible changes in practice? In other words, given what we have learned, how are we now to live?

As we seek to make an informed religious response to climate change, we come together to discuss and discern plausible actions. In this follow-up to our first forum on climate change (October 4^th), we will seek practices for sustainable living, related to food, water, and energy.  

We will be invited into theological reflection on the spiritual context for environmental action by The Rev. John R. Smith, The Rev. Nadine Martin, and The Rev. Dr. John R. Leech.

• What does it mean to have stewardship of all our natural resources?
• What change of direction (metanoia) is needed for sustainable living?

We will be listening to presentations on challenges of sustainable living from:

• Alexander D. Cronin, Associate Professor, Department of Physics and College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona.
• Margot Garcia, Professor Emeritus, Department of Urban and Regional Studies and Planning, Virginia Commonwealth University.
• Taralynn Reynolds, Population and Sustainability Organizer, Center for Biological Diversity.

The presenters will address questions concerning energy, water and food in terms of:

• What is a “sustainable world”?
• What are the current levels and rate of consumption?
• What are the effects of current consumption, especially on energy, water and soil?
• What are the means to change the current trends and where are we in this change?

Our speakers will participate in a moderated panel discussion after their presentations.

Moderator of the panel: Ke Chiang Hsieh, Professor Emeritus of Physics, University of Arizona. Senior Warden, St. Michael & All Angels Parish.

Host: The Rev. John R. Smith, Rector, St. Michael & All Angels Parish.

RSVP by calling (520) 886-7292, Monday through Thursday, or e-mail to church@stmichael.net, no later than December 8^th.  Please leave your name, your affiliation, and the number of people planning to come with you.  http://smallangelstucson.org/ https://www.facebook.com/smallangelstucson 

Notes from the Parish Office - 9/25/14

Just a few notes to keep everyone one up to date with what's happening here at St. Michael's:

Sunday, September 28 ~ Michaelmas Celebration - one Mass only at 9:30 am with the Festive Brunch to follow in the Parish Center, to including the "Slaying of the Dragon Pinata". All are invited to attend our annual celebration.

Wednesday, October 1 - 10 AM ~ For Our Special Parishioners age 90 and over, there is a special meeting in the Parish Office workroom, just to decide if: 1. Would we like to meet?  2. How often ?  3. What would we like to do? We would like to see you and your ideas!

Saturday, October 4 - 9 - 3 pm  in the Parish Center ~ "Forum on "Global Climate Change - A Religious Response". Experts will be attending. The day begins with Mass at 8:30 am (optional) with a Buffet Luncheon at noon (a fee will offering is suggested to defray the cost of the food). (there are reservation sheets located in the back of church) All are invited.

Sunday, October 5 ~ Episcopal School Sunday and Blessing of the Animals.  The 9:00 am Family Mass and the 10:15 am High Mass will be combined with one Mass at 9:30 am. The Mass will be followed by the traditional "Boy Scout Pan Cake Breakfast" coordinated by Byron Brandon. A generous donation will certainly help our Boy Scouts. (there will be the regular 7:45 am, 12:30 pm and 5:30 pm Masses that day.)

Tuesday, October 7 ~ Taizé Service at 6:45 pm in church.

​Many Blessings and Peace.​

Nancy