Transmission

The Green Retreat: A Quest for Sustainable Spirit, Community, and World October 17, 2007

An invitation from the Congregation of St. Saviour at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. Lead by the Reverend Victoria Sirota, Canon Pastor and Vicar.

Saturday, November 3rd
9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m
Cathedral House, 1047 Amsterdam Ave

Itinerary

9:30-10:00 Registration and Breakfast

10:00-10:15 Opening by Reverend Sirota

10:15-11:45 Isabelle Silverman, Environmental Defense: “The Science of Global Warming”

11:45-12:45 Lunch

12:45-1:00 Spiritual Meditation with Reverend Sirota

1:00-1:45 Elena Lomicky, Green Living Consultant: “Things We Can Do at Home to Reduce Our Carbon Footprint”

2:00-2:45 Bob Muldoon, Sierra Club: “Environmental Advocacy at the Community and National Level”

3:00-3:45 Frank Morris, Ecological Advisors: “The Spiritual and Economic Case for Environmental Investing”

4:00-4:30 Closing Service

People of all faiths are warmly welcomed to attend. We request a $12 donation.  Serving wonderful organic, vegetarian fare. RSVP required. Please contact education@saintsaviour.org

Simchat Torah + St Francis Day = Transmission on Oct 3rd! October 2, 2007

Yup, you heard it here first, folks. In a strange alignment of two calendars, this Wednesday night will be both the eve of Simchat Torah AND the eve of the Feast of St Francis. If you don’t know, St Francis was a proto-hippie who wandered around Europe and the near-east talking to animals, kissing lepers, and telling rich people they should renounce materialism and consumerism. Simchat Torah, on the other hand, is the day when the entire Jewish world hits the rewind button on their Torah scrolls, going from the death of Moses in Deuteronomy to the creation of the world in Genesis in one day, and resetting their shabbat readings for the coming year by picking up their scriptures and dancing around the room with them.

Our very own Paul and Katherine will be planning our ritual this week. I’m not sure what they’re planning, but expect themes of dying and creation, mortality and eco-justice, kissing and dancing, community storytelling and the blessing of household pets. We’re meeting at Paul’s place, which is at Union (121st and Broadway). Give me a call when you show up and I’ll come down and get you - 917.306.2442.

Summary:
Wed, Oct 3, 121st and Broadway, 7-9pm

Support Magdalene House May 21, 2007

Help sow seeds of hope with natural healing products from Thistle Farms, the cottage business of Magdalene House in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Rev. Becca Stephens, Episcopal chaplain at Vanderbilt University is the founder of Magdalene House. I’ve heard her preach and had the pleasure of visiting her in Nashville a few years ago. Becca is an inspirational woman who helps nurture goodness in this world.

And the Thistle Farms projects are great too! I’ve got a tub of lib balm at home. Be sure to check out Lot’s Wife Salt Scrub, Balm of Gilead (comes in five scents), Lavender Mini-Sachets, and the Moses line for men!

Named for the only wildflower that grows along the roads that Nashville prostitutes frequent, Thistle Farms is the cottage business of Magdalene – a two-year residential community for women with a criminal history of addiction and prostitution. Magdalene was created to provide a sanctuary in Nashville for women in need of a safe, discipline and compassionate community.

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Roof Gardens of Babylon April 25, 2007

By Bowie Snodgrass

On the Euphrates, down by the river of Babylon,
they sat down and wept, and wept for you, Zion.

Held captive during Nebuchadnezzar’s reign,
they wrote scripture in the world’s largest city.

But even the most powerful human in the world
did a small good deed for the woman he loved.

As the story goes, Nebuchadnezzar, for his wife,
planted a World Wonder: hanging roof gardens.

I hear they’re thinking of green roofs for NYC;
what a great idea, I say, growing things here.

Imagine flying over that in a plane, a sea of green:
flowers, moss, vine, trees, birds, butterflies, bees.

Fruits of the earth to eat, natural cool and warm,
cleaner air and playgrounds for God’s creatures.

We best never forget the history that happened
nor the dreams that inspire human imagination.

* Read about the Green Roof movement

* Check out the Gaia Institute NY

“The Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the walls of Babylon (near present-day Baghdad in Iraq) were considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. ”
- Read more about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon

* Please say a special prayer for my brother, Peter, Ike’s brother, Joel, and all the military personnel currently stationed in Iraq. Please pray for all Iraqis, that they may soon have peace in their lands.

Envision the Ends Times, and Take Action April 12, 2007

OK, so I’m a little behind the times. I just watched An Inconvenient Truth last night and whoa. It seems the effects of Global Warming will soon be of apocalyptic proportions. I beseech ya’ll to take an active step to reduce carbon emissions, or at least netflick the movie and experience the revelation for yourself. One place to start is climatecrisis.net. New Yorkers, Con Ed offers 100% wind power for your home.

As springtime blooms again, it’s time for us to start thinking about how we can renew the earth, as she renews us.

PS, while I have your attention, check out the Abstract of a paper my friend, Jackie, did at the Society of Biblical Literature annual meeting in 2006.

Averting the Apocalypse: The Horrors of Global Warming and the Rhetorical Power of the End
Program Unit: John’s Apocalypse and Cultural Contexts Ancient and Modern
Jacqueline Hidalgo, Claremont Graduate University

In the Fall of 2005, Al Gore lectured in Los Angeles about global warming as part of the production of the new documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. Gore compared some of the horrible plagues imagined in John’s Apocalypse to the horrific repercussions of global warming around the world, repercussions which Gore demonstrated in a complex narrative of photographs, tables, and film clips. Through a focus on Gore’s rhetoric of averting the global warming apocalypse, this paper explores the enduring prominence and power of the Apocalypse as it may be encountered throughout the US political imaginary. It is often recognized that Conservative Christians in the U.S.A. have used the horrific imagery of the Apocalypse in combination with the promise of an imminent End in order to shape politics, identities, and cultures. Many occupying different parts of the political Left have likewise turned to narratives of impending environmental doom and/or political totalitarianism. Given that such a variety of groups deploy these counterpoised apocalypticisms, what does this suggest about the social power of apocalyptic narratives over the social realities of different people? Successful deployment of the Apocalypse, and specifically of its horrors and end-time imagination, has been a significant source of social power for those who pursue it, and those who perceive themselves to be in situations of social distress often invoke apocalyptic rhetoric. Gore serves as an interesting example against this backdrop. Although he is part of the political mainstream, his speech comes at a time when many on the political Left feel disenfranchised. Is apocalyptic rhetoric most popular with groups who perceive themselves as disempowered or is it just such a central part of the US cultural imagination that it is hard to conceive of a historical trajectory outside of the Apocalypse?

Advent Meditation Pieces December 4, 2006

1)

The wind has changed
I can smell you again
In the soft open air
Beneath the mountains of the moon
In the stillness of the night
I sense your sweet scent

2)

we speak of matters of the soul
when we’re alone in this world.
men and women trying to figure
it out and our insides to know.

we work to know ourselves, and
thereby accept the other folks, we.
work together in the struggle for
liberation and peace in our land.

3)

some goals for the new liturgical year…

be honest about your life.

cherish your inheritances and pass on to other people.

come to know yourself by taking time to think and worship god.

be creative. move ideas around. be curious.

struggle for justice.

be flexible. breathe.

be kind to living things and appreciate nature.

share. believe.

love.

what else? please comment with additional goals.

post-greenbelt green post September 8, 2006

flickr photo from Greenbelt Festival Official Pictures.

One of my favorite aspects of Greenbelt was how green it was. Thousands of us pitched camp in a field (well, actually a racetrack) below beautiful British hills and lived in the reign of God for a weekend. It’s good sometimes to sleep close to the ground.

Many of the vendors sold fair-trade, organic, and eco-friendly products. And as much as I was impressed by the cute wooden cutlery at some booths, others used only real dishes and silverware. Right before our Dress-up service, I went on a mission for a chai ‘to go,’ and had to leave a 1 pound deposit for a mug (which I got back when I dutifully returned the cup later). Very cool.

EASY SOLUTIONS?

A Greenbelt-birthed a group called Generous inspired me to think about small eco-actions as generous spiritual activities. When I stopped by their booth, they were giving out bags, which expand once submerged in your toilet tank. Now each time I flush, I use 1 liter less of water – an amount that adds up over the long term.

Last week, inspired both by Generous and a friend of mine who is running the NYC marathon to fight global warming, I signed up for 100% wind-generated electricity from ConEd Solutions. It costs about the same amount, has no sales tax (thank you, NY State!), and encourages development of sustainable power supplies.

I’m currently doing some research into energy-saving lightbulbs and have been trying to take less bags from stores… what other simple solutions do you recommend?

FIND MORE ACTION IDEAS @

Generous.org.uk “is an online experiment based on a shared hunch that looking after this planet and its people is what we are all here for and that if many of us can make small changes in our everyday choices then over time we can make a big difference for everyone.

Generous is not about guilt – it’s about inspiration and shared ideas. And it’s not about how many actions any of us can do – all our situations are different. It’s a community, not a competition.”

Q – are there American eco-Christian groups you like?

QUOTE

“…once science began to view the physical cosmos as a story of becoming, that is, in evolutionary terms, then a reconciliation between science and religion became possible. What connects science and religion is the accent on temporality and the motif of promise. The Bible is about nothing else than promise, and evolution discloses a universe that reinforces this theme.” From At Home in the Cosmos by David Toolan, S.J.