Grace News

July 2010

God’s Eye is on the Baby Shrimp

“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who .live in it; for he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers.,” says the Psalmist in Ps. 24:1-2. Then are we not called by God to treasure and care for the earth as a sacred trust? As usual, other than a few more progressive denominations of Christian churches, like our own UCC, most press-covered Christian advocacy groups have been pretty silent about the oil spill crisis. And yet, we’re hearing that many of the early responding volunteers are from churches in the local areas.

All too often many conservatives, and their corresponding conservative evangelical churches, behave in ways that suggest that “environmentalism” is by definition a “liberal” notion, if not downright silly. I often hear jokes about Earth Day and Al Gore and tree huggers from their corners.

But frankly, I don’t see how dismissing the stewardship of God’s creation is at all conservative or ‘evangelical’! The ongoing and worsening Gulf crisis clearly informs us of just what is at stake. The painful to watch continuing flow of oil and methane gases into the Gulf waters is much more than just the messing of beaches, as bad as that is. But the oozing of oil into the inland estuaries and marshes and waterways is bound to destroy the eco-systems of birds, shrimp, oysters, and other life-forms.

Some might ask, “Does God care about baby shrimp?” Well, yes, scripture tells me so. God cares for the sparrow that falls to the ground (Matt. 10:29). But, even if you think that is somehow ‘stretching’ it, consider how God loves those who are “of more value than many sparrows” (Matt. 10:30). Humanity is also suffering if shrimping collapses, as well as all other interests that are central to employment in the area and to tourism.

But beyond all that, what matters are the ways the balance of ecology affects people in ways we never consider or notice, until it’s threatened. In Gen. 1:28 we hear that God gave his image-bearing humanity dominion over the natural creation. But we mistake this dominion as a King-like dominion, an image of power that was altered into a different kind of power or dominion by Jesus Christ…a renewing, reconciling, transforming kind of dominion that realizes that we come from the earth and must receive from the earth what we need to survive in the form of light from the sun, oxygen from plants, and food from the ground. Our dominion over all of these necessities of life is to be loving, gentle, and grateful in its nature…not exploitive and destructive.

Ezekiel 47:9-12 uses the metaphor of a river teeming with life, with many kind of fish, and vegetation thriving on the banks to talk about eternal life. Jesus even makes the waters teem with fish in the presence of his disciples who are commercial fishermen (John 21:3-8). And in Revelation 8:8-9, we see a vision of an apocalypse when the waters are poisoned, and the sea-life is gone.

We need the creation around us, including the waters and all they contain, because we are not the gods we continue to act like. We are creatures who thrive when we live as we were made to live. We exercise dominion over the creation not only when we use it, but also when we conserve it for the generations who will come after.

Let our prayer be that more of us will come to understand the earth shattering significance of all of this soon, and that the corporate and governmental forces will permit themselves to be transformed to embrace the call God has given us all to care for and nurture God’s wonderful creation. May the Church universal begin to respond to this call by becoming the voice of God’s love of God’s own creation. It begins with you and me.
Blessings, Pastor Dan

From the President
Here at GLO we are fortunate to have people with passion willing to step up and into positions of tremendous responsibility. Most are volunteers, their compensation the opportunity to serve.

Church leadership, however, is two edged with one side being the personal passion that leads us into positions of responsibility; the other being the need to put our personal feelings aside and examine our motives: “Is what I’m doing nurturing growth, gifts and talents, and the overall well-being of the community as a whole?”

Each Sunday a “community” comes to worship and for that hour our thoughts are focused. We become a chorus, a community of believers centered on and around our God. We are of one mind and one body our hearts beating in rhythm in tune with one another and God. It’s a joyous hour and the spirit and energy generated by our centered thought and focus is amazing.

It’s important. In fact it’s vital, especially in leadership to maintain that focused thought and sense of community in everything we do and stay focused on the “we” of being a church. If or when we loose that focus we run the risk of getting stuck in the single mindedness of “I,” and the ‘kudos’ received for a job well done. It’s a nice perk for serving, but as leaders we must constantly look over our shoulders to make sure our ‘job well done’ isn’t keeping another from receiving the same. Do we open the door for others, or slam it shut?

If we offer the opportunity for others to join in, and take the time to nurture a new relationship and build someone else’s self-confidence, when our term is over there might be someone waiting and willing in the wings to take over.

It’s up to us as leaders to provide an open door policy; open to suggestion, open to discussion, ideas, and possibilities, always checking to be certain we do our best to include, teach and nurture anyone willing to serve.

Jesus did not work his ministry alone, or for the kudos he received for a job well done. He provided the opportunity for any one willing to follow in his footsteps. He took the time to teach and nurture each relationship and those nurtured relationships made first disciples and then apostles each one willing to look over their shoulder to nurture and teach another.
Lynn Reynolds
GLO Consistory President

"From the Treasurer- Our Church’s Wider Mission
$4,500 for the year-that is our pledge towards “Our Church’s Wider Mission” I went to the United Church of Christ (U.C.C.) web site this week to see if there was any new information telling me what support our pledge provides.

"Changing Lives, That's Our Church's Wider Mission" is more than a slogan or phrase; it is the lifeblood of ministry and mission in the United Church of Christ. Thank you for your support of the many local and global ministries provided through your contributions to this offering of our covenant together. Our covenant as local churches, associations, conferences and the national settings of our denomination is made evident through this mission together. OK, so I know our continued support is appreciated, what else is going on?

Financial Transformation? Well that usually means stewardship and capital campaigns to me but what other opportunities are there for financial transformation? Reading further I found one opportunity: Financial Fitness through America Saves, a nationwide campaign with a broad coalition of nonprofit, corporate and government groups helps individuals and families save and build wealth. I selected the link and was transported to the following website: http://www.americasaves.org/

I appreciate that the U.C.C. recognizes strains on personal finances affect personal giving. The strategies and resources America Saves offers can help a person create a finance plan, and when a person has a plan ________ "

E-Team Meets July 17
The Evangelism Team will meet at the church in the Bertsch Lounge on Saturday, July 17, 2010 at 11:00AM for about two hours. You do not need to be a "member" of this ministry team to come to the meetings! You do not need to be elected to any office to be on the team!! All you need is an interest in bringing this action=-based mission into the community, and you are welcome to join us for any and all discussions.

This quarter's meeting will focus on the following topics: 1) Review of the first Open Kitchen event held on June 27; 2) Further discussion on Welcoming and Greeters; 3) Plans for Founders Day events September 12; and, 4) Review of Visitors Sundays.

We hope you will consider joining us then!

Items Available…Free
As we do our regular Spring/Summer cleaning and organizing, we have a couple of items that need a good home. First, we have an organ and piano available that we simply do not need any longer. They were originally donated by congregational members and were very useful to us for years, but now we have replaced them with electronic keyboards and have no use for them. The organ is in the corner of Fellowship Hall and the piano is in the choir rehearsal room. If you or someone you know could benefit, please let Pastor Dan or Don Kaser know.

Also, Anna Saus no longer needs her top of the line motorized wheelchair, almost new. She would like someone from the church to benefit from it, so please let Pastor Dan know if you would like to have this gracious gift from Anna.

Sharing Abundance
If you are like us and plant a vegetable garden each year only to end up with too many zucchinis, peppers, or tomatoes, we would love to have your abundance to share when GLO's Open Kitchen distributes carry-home meals on June 27, July 25 and August 29. Though most gardens won't have much produce as early as June, by July and August there might be more than you can use and give to neighbors! Please bring produce from your gardens to the Fellowship Hall on those Sundays, and we will make arrangements to have them available to those participating in our Open Kitchen. Thank you in advance for your loving support of our project and of those in need in our community.
Rick Thome

GLO Open Kitchen Carry Out Meals July 25
The Evangelism Team will be distributing free meals to Nortonians in need for the second summer event on July 25. Plan on helping assemble the meals in Fellowship Hall following the worship service on that Sunday!

BACM
Our item for July is canned fruit.

A Special Thanks to:

Ruth Kaser for her tireless work as Treasurer!

Jean Barron for her faithfulness as GraceNews publisher!

Joyce Halter and Lynn Reynolds and parents and kids for inspired plans for renovating the Rainbow Classroom for this fall!

Von and David Over and Wayne Pressler and other GLO volunteers who work on the grounds of the church!

GLO Annual Community Picnic
Be sure to reserve August 28 for the upcoming GLO Community picnic. Invite your family & friends to kick back and enjoy an evening together with great food and games for all ages. Janet Von Gunten

Save the date for a fun summer activity- July 14
Who: Someone with a bicycle
What: A bicycle ride from the Downtown Akron area to Peninsula via the Towpath trail; a train ride return.
When/Where: Meet at the Cuyahoga Valley Train Station off of Howard St. The train station is by the Northside Art & Entertainment area at 9:00 am, on Wednesday, July 14. The ride will take a couple of hours as we travel at a leisurely pace. We have lunch in Peninsula, shop, (or window shop), and then take the train to return to the train station.
You will get back to the station in the early afternoon. The cost is $2 for the train ride, and anything additional for food and shopping.
Why: It’s summertime, the ride is downhill to Peninsula, the train ride is a blast, to experience fellowship with your GLO family, the list goes on.
If you are interested, please contact Don and/or Ruth Kaser or Rich Easterling

PARISH NURSE'S NOTES
  HEALTHY SNACKS
  Kids like snacks. Grownups like snacks. Our bodies need energy and nutrients to remain active and healthy, and snacks provide just a perfect opportunity to supply our diets with the necessary vitamins, minerals, protein, and fiber.
A healthy snack that is filling and satisfying should include carbohydrates, protein, and fat. For example, you may serve cut up fresh vegetables with peanut butter, cheese, or cottage cheese. Add crackers to get carbohydrates. Another option would be fresh fruits served with yogurt, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese; or cereals topped with milk or yogurt.
Did you know that one teaspoon of sugar equals four grams? Have you looked at the nutritional information on the box of your favorite cereal? The healthiest cereals are those containing 3 or less grams of sugar per serving. Excessive sugar consumption leads to cavities and empty calories that result in unwanted weight, so beware! When selecting cereals be an educated consumer: read labels!
Super snacks do not have to be fancy. All they need to accomplish is to help you achieve the goal of getting three servings of dairy products and five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Consider these healthy ideas for powerful snacks:
- Cottage cheese with fruits (peaches or strawberries)
- Crackers with cheese sticks
- Pretzels and cheese cubes
- Fruit/Veggie/Lunch Meat Skewer
- Bagel with peanut butter
- A toast with butter and slices of hard-boiled egg
- A muffin and a glass of milk
Keep healthy snack foods on hand to help your family meet the daily requirements of nutrients. Happy snacking!

Social Justice Corner
I am signed up with Witness for Justice from the UCC. This article was posted June 14th and was especially gripping perhaps because the US claims to be a peace loving country. New Zealand IS a peace loving country. Some of their success may be because they have a homogeneous culture, but we could try a little harder.

Violence Fills the Land
Karen Georgia Thompson
Minister for Racial Justice
On May 23rd, 2010 violence erupted in the Tivoli Gardens area of Kingston, Jamaica. This is not the first time violence ensued in Western Kingston, home of many of the island's poorest of the poor. 73 civilians and one soldier were killed in the violence which received little media attention in the United States. Jamaica is one of many countries where violence continues to take the lives of men, women and children. Fighting continues in the Middle East, Somalia, Ethiopia, Thailand, Korea, India and other countries.

The Global Peace Index (GPI) for 2010 utilizes 23 indicators and 32 related indicators in its analysis and ranking of 149 countries. Among the indicators are: perceived criminality in society, number of homicides, jailed population, access to weapons, respect for human rights, military expenditure, armed services personnel and number of heavy weapons. The list of related indicators includes adult literacy, hostility to foreigners and unemployment.

New Zealand tops the list as most peaceful (#1), with Iraq at the bottom (#149). Jamaica ranks 98th, with the United States listed at 85.

Peace points to a lack of conflict - tranquility, harmony and serenity for sure. The obvious places of violence around the world certainly yield no surprise for the ranking of some countries on the GPI. In the U.S. which has no wars within its borders and no places where its military is utilized to subdue its citizenry, how did our country find itself in the 85th spot on the list?

Countries are scored on a scale of 1 to 5 for each indicator, with 1 being the most peaceful. The U.S. scored 2.5 on number of external and internal conflicts fought, exports of major conventional weapons per 100,000 persons, and aggregate number of weighted weapons per 100,000 persons. A score of 3 was given to level of respect for human rights, potential for terrorist attacks and ease of access to small and light weapons. Scores of 5 were earned for number of jailed population per 100,000 persons and military capability/sophistication.

There are no wars being fought on U.S. soil, but U.S. troops are present and engaged in other countries - including Iraq at 149. The U.S. owns its fair share of "weapons of mass destruction" and it exports weapons around the globe with U.S. weapons finding homes with friend and foe alike.

Internal conflicts may not be as evident as the fighting on the streets in Jamaica, Iraq and Afghanistan, yet the number of incarcerated men, women and children tells the tale of a different type of war that is being fought on the streets of U.S. cities and towns. U.S. export of large weapons is rivaled only by the access young and old have to weapons.

Peace, along with its indicators ought to be of concern in the U.S. and abroad. The International Peace Convocation is scheduled for Kingston, Jamaica on May 17-15, 2011. The convocation will celebrate the Decade to Overcome Violence, a decade that began in 2001. There will be much to celebrate, and much to hope for in the decades to come. Overcoming violence and moving toward peace must be clear goals for our communities around the world.
Donna Heeke