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Christ the King Evangelical Lutheran Church invites you to join them for a Creation Hymn Fest, a musical celebration of renewal during the season of Easter (and Earth month). The church will celebrate and give thanks for God’s good creation in hymns and songs from various lands and traditions and hear anew the call to care for the creation. Attendees will sing well known and loved hymns as well as be introduced to some new musical friends! Light refreshments served afterward.
Christ the King is located at 2353 Rice Blvd. in Houston. Metro bus lines 41 and 27 stop nearby. Bike parking is available in the church lot on Rice Blvd.
Contact Lisa Brenskelle at gcs.lrc@gmail.com with any questions.
ADVOCATE:Â Tell the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to retain the 2017-2022Â Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program and minimize the expansion of leases.
WHEN: Comments due by March 9, 2018
WHY: In April 2017, President Trump signed an executive order that directed the Department of the Interior to expand offshore oil and gas drilling. In response, the department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management prepared the DPP for the 2019-2024 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program. It maximizes the potential expansion by making more than 98 percent of the outer continental shelf resources available for lease. The DPP and the scope of its Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) are currently open for public comment.  A virtual public meeting is available at boem.gov.
As people of faith, we believe the ocean and all life in it are part of God’s sacred creation. We are called to be stewards of creation. We also are called to care for the well-being of our brothers and sisters who rely on the ocean and its coastal areas for their livelihood. The short-term gain of expanded drilling is not worth the long-term, irreparable harm to the environment, marine animals, coastal economies, and people. The BP Deepwater Horizon catastrophe in 2010 is a reminder of this risk. Our planet is in a period of global warming that threatens the same coastal communities. Now is not the time for expanding oil and gas extraction, which emits greenhouse gases into our atmosphere and increases global warming. Â
HOW: Submit comments on the DPP and EIS to the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) at https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=BOEM-2017-0074-0001
- In comments on the DPP, tell the BOEM to retain the 2017-2022 lease program and minimize the expansion of leases. Include a statement about why this action is important to you.
- In comments on the Progammatic EIS, tell the BOEM to address the cumulative adverse effects of offshore drilling, and its spills and releases, on marine life, coastal communities, and the climate. Add any specific environmental or socio-economic concerns about off-shore drilling that you would like to be addressed in the EIS.
Then, join Interfaith Power & Light’s campaign to rescind the DPP: salsa4.salsalabs.com.
For more information, contact katrina@texasinterfaith.org.
On April 6, 2018, at 6:30 p.m. the Creation Care team of Christ the King Evangelical Lutheran Church, 2353 Rice Blvd., invites area families to enjoy a free screening of FernGully: The Last Rainforest. Before the screening, there will be live animals for the kids to meet. Popcorn and lemonade will be provided. Please contact Lisa Brenskelle at gcs.lrc@gmail.com with any questions. For more information, visit the Creation Care team’s Facebook page.
Image courtesy 20th Century Fox
- On April 8, 2018, at 2:30 p.m., the Interfaith Environ
mental Network of Houston invites you to learn how you and/or your house of worship can go solar for less by leveraging Solarize Houston, a program of the Houston Renewable Energy Group, a local nonprofit dedicated to promoting renewable energy solutions and businesses. PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy), a very attractive financing option for houses of worship and other commercial properties, will also be covered. You may attend this event in person or online via web meeting. Please register for this event at eventbrite.com. For more information, please contact Lisa Brenskelle at gcs.lrc@gmail.com.
Faith Climate Action Week will take place during Earth Week, April 14- 22, 2018.
Celebrations,sermons, service projects, events, and nature walks will be held, all week, around the theme “Charged with Faith: Leading the way to a clean energy future”. Sign up now and be the first to receive information on how to participate!
We will be focusing on ways we can green our facilities and homes, take action locally, and advocate nationally for positive steps towards a sustainable, 100% renewable us energy future.Join for a whole week of Creation celebration and carbon-cutting activities. Sign up to receive information and activities around this exciting event.
The amount of resources borrowed from our Earth to create the buildings in which we spend 93% of our lives is staggering. If we look at just the residential building industry, we see that we are building homes with a life span of 40-100 years, with the interior materials having an even shorter lifespan. Through this discussion,Caroline Kostak, secretary of the Texas Gulf Coast Region chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, will look at how we can meet the need to shelter and provide work space for a growing population while also being respectful of the resources given to us on Earth.  We will explore different strategies that can lead to efficient resource management and produce beautiful, healthy, and efficient buildings that celebrate the gifts and abundance of the Earth while also protecting them. Caroline draws from her experience as a NASA Flight Controller, constructing one of the highest performance structures ever built – the International Space Station – and many conversations with space travelers who have seen first-hand the fragility and beauty of our Earth from a distinct vantage point. Her work with space construction has led directly to her working in construction on Earth, as this broadened perspective helped her see the importance of being a good steward of the precious Earth we’ve been asked to care for. After Caroline’s talk, there will be time for Q&A.  Please register for this talk, and you will receive an invitation to the web meeting. Contact Lisa Brenskelle at gcs.lrc@gmail.com with any questions.
Christ the King Evangelical Lutheran Church invites you to attend an Adult Forum that addresses scripture and science. Lisa Brenskelle & Elmer Ledesma, leaders of the Creation Care Team at Christ the King, will consider: Is there conflict or connection between scripture & science? If there is a connection, what connection exists? If a connection exists, then scientific understanding matters for people of faith – but, how can they distinguish good science from “fake news� Join the Church for this insightful Adult Forum!
Metro buses 41 and 27 stop nearby the Church.
On March 31, 2019, from 5-7 p.m., eco-theologian The Rev. Michael Dowd will discuss the convergence of science, inspiration, and sustainability with a multimedia presentation at the First Unitarian-Universalist Church of Houston, Museum District Campus, 5200 Fannin St. For more information and to register, visit eventbrite.com.
Faith Climate Action Week will take place for ten days in April during Earth Month. It will focus on how we can take action to protect our climate.
Celebrations, sermons, service projects, events, and nature walks will be held, all week. Sign up now and be the first to receive information on how to participate!
We will be focusing on ways we can green our facilities and homes, take action locally, and advocate nationally for positive steps towards a sustainable, 100% renewable us energy future. Join for a whole week of Creation celebration and carbon-cutting activities. Sign up to receive information and activities around this exciting event.
The Interfaith Environmental Network of Houston invites houses of worship
& their members to learn how they can go solar for less as part of the
Houston Central Solar Co-Op. A co-op leverages bulk-purchasing power to
get discounted pricing. Each participant gets an individual solar quote, but a
single installer is selected for the group.
Neighbors in the Houston area have already formed a solar co-op to save money
and make going solar easier, with the help of nonprofit Solar United Neighbors.
Houston Renewable Energy Group (HREG), the South Union Community
Development Corporation, and the Interfaith Environmental Network of Houston
are sponsoring the co-op. The group already has over 30 participants.
At this informational session, you’ll learn how solar works, how it can be financed,
how it is installed, and how you can join the Co-Op. For homeowners, this is the last year to get the full solar tax credit, so come learn how you can participate!
Our speaker, Dori Wolfe, is founder of two solar energy companies, and has worked to bring community solar projects to fruition since 2012.