Arkansas Presbytery

Dan, Molly and I recently attended an over-night meeting with the Presbytery of Arkansas at University of the Ozarks and First Presbyterian Church of Clarksville, Arkansas.  We took the last train to Clarksville and they left me at the station.  I got distracted trying to identify the decorative ferns.

The meeting was attended by Presbyterian (PC USA) churches in the northern 2/3 of the state.  For those of you who may not know what a Presbytery Meeting is, it is the government organization of the denomination.  Each church elects "ruling elders" (Presbyter means "elder") who serve on session and manage the church property as a group.  Sometimes deacons are also elected to help them.  Each church is part of a presbytery (group of churches) .  Groups of Presbyteries form a Synod, All of the Synods make up the General Assembly (national body) of the Presbyterian Church USA.  General Assembly meets every 2 years. Presbytery of Arkansas meets three times a year.  Each church appoints and sends commissioners which are ruling elders and pastors (pastors are also called teaching elders) to go to the Presbytery meetings and make decisions.  Each Presbytery sends commissioners to the General Assembly to make decisions.  Make sense?  We have a very representative church government similar to Congress.  Church leaders make decisions as a body for their church, for their presbytery, and for their denomination.

 I want to go over 4 really cool parts of the meeting

1.  Mission Co-Workers

Part of the meeting was a 30 minute presentation by Rev. Dr. Paul Matheny and Rev. Dr. Mary Nebelsick telling us about their work since 2001 as mission co-workers in the Philippines through Presbyterian World Mission.  Mission Co-workers are like grown up YAVs; adults that give more than a year of service to live and be the presence of God in a long term mission role through the Presbyterian Church.  If you visit their website (pcusa.org/paul-matheny-and-mary-nebelsick) or send them money you can get a prayer card with their picture, address and description of thier work.  It goes well on your refrigerator as a daily reminder to pray for those doing justice work through the church, and the partners they work with.  Don't forget to pray for the justice leaders in our communities here at home Below is their card on our fridge. Mary, Paul, and their daughter Rachel.

Paul, Mary, and Rachel's card next to a cool picture of Jesus also on our fridge

The Rev.Dr.s  both teach at Union Theological Seminary in Dasmarinas.   They prepare students from the Philippines and other nations for leadership in ministry.  Also, being Christians in the Philippines they are called to be a voice for the poor and the oppressed.  I ate lunch with Mary and Paul and they told some stories about standing up for the poor.  The government doesn't like it when the foreigners take the side of the poor, it's embarrassing so that puts Mary and Paul in a good place to make changes.  They have to rely heavily on relationships with local citizens who know the political and social climate much better to navigate how to strategically make changes to help the poor.  They've witnessed people get murdered for taking a stand and helping the poor as Christians.  They've seen a man get kidnapped by the government and a response from the world church community pressured the President of the Philippines to reveal his whereabouts and eventually release him.  They've seen the government lock up children and the homeless to get them off the streets so Manila would be cleaner for Pope Francis and President Obama to visit.  Here's an article on that with some tough pictures.  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2906730/EXCLUSIVE-Children-CAGED-God-Police-seize-orphans-chain-filth-clear-streets-Pope-s-visit-Philippines.html


2.  Rachel Shepherd Passed her Ordination Exam!

Rachel Shepheard has been a new pastor at Second Pres (our church) since November.  A former Virginian, and Union Theological Seminary (Richmond VA) graduate, she was quizzed at the meeting by five or six commissioners on her Theology, or how she would react as a pastor in certain situations.  She was then approved to be ordained and installed as Interim Associate Pastor at Second Presbyterian Church where she's already been filling in.  She is a great lady! We love her. She leads our "Tap Theology" and other Young Adult Activities.  She's helped me plant trees at Ferncliff, and she preached at the Ash Wednesday Service.  I'll point you toward a seminary project of hers I found online. Keep in mind this project is for mature audiences; http://justiceunbound.org/carousel/daughters-of-eve-biblical-women-take-back-the-microphone/

This is Rachel in front of the Osmanthus shrub at the church

3.YAADs

Just like General Assembly I attended in June, The Arkansas Presbytery has Young Adult Advisory Delegates (YAADs) The churches send members of their youth group along with commissioners (elders and preachers).  On most decisions the YAADs get to vote first.  The voting commissioners get to see how the YAAD's voted, the moderator says, "you have been advised" and they can choose to listen to the younger folks or listen to their own conscious.  YAAD votes do not count officially but give a voice to the younger church.  YAADs study up on everything being voted on just as much if not more than the commissioners.  It was cool to see so many passionate young people there to give a voice to how their church could be run.

We heard the most YAAD opinions when the hot buttion topic came up of allowing same-sex marriages in the PCUSA denomination.  Three young girls got up and asked questions like "why are gay relationships wrong?" One questioned how do we know that the times when the bible says it is wrong are not just words influenced by their time?  How can we tell if it was misinterpreted in translation or added after the original writing?"  One asked, "even if it is a sin why are we making this sin such a bigger deal than all the other sins?"  I admire these people younger than I to have the courage to ask these things to a room full of white people with grey hair.  Way to go YAADs!

4. Commissioner's resolution

At the very end of the meeting, Rev. Marie from First Presbyterian, Little Rock presented a commissioner's resolution asking the body of Arkansas Presbytery to "declare its opposition to Arkansas House Bill 1228, allowing discrimination based on religious conviction, particularly intended to target gay, lesbian, and transgender people as well as others; and against Senate Bill 202, barring localities from passing anti-discrimination laws..." and also ask the Governor to veto SB 202.  That passed unanimously so the stated clerk will let the legislature know that as a church body we oppose this "Conscious Protection Act" that could allow businesses to deny service to LGBT folks based on "religious convictions"  The main idea here is that our religion, on the books as the same one the legislature is trying to "protect" is about loving your neighbor as yourself, respecting the dignity of every human being, has previously spoken out against prejudice based on race, religion, country of origin, gender, sexuality, etc, and that religion shouldn't be a cloak for discrimination.

 Another important part of the meeting was a vote to change the denomination's policy on marriage and particularly same-sex marriage.  In June an overture was brought to General Assembly changing the definition of "marriage" to " between a man and a woman" to "between two people" essentially allowing same-sex marriages to be performed by PCUSA churches and clergy.  It was sent to all presbyteries to be ratified before it takes effect.  It passed in Arkansas Presbytery this weekend and if enough other presbyteries vote in favor of the amendment it will take affect at the next General Assembly in 2016.

I plan to write another article about my experience seeing the marriage policy go through both General Assembly and Arkansas Presbytery.

Who says church government is boring?  (maybe I've just been in it too long)

Mac, Water and Cuba

This weekend I've been crashing the Living Waters for the World education retreat.  They happen to be here at Ferncliff, a few of the Solar School instructors are part of it, Mac from my first out-of-the-country mission trip to Baja, Mexico in 2006 is part of it, and I'm going to attend their Clean Water University training in April.  So I took some of my weekend to sit in, hear more about them and meet more technology-minded Christians doing impressive work in the name of God.  There are eleven other small world moments that make me feel drawn to this group, a few of which I will explain at the end of this article.

Me and Mac (Shenandoah Buddies!)

They got a tour of the Eco Center, a bonfire, and a demonstration of depression fireworks out of me in exchange for letting me hear all their trade secrets.

"Living Waters for the World mission teams empower their partners to provide clean, sustainable water and health education for their communities."  Pay attention. clean water AND health education.

 

This video and others from  http://livingwatersfortheworld.org/LWW_Video.php

This is a group of Presbyterians that set up water filtration systems to provide purified, filtered, and treated water to communities across the world.  AND they set up health education in the communities, by members of the communities along with the water treatment system.  They have 689 working systems  in 25 (soon to be 26) different countries.  They are so large because four times a year they train missionaries on how to install and teach about their system at Clean Water University.

After training at Clean Water University, mission teams go into the area, install the system, train an in country operator, AND train a handful of local teachers to teach health and hygiene to the customers who will get the clean water.

At this weekend's retreat, staff, board members, Clean Water University instructors, network leaders, and long time volunteers met to discuss some larger organizational shifts, and to re-format their curriculum based on a new direction of the organization.  They focused on keeping consistency in the process for their systems in all 26 partner countries.

Picture from http://livingwatersfortheworld.org/LWWPO.php

This organization has become much bigger than ever anticipated and they are responding to keep a consistent quality and effectiveness in all their systems.  Recently with the opening of US trade with Cuba, LWW made national news in a NY Times article about how faith partnerships between the two nations have existed while economic partnerships were on a hiatus.  More on faith partnerships with Cuba through Living Waters here.  Mac and a handful of other folks here recently returned from a trip to Cuba.

Steve on LWW staff says that it is amazing that they are becoming more widespread and well known, but they need to make sure they are delivering a consistent model and a consistent product to systems carrying the Living Waters for the World name. This meeting was to get all of their US leadership on the same page, and now I'm sort of on that page as an observer and future Clean Water University student.

To avoid explaining the hours of boring details of the organization's new direction, I'll sum it up as best I can.  The idea is this;  in the name of sustainability, there needs to be more effort and work by the people in the country to asses sties, organize sites, and keep them running after the mission teams set up the system and education.  Some assessments and surveys originally done by Clean Water University graduates in the US will be more sustainable if they are done by people who live in the country and know it better.  The U.S. teams are starting to work themselves out of some of the work so that more ownership and responsibility lies with "The Networks".  By empowering more people in the communities where the systems go it builds more ownership, feeling of responsibility and importance that can keep the systems running without dependence on the Clean Water University grads.  They still keep the partnership but it puts more of the power and ownership to the people that actually make and drink the water.  That is the shift toward sustainability.  

I want to emphasize that if you train at Clean Water University you are being trained to organize a community to provide clean water for themselves.  Your job will be to teach them how the system works, and set them up to run the system on their own.  It is easiest to work in countries where networks of leaders are already established.  They are happy to train you to set up a network in another country.

Although much of the meeting was like watching a cake bake in a solar oven, over my head, and a little bit boring, it was very insightful to see a Presbyterian group grapple and struggle with an issue so important as bringing bacteriologically-safe water and health education to communities without something so basic as clean water.  At a time when the denomination is being divided over some divestment issues and rules on same sex marriages I am glad to see people that disagree on those topics come together to make decisions about providing sustainable clean water to a generation.  There are still things we agree on as Christians and it's important we act on what we believe is right.  We shouldn't dissolve partnerships on things like clean water because of political ideals and differing biblical interpretations of something entirely separate like gay marriage. 

Please pray for this organization in their discernment of a sustainable future.  You may even consider Living Waters for the World as a partner with your church mission teams. They offer Clean Water University several times each year for you to learn how to set up a trip to bring their teaching model and water system to a church or community you already partner with, or to tag along in a place they are already working.  If you don't have time, tell someone about it or consider donating toward their work in your monthly or annual giving. https://www.livingwatersfortheworld.org/Page6-GetInvolved.php

They are an inspiring group of missionaries that I was grateful to spend the weekend with, and I'm sure you'll love them too!

 The End.

LWW Retreat group.  Can you spot anyone you know?

P.S. Here are just a few other small world connections I saw this weekend, if you ever wondered how small the world is, or how much Presbyterians do together.

At General Assembly in June, I met Stephanie and Dan T of LWW.  Dan and his son Ben were key leaders in the Fossil Free PCUSA effort I mentioned in a past article.  Stephanie introduced me to Chris McRae of Solar Under the Sun and the conversation with him was essentially the reason I chose accept the placement here at Ferncliff.

Another guy, Danny K has a son who works at Camp Hopewell and met my fellow Little Rock YAVs Molly and Dan B. at the Program Connection conference a few weeks ago.  Camp Hopewell is where I'm taking Clean Water University 103 in April.

The only other 103-trained person in Shenandoah Presbytery is a man named Dan W. who is a cousin to Liz B., Liz is our PDA National Response Team leader here in Little Rock.  I was with Liz on Friday when the LWW arrived.  Dan W's grandaughter Isabelle was one of my campers at Nature Camp that I taught with Gus and Kate.  Liz asked me about Isabelle during my interview with Ferncliff just before I went to General Assembly.

I decided to come to Ferncliff because so many of these things were lining up in June and I figured God was involved somehow.  

Steve

Next week is Steve's last week at camp.  I'm going to miss him greatly and I'm not the only one.  Please ask me about this man.  I aspire to be like him one day.  He's moving with his family to Florida to be closer to his wife's parents.  Family comes first.

I think of Steve as a renaissance man, a rail splitter, a pastor, a modern cowboy, a farmer, a dendrologist, the coolest Dad ever (after my Dad),  an architect, a plumber, a teacher, a mentor. I hope I can call him a friend.  He is incredibly patient through all my dumb questions, and all the other dumb questions from others despite his to-do list being so long.  He knows everything.  EVERYthing.  And he'll teach you how to do it, giving you time, attention, and speaking at a level you can understand as long as it takes you to get it.  Want to know about gardening, auto mechanics, metal working, electricity, water treatment, theology, wisdom....? Just ask him.  He's impacted hundreds of Americorps volunteers here whose pictures line the wall in his office.

YAV has put some of the world's most amazing people in my life.  The world changers.  The movers and do-ers.  Ferncliff's director of operations and maintenance, Steve is competitive with Food Pantry and CSA coordinator Jane from last year for the top spot of most influential people in Alex's YAV career.

Steve taught me

• how to drive a tractor and operate the attachments
• how to plow a field
• how to weld
• how to mix concrete by hand and in the mixer
• how to winterize cabins with 70 year old pipes and no electricity
• where not to put the weather station......
• mineral spirits don't need to be mixed in water because they are oil based
• white caulk looks better than clear in most cases
• the concept of a square drill bit
• the difference between an impact driver and a drill
• how to kill and clean a chicken
• how to connect a charge controller to get the solar panel to charge the golf cart
• how to build walls on a flat bed trailer out of scrap wood and used screws
• how to vacuum 1800 cubic feet of weevil-infested rice hulls into that trailer
• how to back up the trailer full of rice hulls
• how to maneuver like Spiderman in the ceiling of the Eco Center with the vacuum to get the rice hulls without falling through the suspended ceiling
• how to build picture frames
• how to mix lime plaster and apply the last coats to the Eco Center walls with David and Luke. (Former gardener Kenny Lackey mixed the first batch, Steve mixed all billion others in between and I mixed the last one).

 
Steve also gave me a few life lessons

• "sometimes you just need the right tool"
• regarding chicken slaughtering: "I don't think God intended for us to enjoy it"
• regarding the Eco Center: "Yes you can build this way, but you really can't on this scale without a lot of help"
• "the people who built it are the most important feature of the Eco Center"
• regarding hole digging and me being clueless about the solar car, "I'll get to that tomorrow, and if you believe me I've got property in Arizona" or something like that
• "we just need somebody that ain't too bright to keep the fire going in that undersized furnace"

Steve showed me just about everything I can think of about Ferncliff's Straw-bale Eco Center.  He imparted to me, a temporary volunteer, a working knowledge of the septic system, the solar panel and battery system, the wood heating system, and the natural convective air flow system.  I picked up some of it, still clueless on most of it.  I even captured a few stories of the many people who's blood sweat and tears forever rest underneath the paint, plaster, mortar, sand and concrete.  Knowledge of such a uniquely sustainable building is invaluable.  He's a walking textbook  on all things construction but he has a mind that thinks of alternatives; ways to recycle old parts and old buildings.  He considers resource use, cost, labor, teach-ability, environmental impact, and even scripture believe it or not into his work and his construction.  "Don't build on sand"  Steve is one of a kind!  

Beyond my interactions with him he runs the water purification system for camp's drinking water, camp's wastewater system, all of the geothermal HVAC systems, solar panels, and like I said before Everything.  Steve is among the kindest, gentilest, and most agile folks I've ever met. He embodies the spirit of Ferncliff.  Steve you will always be loved, missed, remembered, talked about, and welcome by all of us in Arkansas who know you.

As with any goodbye there are some regrets.  I never learned much about Steve's past or his amazing family, although I've met all his kids and his wife at least once.  I wish we had more theological discussions, though I wouldn't replace the technical discussions.  I've become reflective of his departure while throwing him all the questions I can think of for work.  This time last year I learned of my pastor's retirement, my supervisor Ryan took a new job and left me alone until Stacie took over off and on.  Millie, another supervisor moved away.  My close friend Gus had died.  Other church friends have died since then.

People move, leave and die all the time.  That's life.  In the camp and non-profit world things tend to be even more temporary.  I'll be handing in my two month's notice pretty soon.  I think I'm getting a little better at dealing with these transitions.  It still carries sadness, but I know the territory.  Life goes on.  As I did last year I remember the people in my life who have not only left me but deeply impacted me.  Gus, Ryan, Millie, Stacie, Charlie, Parker.  Or the people that  I've left behind and they've impacted me Jane, Maggie, the other Maggie, Flip, John and Stella, Libby, Audrey, Kathleen. I can list hundreds on both lists.

I'm sad to add Steve to this list but very excited to throw him into this mix of the person I aspire to be; pulling from my experience with him and all these others too.  And now I've got an excuse besides Disney World to visit Florida!

For Steve and everyone else on your transition to the new chapters of life:

May the road rise to meet you 

May the wind be always at your back

May the sun shine warmly upon your face

May the rains fall gently upon your fields

Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand

The Lord bless you, and keep you.

The Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you  

 The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.   

Numbers 6:24-26

Encouragement among Church Polity

After you read this please share your most interesting communion or Eucharist story.

My mom's church served communion the day I rode the bus back to Little Rock.  Also that day two new elders were ordained and a third installed on session. One of them was only 16.

I am an elder too.  During services of ordination other elders in the audience are asked to come forward and lay hands on the new elders for the ordination prayer.  S.A Lockridge., Kathleen Phillips, Peggy Ruleman, and some others did that for me and Dorthea during a windy day in March 2007 at Rocky Spring.  I invited a few school buddies to come see me get ordained.  It felt like the roof would blow off the church that day in the wind.    We joked the "spirit was moving"  since spirit and wind are the same word in Hebrew (ruach ר֫וּחַ).  It was a moving time in my faith journey.  I've come so far since then.

As Elder one of my jobs became serving communion at Rocky Spring.  Most often with just six elders we would decide who was serving based on who showed up.  I rarely knew it was a communion day until I got there and S.A. and Kathleen would tell me, "ok Alex, you weren't here last time so it's your turn."  Most of those days I arrived, unshaven, wearing my tennis shoes with my khakis.  Days I forgot my belt, or forgot to put on deodorant.  On those days I felt, "What in the world am I doing? Shouldn't I be looking a little nicer if I'm going to hand out the body of Christ here? I didn't even wear a tie and I've got to carry Jesus.  What if I drop something?"   I can be hard on myself but there was something so sacred about communion I felt like someone else should be doing that rather than little ole Alex who was told at the last minute most of the time.

I often get similar feelings when I visit a church during ordination days and I'm asked to come forward with everyone else to lay on hands.  Some of those days I haven't shaved, or I didn't wear a tie.  Most often with campus ministry and YAV it's at a church where nobody knows who I am, and I'm twenty years younger than everyone else who gets up.  I think, "I shouldn't be here they don't know who I am." This happened again at mom's church last Sunday.

Since I started YAV, I've felt there have been moments when I don't feel like I should be an Elder or missionary, or one of God's leaders.  Times when that "spirit moving" feeling isn't there.  Times when I think others are better suited for the work.  (JONAH........)

There are days I want to give up.  Days when arguments with non-believers have left me exhausted and hung out to dry. Days when people don't understand food justice.  Days I speak up against an issue to fellow YAVs and don't know all the facts but still have an opinion. Days people don't even know what I'm doing. Days I don't know what I'm doing.  Days I'm unorganized and not accomplishing much.  Days people's hospitality of taking me out to lunch supports injustices in our economy and I don't know what to do.

I was thinking about all this after Sunday's service when I heard the new elders talking.  They were kind of jokingly talking about the times they almost messed up communion that very day, when one almost tripped.

My mom, being the pastor chimed in with a story.  "It wasn't as bad as the summer they set up communion the night before and forgot to turn on the air conditioning.  The juice molded in the pitcher over night and the elders had to secretly scrape off the mold after they uncovered it before they served it".

I remembered a time when they ran out of bread and had to hurry back to the kitchen for more.  Mom told of a time when the communion lady forgot the bread entirely and snuck out during the hymn with her brother.  She had him and her husband smuggle the bread in coffee cups during the communion hymn, to pour on the plates before the elders distributed it.  A story came out about the time a guy literally tripped over his two feet and spilled the grape juice everywhere.

In a way these stories were comforting that I never was that bad at serving communion. My guilty feelings of unworthiness were justified.  The stories reminded me, just like all church committee meetings do, that we are human.

We are all people who sometimes forget to wear a tie, shave and clean up.  Sometimes we forget more important things than our appearance.  Sometimes we let the Christ's body get stale or moldy, Often times we are clumsy and we break things, or ruin them.

We don't behave as perfect angels.

God knows that.  God knows we forget. God knows we mess things up. God knows we are clumsy daffy old fools sometimes, and he still loves us for some reason .  Not only does he love us, but he trusts us to carry his body, his blood, and his spirit.  As Elders we literally carry and serve the elements for communion, but as Christians we ALL literally serve Christ to others every day.  God entrusts us with his everything no matter how forgetful, sinful, and destructive we are.

Somehow I think it's working when all this inspires me to put my best foot forward, clean up my own act, and try not to make a fool of myself as I carry God with me.

I still need to forgive myself for the times when I'm unprepared.  And to be ready to serve in those times impromptu style. Times when S.A and Kathleen say it's my turn.  Times when the discussion takes a turn to God and I need to explain faith in a non-proselytizing, non-condemning way that keeps others interested. Times when I see someone who might be needing a prayer.  Times when someone is begging for money and I'm not prepared with cash. Times when Heaven asks us to serve and we're not quite ready.

That's all of us every day. We are given God's body, God's blood, God's life.  And we are to share it. To pass it along.  No matter how silly and awkward we are with it, we've got it in our hands, and we've got to share it.  We're up.

I am an Elder, I am a Christian, I am a YAV, I am someone who believes Jesus is real, and serving God is what I'm here for.  I may trip, I may spill it, I may forget something, but that's my job.

Let's do it. It's where we are.  It's the task before us.  Let us serve God to one another.


Please share a communion or Eucharist story in the comments below.  How does serving communion or taking communion apply to your everyday life?

Waiting on the Bus

I recently purchased a ticket for a 20 hour bus ride home for the holidays and I want to take this time to share some numbers about transportation in the US.

First of all not all YAVs get to visit home at Christmas.  We are all are asked to be heavily invested in the communities we serve. Each site makes their own rules about visitors, and vacation travel.  Last year as a YAV in Boston I did not come home at Christmas and that taught me more of what Advent and Christmas are about. I found a friend in an older man named Ray last year.  It was a beautiful time.  I found a truer meaning of the season.  I now know Christmas is not about presents, it is about the people you are with and the ways God shows up.  Christmas is when we remember God is here and God expresses himself by shining some light in a dark time of year. Feel free to read about my lovely Christmas last year here.

Ok. Transportation:
 Why does transportation matter to churches?

We spend money on transportation.  Perhaps we want to save on transportation expenses so we can give more to charities we support. Maybe we want to invest in transportation options that lead to a better world, build up God's kingdom.  Can we use our transportation resources to help out our neighbors like picking people up, or helping change a tire.  Are there transportation modes that may be better for the planet God made, and God's people on it who he asks us to love?  Are there ways we can use less transportation fuel so others with more of a need have enough.  Let's explore these ideas.

We all must realize that 28% of the total energy in the US is used for transportation, the second largest consumption sector after electric power production.  71% of all petroleum consumed in the US is used on transportation. Every day our nation burns 18.88 million barrels (40 gallon drums) of petroleum products, 8.774 million of which is gasoline.  That's pretty substantial. http://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=oil_use.  

Flow diagram of the US energy consumption by source and sector
http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/monthly/pdf/flow/petroleum.pdf 

Why might the Church care about Petroleum or fossil fuels anyway?

1.Violence.  I'm not even going to try and tally all the soldiers, not just the US soldiers who have died in conflicts to protect US oil interests.  Due to the simple fact our nation consumes so much, our leaders have to make sure there is gas in the gas stations.  We have to be real, but also recognize where violence happens.  Violence, oppression, and dangerous work conditions are not uncommon in the fossil fuel industry. Human and environmental exposure to toxins from the fuels before they are refined and after they are burned contribute to most of the health and environmental problems of our age.

We consumers who consume so much regardless of what it costs should consider more ways to cut back to reduce harm to ourselves and our brothers and sisters. http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=19191

US Carbon Dioxide Emissions by Source.  Data from 2012. http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases/co2.html

2. Justice. Just this June, the General Assembly of my denomination, (Presbyterian Church USA) was presented with an overture from the Boston Presbytery asking the denomination to divest it's endowment money from fossil fuel companies.  The request was referred by the Environment and Immigration Committee to the Committie for Mission Responsibility Through Investment to let them handle it.  That divestment request was part of a larger movement for other denominations, schools, universities, and businesses across the nation to make a statement that we want to stop our dependence on fossil fuels to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change.  That's where I first heard the term "Climate Justice"

http://www.fossilfreepcusa.org/

What? Churches are talking about fossil fuels and climate change? What do Christians know about climate change? There is a committee for Immigration and Environment? These were my first thoughts.  At General Assembly people told me to look at it this way:
__
Our denomination funds YAVs like me to restore wetlands in New Orleans from the BP Oil Spill.  It's contradictory for the denomination to fund clean up efforts and also profit from companies like BP causing environmental damage.

In other news,  climate change is a justice issue.  Many of the world's poor are affected by climate change in the global south, where rivers are drying up.  Lakes that provide a source of water, food, and employment are disappearing.  Larger storms are causing larger disasters, and the poor have a harder time recovering than the wealthy.  The wealthy parts of the world (i.e. the United States)  can easily remain ignorant of these things where wealth and a fortunate happening of geography slow the direct impact.

As changing climates change lives, geography and wealth will further divide the resources from those who have them and those who don't.  This is already happening.  Any Christian who pays attention to the old testament laws and especially the prophets on taking care of the oppressed and not being part of the oppression, or any Christian who listened to what Jesus said about the "least of these" better consider getting on board with fighting climate change or just keep reading scripture to see what could happen.
___

Oh. Yikes. I see it differently now.

Some opposition to this movement for divestment, and even the criticism I have is that it is just about money.  It changes very little in the life of the church but it makes us feel better that we aren't profiting from large fossil fuel companies.  It may even free us from the evil of profiting from oppression.  Maybe.  Everyone at General Assembly talking about the issue still drove or flew there in vehicles using fossil fuels.  I went there on a plane, I'm just as hypocritical as they come, but we have to start somewhere.  Granted that is no reason to oppose the movement, just a minor setback.

We must attack such large issues on multiple levels.  While we are putting our investment money where our beliefs are, let's put our daily actions and our pocket change there too.

Since Transportation and gasoline are large contributors to climate change, I decided to think about how I could get home for Christmas in a sustainable way, and in a way that reflects some of those ideas on "climate justice" and conservation.

So the greyhound bus home....

Some numbers:

• There are 858 miles between Ferncliff and my house. 
• It takes 13 hours driving but I don't trust myself to stay awake so I'd spend the night somewhere and allow up to 24 hours at least.  Who knows with winter weather.

I considered stopping in Nashville for the night for an adventure and get to hang out with some newly made friends there I made on my drive out here in August. That was one option and a very good one but most of them would be away for the holidays and I didn't want to crash the Nashville YAV house on my way home as they stayed at their YAV sites.  So I looked at the times and prices for public transit to compare and even investigated energy use to see if public transit is worth it to let someone else drive and I wouldn't worry about falling asleep.  Here is what I found.  

I ruled out flying because I waited too long and tickets are in the $800-$900 range which I can't afford.  I also ruled out the Amtrak because it would go through Chicago to get to Virginia from Little Rock.  That costs close to the bus but takes twice as long.

• The Greyhound bus bus can get me 783 miles closer to home in 19 hours, making it 21 by the time I make it all the way home from the bus station

• If I drive home to Millboro, Virginia from Little Rock Arkansas and back (approx 1720 miles total) in my 2004 Chevy Impala, I'll burn up about 65 gallons of gasoline releasing 1227 lbs CO2 emissions.  And it will cost about $195 round trip (assuming $3 per gallon--although gas prices keep dropping below that).  
• If I take the Greyhound to Roanoke, VA (65 miles from home), the bus will burn up 213 gallons of diesel fuel each way and I'd burn another 10 gal of gasoline total in my parents car for them to get me to and from the bus station.  It costs $288 for the bus ticket and another $30 for the gas in my parents' car $318 total.  Other bus lines may be cheaper but I couldn't find other routes going to my home. (note: gasoline and diesel emit different levels of CO2.  More at: http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=307&t=11)

Things look better if I consider fuel use per person:

• If the bus is full with fifty people both ways my share is actually only 8.72 gallons per person plus 10 from the bus station (18.72 gal per person total). Net 284 lbs CO2 emissions
• If the bus is only half full with 25 people my share is still only 27.4 gallons per person (17.4 on the bus, 10 in parents' car). Net 380 lbs CO2
• If there are only eight people on the bus my share is 64.5 gal per person, the same as going the entire way alone in my car, but with a net 784 lbs CO2 emissions.  And I'm guessing Greyhound will find more than 8 people to send the bus that far.

So I spend $123 more to save lots of fuel, half a month's stipend.  Is it worth it? maybe I'm crazy.  On the YAV budget that's not an easy expense to make but a sacrifice for sustainability is a sacrifice worth making.

Let me go deeper.

• Greyhound claims on average each bus takes 50 cars off the road and achieves 184 people miles per gallon (miles per gal x number of people on the bus).  (https://www.greyhound.com/en/about/factsandfigures.aspx).  That's not only incredible it's over twice what air lines claim for each seat!
• 
  

Image from an excellent Wall Street Journal Article on  airplane fuel economy.  http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704901104575423261677748380

• My car gets an average of 26.5 miles per gallon.  With just me in it, that's only 26.5 people-miles-per-gallon --significantly lower than 184, even lower than 60.4 on a delta flight!
• If we assume the bus I'm on takes 50 cars like mine off the road, the bus  could potentially save as much as 2,800 gallons of gasoline each way which is 53,000 lbs CO2 emissions! That's incredible!  
• The greyhound bus people mile per gallon will outweigh me riding alone in my car with as few as 8 people riding the bus.

Brief reflection:

Running all these numbers I realized car-pooling in a smaller car is a better option.  Since cars are more fuel efficient than buses, fitting more people into cars makes a bigger difference, but only up to the point when more fuel efficient cars end up consuming more gas than the bus because of how many cars are needed.

  In this particular case study, that point occurs when about half the bus (25 people) are packed in five cars like mine.

Tips to save energy on transportation

• car pool as much as possible
• take public transit on a bus or train when traveling by yourself.  These vehicles are already running anyway and consuming the fuel, help them out by hoping on the band wagon
• Plan ahead, bus tickets, train tickets and even plane tickets in general are cheaper the earlier you buy.
• There is no rule of thumb, get to know what public transportation options are between where you are and where you're going.
• The Amtrak or plane may be cheaper depending on the route.
• A monthly bus or subway pass can make a great Christmas gift!

So that's my story.  I am saving about 1,000 lbs Carbon dioxide emissions.  I had to really stretch my YAV money to spend about $123 more than I would driving to support an industry that helps reduce our fossil fuel usage as a society, and not just buy fossil fuels to use myself. I'm helping lower my own environmental impact and that of other bus passengers. I get to sleep on the road.  I don't have to drive on the winter roads in the south where there are no trucks to clear off ice and snow.  I get home faster than I would stopping to sleep in Nashville. And maybe I'll meet a friend.  Maybe this is something more Presbyterians should be doing as our leaders consider divestment from fossil fuel companies.

I also want to remark that I went a little overboard on the calculations just to make a point.  Choosing travel shouldn't be a scary mess of numbers, but when we talk about sustainability we need to consider ALL our options.  The purpose of this article is to encourage people to think through more than just $ amounts, time, and schedules but also look for other important factors like fuel use and environmental impact, possibilities to make friends, time to sleep, time to read, time to look at birds out the window, etc.  Also time that we don't go crazy being cooped up in a bus for so long.  We need to find balance in our lives, and there are lots of values we tend to overlook as Americans,; values we don't know about until we do something new like ride the bus for 20 hours.  

It may be the case that driving makes more sense for your vacation than public transit, but It really is worth considering before you make that choice.

I'll be home for Christmas--(In a sustainable fashion)
 if only in my dreams.

I welcome any comments if you are skeptical about my calculations or your thoughts on public transportation.  Even comments on factors I didn't mention that are important to your travels.

Drive Safe! (to the train or bus station that is)

There is Chicken Blood on my Pants (and No, I'm not a Witch).

It is quite humbling to catch a chicken, hold her, pet her, attempt to calm her, pass her off to Steve, and look her in the eye as the axe comes down. Then after plucking feathers, and knifing away the vitals, I carry it on ice to my freezer. I did that today.  I caught a bird that has lived at Ferncliff much longer than I have, and helped end her life.

This article is about killing chicken.  I thought you should know that here before you decide to keep reading or not.

There was a bright vivacious red color blood.  There were feathers--lots of them. There was a small child calling at his father, "please don't kill it Dad."  There was slimy smelly guts. There was skin. There were feathers we missed. There was yellow fat.  It smelled like a dead animal, it did a lot of twitching.  It bled on me. It's smell lingers in my arm hairs hours later.

Picture of me removing the chicken's crop and cutting the organs away from the neck bone. Photo taken by Molly DeWitt copyright 2014

Today I am brought back to the earth. I am reminded how the life thing works. I must kill to eat--be it a bird, a mammal, a plant. I must cut open the earth to plant, cut off the leaf or root, cut off the head, or in some way consume another's life to sustain my own. We humans are pretty destructive if you think about it.

Today I am brought back to the earth. I am reminded how the life thing works. I must kill to eat--be it a bird, a mammal, a plant. I must cut open the earth to plant, cut off the leaf or root, cut off the head, or in some way "cut off" and consume another's life to sustain my own. We humans are pretty destructive if you think about it.

Continual sacrifice, death, and dirty, smelly, labor are required to continue our lives. This is real. This is food. This is life.

Jesus' sacrifice gives us life.

All food comes at a cost of life.* It makes me think of James Cameron's Avatar in the scenes when they hunt.  The blue girl Neytiri, teaches the blue guy Jake Sully to respect the animals he hunts.  A few times you see her approach the animal she has attacked and fatally wounded.  She says.  "I see you"  "I thank you."  She has a brief zen moment with it. Then she slits it's throat to kill it.  Jake does this later while hunting.  That movie has a lot about "knowing" the other animals on the planet with the jellyfish tentacle thing from their hair that they touch each other with. I don't have one of those things in my hair (that I know of) but I appreciate the concept--A truer empathy and understanding with other people and other species even.  What if we had that today.  I think it was more prevalent a few generations back.  A lot of adults here talked about butchering chickens with their grandparents.

In the real world how much of our food do we see? How much do we thank?  How much do we want to see?  How much of it are we thankful for? 

My thoughts taper off into trying to empathize with the bird.......

I remember Steve said today, "I don't think God intended for us to enjoy it."

With chicken blood on my pants, and a chicken's blood on my hands, I realize more fully, I must inevitably leave a mark (or a pile of feathers) behind if I am to continue.  I am a heterotroph. I must consume energy from something. I cannot generate it on my own. 

I did this to some quail at Nu Beginning Farm a few years ago.  It hasn't made me vegetarian, but it's made me realize someone for a job has to get bled on every time we order meat.  It's made me remember that an animal had to die to make my dinner.  This has made me very comfortable having meat only once or twice a week, or sometimes less than that.

Many people I know, both living and dead have made a mark on me while sustaining their own life. In an inspirational since knowing that I will damage things, or at least leave an impact, I guess I should make  the most Christ-like impact I can.  I must steward that time and life for God since it is a gift from God.  I must see, and thank myself with the same respect Avatar and chicken killing has taught me for other animals.  The chickens that died today left a mark on me, and I will say some words about them.

(Placing my hat over my heart...)

While living, these birds put many a egg in a campers hand, they were the first animal many a child ever held, and they were used to teach many how to farm. Even today while dying 7 people from ages 7 and up were taught "how we eat chicken," how to kill it, and get it ready for your kitchen. They became part of a meal for the YAVs and the Americorps team.  I thank you dear bird.  I held you, I see you, I smell you, I thank you. I'm also sorry, it was kind of rude for me to move into your home and help kill you soon after.

Alex's Butcher benediction: 

May all birds have the chance to give such light to the world. 

May our human lives and deaths be a blessing to all who hold us. 

And may there always be good soup!

*Idea:  In the author's opinion, arguably fruits and eggs do not cause death to anything living.  Most edible fruits are like gifts the plant wants you to take so you spread it's seeds. (so plant a few of them once and a while-pay it forward)  It doesn't damage a plant to pluck it's fruit in the same way tearing a leaf or cutting off the root literally tears cells apart and damages the plant. Unfertilized eggs will not develop into chicks so we might as well eat them since they are there, right? Nothing dies there because it wasn't really alive.  On the cellular level fruits and eggs are viable, organic cell matter that are essentially "eaten" by our cells but I don't consider those alive in how birds are alive.

Americorps, Swimming, and Winter

Last Sunday a team of nine Americorps NCCC volunteers stationed in Denver arrived at Ferncliff.  Water 7 is their team name.  NCCC is the Americorps branch for the National Civil Community Corps.  They will stay here and several other places all across their region for 6 weeks at each place.  They have certian hour requirements here at Ferncliff, and a certain number of required hours outside of this project.

They are our new friends: Billy, Michael, Jocelyn, Kindra, Steven, Luke, Kevin, Sasha, Josh, and Jessica. Their main project is demolishing the old swimming pool.  It has some beautiful artwork which I hate to see go.  One of the dining hall staff was chatting with me about that.  She's been here for 19 years. Camp used to have the kids swim in the lake and use the old cabins with no air conditioning.  Now they have air conditioned cabins which they don't even carry their trunks to, and they swim in a new swimming pool with a splash pad, beach entry and water umbrella.  The old pool is becoming the site of a new dining hall more centrally located so guests don't have to walk as far to eat.  This lady told the same words of progress I heard from camp executive staff in a tone of an older lady wondering why the world has changed so much.  Camp staff is proud of the growth, and she wondered "what's wrong with swimming in the lake, and cabins without air conditioning, isn't that what camp is?"  I could empathize with her.

Back at Nature Camp we don't have air conditioning, we swim in the creek, we don't use computers, we don't even use electric pencil sharpeners.   We once had camp for a week without electricity after a wind storm.  Electricity only powers lights, the refrigerator, fans, and hot water.  Where do you find the sweet spot at camp? How do you equally balance the preferences of a changing generation, modern practicality, and experiencing the natural world? Everyone has their opinions. I think Ferncliff has a relatively good balance here.  

This year we're constantly thinking about what camps should be as a ministry of the church.  Everyone's got opinions.  I think the new pool is a little bit closer to Disney world than camp, but they've got a straw bale building, goats, chickens, tree houses, a labyrinth and a stone chapel to bring visitors and campers quickly back to the center of what's importan. They span the whole gambit from rustic to awesome adventure to fancy-modern.  To Ferncliff's credit the air conditioned cabins use a "Geothermal" HVAC unit which uses the lake water as the heat sink, so it is more efficient than a typical air conditioned cabin.

Americorps is using most of the wood from the pool house to become a storage barn on the other side of camp.  They'll start building it this week.  And part of the old pool foundation will become foundation for the new dining hall. They re-use as much building material as possible.

The old pool and pool house as it stands Nov. 17 halfway deomolished by the Americorps team

Ferncliff's new pool.  Photo from Ferncliff Facebook

Americorps Water 7 has also been helping us YAVs with some work.  I had a handful of Americorps people helping me winterize the Eco Center. We had our first frost the first week of November so I got the woodstove going but the summer ventelation system was still working to cool the building.

The building is cooled by a solar chimney made of two large black pipes on the roof.  The black metal heats in the sun causing the air inside to warm, become less dense, and rise.  As it rises it draws air from the building and creates a draft.  The idea is that enough air flow inside can keep the humidity down.  The thick straw bale walls can keep the heat out and that is how it stays cool.  The major design flaw is that the humidity stays high on cloudy days inside.  Even though it may be 78 inside on a 95 degree day, high humidity inside can make that 78 unbearable to sit through.  We're working on it, but I'm glad camp just tried it and we're going from there.

Eco Center Photos property of Ferncliff Camp Copyright 2013

So during our cold nights hot air from the building was escaping out the solar chimney and keeping the building at 55 or cooler in the wee hours of the morning.  We had a group staying there in a few days so I had to fix this.  No matter how Eco-friendly the group is I doubt they want to wake up in a drafty 55 degrees when they are paying for it.

Some Americorps volunteers helped me caulk some cracks, block the cieling vents, and spray-foam-insulate cracks around pipes.  I discovered it takes a little bit of work to get other people to do your work for you.  Most of these Americorps kids are 18 and just out of high school so they don't have as much hands on experience as I.  Don't get me wrong I'm pretty useless, I got plenty of good ideas and I know how things work but I can't do all that much on my own with tools.  Out of the five they sent me, none of us, even I had more than a day's experience with caulking, so we accidently destroyed two bottles before we realized you need to punch a hole in the foil inside the front to let it come out.  We also learned don't sniff it or don't get it on your hands.  Luke and I had similar debacles with the spray foam.  It was very fun, a little messy, and minimally stressful.

I got a few people blocking ceiling vents with cardboard.  I gave them what I thought was good instructions, and the necessary tools and left to run an errand. I came back 20 minutes later and they were in the same place I left them.  They were still figuring out how to best get the vents back on.  They were slow and deliberate, and they got it done, but it surprised me how long it took. It gave me insight into what my supervisors might feel when they leave me alone on a task and I get stuck and make less progress than they thought.  This is pretty much every day for me.  It gave me insight into the frustration Don felt when I was doing mudding and sanding in NYC with PDA and he'd come back and I'm still sanding the same section of wall he saw me sanding the last time he was there.

Lets face it volunteers have heart but maybe not the hand skills to get everything done.  The people with the skills are out there using their skills making money, and they cost money so non-profits might settle for volunteers.  So if you are a skilled professional you would be the envy of volunteers, and a much needed volunteer.  I'm realizing a big part of this volunteer world is doing what we can together, and getting the right leadership to get these tasks done without professional help.

This is my volunteer contribution so far:  It took me a week to weld a weather station pole together, five weeks to make signs for features of the Eco Center, four weeks to plan out a landscape project, three weeks to vacuum rice hulls and weevils, three days to connect one solar panel to the golf cart and two hours to clean just four golf cart batteries.  I gained some great experiences and fun stories along the way.  But someone who knew what they were doing could do all that in a day or two.  The learning and the stories are what makes this experience what it is.

So whatever you are doing on your own, for your supervisors, or for those you supervise. Do it well, learn something, teach something, tell a story, and make a story.  I'd love to hear it.  Thanks for the stories Americorps Water 7!