MENNO CREATION CARE
AT 2011 MENNONITE CONVENTIONS

Mennonite Church Canada:
It's Epic...Remembering God's Future, July 4 to 8, Waterloo, Ont.

Joanne Moyer of the Creation Care Council will represent MCCN. Look for her booth or attend her workshop below.

Living More With Less
With: Joanne Moyer, Mennonite Creation Care Network /
Mennonite Central Committee Ontario / Greening Sacred Spaces.
The dangers of climate change, images of poverty at home and
abroad, and violent conflict give us plenty to despair. But the hope
and the model of Jesus Christ equips us to respond meaningfully.
By living more with less we can build a sustainable foundation of
peace and justice for all – the way Jesus would want.

Just Food
With: Ray Dirks, Curator, Mennonite Heritage Centre Gallery,
and Marlene Epp, Historian, Conrad Grebel University College.
What did food justice mean for Mennonites caught in the
Russian famine in the 1920’s? What does food justice mean to
us when we have daily nourishment in abundance? What does
food justice mean to someone who must eke out a life on one
meal a day? Join your hosts in a walking tour of this exhibit and
hear stories from past and present that help you embrace the
stunning visual art displays.

Mennonite Church USA:
Bridges to the Cross in Pittsburgh, Pa., July 4 to 9

Watch for our booth in the Exhibit Hall on a corner. What can you do there?

Go on a "Creation Care Expedition." This scavenger hunt will introduce you to some of the features that make the David Lawrence Convention Center a green building. If you return your sheet, you'll have a chance to win either a book of your choice or a handy fold-up stuff sack.

Participate in the Youth Group G1 Contest. Lawrence Center employees sometimes award "Green First" bottlecaps to visitors caught doing something "green," like using the recycling bins properly. We also have a prize for the youth group with the most bottlecaps. Bring your bottlecaps to our booth by Friday noon and win a snack to share on the way home.

Offer a confession: What is one thing you wish you could change about your life, your congregation, your town, to live more lightly on the earth? Write it on a card and hang it up on our "dirty laundry" line for prayer.

See where people came from and how they got here. We've got a big map and pins to mark your hometown.

Meet members of the Creation Care Council: Click here to see who they are.

Attend workshops on creation care themes:

Greening the Church Experience
Luke Gascho
Thursday, 10:30 - 11:25, Room 329
Creation care practices in our congregations
should affirm and teach
that everything belongs to God. This
biblical-based seminar will encourage
holistic stewardship in the daily life of
the congregation.

What Does “Sustainable Living”
Mean for People of Faith?
Luke Gascho
Thursday, 1:00 - 1:55, Room 329
Simple living has been a common
theme in our church’s history. As we
live in a consumer-driven society, we
are enticed to leave the commitment
to living simply and joyfully. The seminar
will examine options and practices
that honor the call to live within the
bounds of enough. The discussion
will help form a new definition of
sustainable living for the church
today.

How Might the Church Respond to
Climate Change?
Luke Gascho
Wednesday, 2:15 - 3:10, Room 329
Friday, 2:15 - 3:10, Room 330
Rather than falling into a polarized
political response to this issue, the
church can bring a biblically-based
message of hope. The seminar will
explore the meanings of “For God
so loved the world” and the Good
Samaritan story as frameworks for
responding to climate change in the
global context. Our Christian way of
living as passionate stewards of the
earth brings an action-filled message
of peace and hope. Target audience
is youth.

It’s Not Easy Being “Green”
Kristen Mast and panel
Wednesday, 2:15 - 3:10, Room 323
Thursday, 2:15 - 3:10, Room 328
Everyone likes to talk about living
simply, buying locally and being
green. What do these things actually
mean? Is it for everyone or just a
select liberal few? Is there a magic
formula that you can follow to
make sure that you are doing it
“right”? Come join us as we hear
different people’s perspectives on
how they choose to apply these
values to their lives. Target audience
is youth.

LINKS TO OTHER CONVENTION PAGES

Bridges to the Cross

Convention Center Highlights for Mennonite Church USA's biennial convention at the David L. Lawrence Center, Pittsburgh, PA, July 4 - 9, 2011.

Greening Convention Ideas for Youth Groups

Greening Convention Ideas for Adults

Green Guidelines for Conference Planners (2.72 MB PDF)

Mennonite Church USA sustainability page and convention web site

Mennonite Creation Care Network
PO. Box 263 Wolf Lake, IN 46796
PHONE 260-799-5869
FAX 260-799-5875

Luke Gascho provides leadership for MCCN.
Call the # above or email lukeag@goshen.edu.

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