Eco-Act 21:10: relationships never end

It’s hard to believe but I (Adrienne) am writing this blog from sunny (but not as hot) San Diego! As many of you know, I have moved down here to start a graduate school program in Climate Science & Policy at Scripps Institute of Oceanography in July.

My journey of vocational discernment has been greatly shaped by my time with you all at Union/415. While I was with you, I was able to discern in community a call to ordained ministry (still in the works but maybe later), social work / thriving communities, environmental action, food justice, and local business that’s for the neighborhood. Though I’ll be focusing on the climate action piece this next year, I am very excited to see how all of my Union/415 experiences and interests will overlap my studies and overall vocation.

Staying Connected

reflecting on the past & looking toward the future

As we look backward and ahead regarding our Eco-Faith initiative and Union’s next iteration as we get back in person, I want to frame these wonderings within the (indigenous) idea that relationships never end. How might we live as People of the Way if relationships never end? How might we commit to acting for the care of all of Creation if we took seriously the earth’s ongoing relationship with us and all our ancestors, past and future? I can’t help but wonder about the timing and care of this message as I’ve heard it twice (maybe 3 times?) during my first week in San Diego.

The first time was from a Japanese American Episcopal priest serving in Okinawa. Nestled in our Zoom boxes, she described how beautiful it has been to get to know the community and indigenous Okinawan culture while walking with her parish through the uncertainties of a still very real COVID pandemic. She detailed how important relationships are to people there (especially the older folks most impacted by the virus) and shared there is no word in Okinawan for goodbye because culturally, relationships never end.

A day or two later, I was reading about the 751 more unmarked graves found at a former residential school in Saskatchewan, Canada. As I mourned these children and the history of genocide that the Church and State perpetuate all over the world, a package arrived. In it was a thank you present from Union: a wool blanket designed by Snoqualmie Tribal Members McKenna Sweet Dorman and Jaime Martin. The timely gift was different shades of brown (so earthy!) and “incorporates designs found on traditional basket weavings from the Puget Sound region” (see above link for more). The last note said:

These blankets were designed with wrapping, gifting, and honoring in mind. The meeting of the design from each side to the other will speak to the continuous quality of time and intergenerational connection through time. The intentional colors of the blanket reflect the use of natural plants, dyes, and materials used by traditional artists. This design speaks to Snoqualmie Tribe's collective past, present and future.

After learning in Kitchen Table Conversations of Native histories and re-imagined futures for Coastal Salish peoples and other Native folks on Turtle Island, this gift thoughtfully wrapped and held me — a tangible reminder of the histories, communities, and relations that have shaped my work at Union, alongside my hopes for deepened Union relationships with local tribes. The blanket’s Native context and Union’s gift remind me, though not quite in the same language: relationships never end…we are all part of Creation…we will always be connected.

This view of time and of relationship encompasses our sense of self in relation to the community, how we treat one another, and the ways we act for the earth. Though I am stepping away, I wonder who might step in and alongside my frank and action-oriented Eco-Faith counterpart: Gary Cooke. I believe that the momentum we’ve all created together is meaningful and one way Union can continue to show God’s deep love for all of Creation.

If you are interested in becoming more involved with Eco-Faith, please email Gary. For the rest of the summer, we will be collecting produce on Thursdays before noon at the McCollough’s in N. Seattle, 415, and the Downey’s in W. Seattle. The beautiful produce from our dispersed community gardens gets distributed to neighbors at Compass House Dexter.

As I hold on to the significance of relationships never ending, I will always think fondly of my Union community! But to be sure, I think I had more profound exhortations and reflections of gratitude for Union in my Sunday Zoom goodbye (Gary’s prayer that sent me on my way had us all crying!). What I do recall from that message is: Union is doing the Kin-dom work in so many areas; keep showing up tangibly!

I will leave the Eco-Faith blog world (for now) with some exhortations from Jesus…a 1st century indigenous Palestinian Jew and Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of the cosmos (and all our relations):

“Believe me: I am in my Father and my Father is in me. If you can’t believe that, believe what you see—these works. The person who trusts me will not only do what I’m doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I’ve been doing. You can count on it. From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I’ll do it. That’s how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son. I mean it. Whatever you request in this way, I’ll do.”

- John 14:11-14, MSG

Eco-act 21:09: acting for the neighborhood and for 2050

Last fall, we reflected on what poet Mary Oliver called the season’s exquisite, necessary diminishing.

We also wondered “… what if everyone in the Union community who gardens, or who could garden, decided to plant extra tomatoes, or lettuce, or spinach, or onions, peppers, melons, squash, potatoes, …. Could we grow enough food to make a difference for someone else?”

Now we are thankful for the continuation of the annual cadence: Easter rebirth leads to Pentecost’s message of growth. Spring promises summer. And Oliver observes, “in spring there’s hope … in summer there is everywhere the luminous sprawl of gifts, the hospitality of the Lord….”

We’ve also got an answer to our fall question, as the photo left illustrates. Last Thursday Union gardeners delivered seven bags of greens, along with turnips, snap peas and chard; the produce was delivered to, and appreciatively accepted by, Compass House.

Let’s keep this going! For everyone interested in joining the Union Gardens project, mark Thursdays on your calendars. That’s when you can bring your produce to the McColloughs’ house in North Seattle, or the Downeys’ in West Seattle, or Union before 1:00 PM. The Union team will take it from there.

Now, let’s step back for a moment and glance at the bigger picture: fighting climate change on a global scale. This month, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released a special report entitled Net Zero by 2050. Executive director Fatih Birol describes 2021 as “a critical year at the start of a critical decade,” and the report notes that the current pace of carbon/greenhouse gas emissions reduction will miss the 2050 deadline for “net-zero.” But rather than dwell on “gloom and doom,” the report sets out a detailed set of milestones—400!—whose achievement will mark the path the world needs to follow to reach its net-zero goal—with global equity(1)—by mid-century. Some examples:

• By 2021: no new oil or gas fields, or unabated coal plants(2), receive governmental approval

• By 2025: no more sales of fossil fuel-powered boilers

• By 2030: universal access to energy; all new buildings will be zero-carbon-ready(3); 60% of global new car sales will be electric vehicles; most of the required new clean technologies for heavy industry will be demonstrated at scale; solar and wind generation additions will exceed 1,000 gigawatts annually; unabated coal plants will be phased out in advanced economies

• By 2035: 50% of new heavy truck sales will be electric

• By 2040: 50% of aviation fuel consumed will be low-emission

• By 2045: 50% of global heating demand will be met with heat pumps

• By 2050: nearly 70% global electricity will be generated by solar and wind

Is creating a list of milestones the same as meeting those milestones? Of course not. Much of the success in reaching net-zero by 2050 will be driven by technologies not yet developed or proven at scale today, for one thing. And, as the IEA report notes, innovation will require governments to put “R&D, demonstration and deployment at the core of energy and climate policy.” More daunting still, a high degree of international consensus and collaboration will be needed. Hmmm…. And yet, it’s possible to find hope in this special report, for at least two reasons. First, this is not an alarmist “the sky is falling! Quick, we’ve got to do something!” document. Instead, the report presents tangible measures—things we can watch for and work for. And secondly, we as individuals are not relegated to the sideline; we have a role to play. The writers are clear: “A transition of the scale and speed described by the net-zero pathway cannot be achieved without sustained support and participation from citizens…. We estimate that around 55% of the cumulative emissions reductions in the pathway are linked to consumer choices….” So how might we contribute?

• Through our consumer choices: making our next vehicle electric, installing energy-efficiency upgrades and heat pumps in our homes, choosing to walk, bike or take public transport, and using the car wisely when it’s necessary, ….

• Through our voting/political choices: supporting candidates who back clean energy, zero-carbon R&D, job retraining for workers displaced by fossil fuel phase-out, expansion of clean-electricity grids, solar and wind farms, ….

• Through our investment choices: investing in companies/projects working to develop and scale technologies needed to achieve net-zero by 2050.

The path is indeed narrow, as the IEA press release notes, but we do have a path, and ways that we as individuals can help stay on it. That’s encouraging. It’s also encouraging that we have a way—Union Gardens—to help at the neighborhood level. We really can, at both the local and global levels, act with purpose and hope. Reasons to be thankful!

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(1) Per the IEA Report: “Providing electricity to around 785 million people that have no access and clean cooking solutions to 2.6 billion people that lack those options is an integral part of our pathway.”

(2) “Unabated coal-powered plants:” operating with little or no carbon capture/storage

(3) “Zero-carbon-ready:” capable of producing carbon-free renewable energy onsite, or procuring carbon offset

Eco-Act 21:09: checking in as we journey

This week, with May approaching, we check in on our Union Gardens project with a mixture of gratitude and anticipation. Then, we revisit two previously discussed components of our work to live more eco-friendly lives: recycling and our food consumption. First, Union Gardens ….

As the photo at left shows, radishes and arugula, sown just a few weeks ago, are growing nicely. And look carefully center-right to spot some butterhead and romaine lettuces sprouting. It won’t be long now….

At this point, just about everything can be safely sown or transplanted into outdoor gardens. For us, this means adding tomatoes, peppers, onion sets, carrots, bok choy and beans, as well as succession-planting lettuce. Our hope is that, by the end of May and early June, we will start to have some produce to share. If you have been thinking about joining the Union Gardens project, this is a great time to get started—in your back yard or a nearby pea patch, or on your deck, porch or windowsill.

Perhaps you have noticed and been encouraged by the recent wave of good environmental news. Ford, GM and Volvo, for example, have announced timelines for going all-electric. Tesla founder Elon Mush is financing a $100 million competition for the creation of solutions that remove carbon from the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency plans to allow California to resume setting its own (rigorous) vehicle emissions standards. And last week, the Biden administration joined with other world leaders to announce a focus on a clean energy future. These and similar developments are exciting in part because of the scale on which the players operate—far beyond what any individual can achieve. And with governments and corporations signaling they will do the “heavy lifting,” we have an opportunity to fine-tune the work we continue to do as individuals.

Recycling

We all dutifully follow the rules: buy-use-recycle-done. We’re environmentally responsible consumers, right? We do our part, and then pass the baton to our municipalities so they can finish the job properly. But is this approach really working? Or are we deluding ourselves? Maybe we as consumers have some opportunities to focus our efforts for better results, for example:

• avoiding products that come in plastic containers or multi-material containers (e.g., foil-lined chip bags)

• buying foods in bulk, using our own containers

• using Ridwell to dispose of plastic films

Such actions, over time, signal manufacturers that we want their help in eliminating plastics from the environment.

Food consumption

What we eat, particularly red meat, impacts the environment: raising/feeding beef, for example, accounts for perhaps 6% of greenhouse gas emissions annually. As the world’s population grows and becomes more affluent, demand for meat will increase, leading to deforestation to free up more land for grazing and feed crop production—creating more greenhouse gas emissions. How do we help avoid this problem? We don’t need to become vegans or vegetarians; we just need to eat less meat, substituting chicken, fish and plant-based proteins for a portion of our current meat consumption.

So what can we take away from our journey to this point? Governments and major corporations appear to be stepping up to fight global warming on a scale only they are capable of—encouraging news. Furthermore, much

remains that each of us can individually contribute—more good news. And seeds + earth + water + sun still yield food to enjoy—and share. Good news indeed!

Eco-Act 21-06: Union Gardens April Check-In

Winter’s End

For those of us happy to do a bit of gardening in the wind and rain, the 2021 growing season has been underway for a while already. Actually, we’re still harvesting lettuce and kale from our “winter’s end garden,” left. But now, the overwintering plants are slowly being joined by new sprouts from the peas and salad greens we seeded a few weeks ago (note the tiny bits of green in the foreground).

The major recent activity, however, has been preparing a new garden bed and seeding it with radishes, arugula, spinach, and lettuces. With luck, we’ll be enjoying the radishes sometime in the second half of April, followed by the arugula and spinach, and then the lettuces by late May/early June.

If you’re willing to accept Sky Nursery’s “last frost date” estimate of April 15th, then a wide variety of vegetables can be safely direct-seeded outdoors at this point, as noted in our Union Gardens Calendar:

• fava beans

• peas

• spinach

• onions/scallions

• arugula

• collards

• kale

• leeks

• lettuce

• potatoes

• radishes

• turnips

• cabbage

• cauliflower

• celery

• kohlrabi

Coming Attractions

We’re anticipating rows of green to begin emerging in the “coming attractions” garden, left, within a week or two.

Might you be looking for a positive, hopeful activity—or even just sign of the warmer, sunnier weather to come? Consider planting some seeds in your garden, planter box, or a container on the windowsill!

Eco-act 21-04: Garden Calendar!

We’re starting a community garden…but dispersed! As you may recall, we are aiming to get our community gardening at home (in any form!). Our hope is that tending to the earth would reconnect you to God and all of Creation, and that any surplus you grow could contribute to Union’s robust food ministries. (For more info on our vision for Eco-Faith in this next year, read more here).

Union Gardens

Read on for a nifty planting calendar

To start you off on your way, we’ve developed a Planting Calendar detailing the kinds of produce you can grow, when, and how to get them going. Additionally, in the “Union Weekly Use” column, we’ve listed the quantity needed for our weekly burrito roll, with current recipes in mind. Obviously, there are some blanks in that column! We would welcome any and all produce that you contribute and can either add them to burritos or distribute fresh produce to Compass House or LUV.

If you would like access to the spreadsheet itself, click here. Otherwise, feel free to download this picture to print out for your reference.

Let us know what tips or tricks you might have in the way of starts and prepping your soil for a fruitful harvest. And, we will be starting a What’s App group to share ideas and/or a monthly zoom chat on a Thursday night — stay tuned!

We’ll be prepping our gardens right alongside you. Happy planting!!

* Useful references: Food Grown Right, In Your Backyard, McCrate and Halm; The Maritime Northwest Garden Guide, Seattle Tilth

** Assuming approximate last frost date of April 15th, per Sky Nursery

Eco-act 21-02: Abundantly Overflowing

As we heard last week, Eco-Faith is growing in an exciting direction in this next year. And we want you along for the ride! Again, three focuses you can expect from us this year are: (1) occasional ideas of personal action that you can take to move toward climate healing; (2) climate-focused legislative initiatives that Union could actively support/engage in; and (3) Union Gardens, a socially distanced community garden that aims to grow produce to share with others in our wider community.

Today, we’ll be focusing on the possibility and impact of #3, Union Gardens. With the pandemic and all of the physical distancing that has come with it, our community has had to pivot to continue feeding our underserved and at-risk neighbors. We’ve rolled ~300 burritos almost every single Saturday (which get distributed as a hot, nutritious, personally wrapped meal to up to 7 different organizations per week). We’ve channeled tons of produce, canned and pantry goods, Farestart meals, and other items to LUV, Compass House Dexter, and other places. Our community has also cooked ~60 meals per week for Compass House residents and 40 meals for ICS clients weekly. And yet, with the pandemic continuing to increase income loss, poverty, hunger, and the housing crisis, — with a disproportionate impact on BIPOC folks compared to white folks — our community is even more in need of fresh produce and accessible food.

Union Gardens

Growing for our community

This spring and summer, if each of us took some time to pray, prepare, and tend to some dirt (in the backyard, on the porch, on the windowsill, in 415’s garden boxes), imagine what we might be able to create together! We could include more nutrients and greens in our meals and more sweet and abundant fruit for families and individuals in our city. We could save on some production costs while also growing local and offsetting emissions! And, when we are able to deliver fresh produce and burritos with ingredients from our gardens, our tangible care in the form of food says, “We see you and we care” AND “We’ve been thinking of you since the winter…with every weeding, watering, and harvest”.

As you prepare your own gardens now, looking toward spring and summer, would you consider planting a little extra for Union’s food ministry?

Right now, we are working on developing resources for when and what to plant, as well as how much we need. We will have more specifics soon, but we know our ministries currently use/need: red bell peppers, onions, greens of all kinds, garlic, potatoes, tomatoes, squash, carrots, and celery.

Again, we’ll have more on quantities and planting/growing tips soon (and we welcome your help and input as you’re interested)! We envision this as a type of victory garden experiment, and as a way to do something together while apart. We look forward to planting and growing with you this year — stay tuned for more!

Eco-act 21-01: a time to plant

Today we’re excited to begin our second season of eco-faith posts. Thanks for joining us! We’ll get started by planting seeds for three projects we hope to “cultivate” this season. Then we’ll talk a bit more about planting actual seeds to produce tangible crops that we can begin to harvest in the not-too-distant future. First, the projects.

1. Individual actions: Eco-Faith’s first season focused primarily on steps each of us can take on our own to care for the planet: diligent recycling, for example, or responsible disposal of electronic devices, or intentional repair/repurposing/gifting of items we no longer use, or regrowing scallions on windowsills—or even creating worm bins (!) to enhance soil quality. Ideas like these for earth-friendly individual actions will always crop up. So, for 2021 project #1, we will from time to time identify or revisit an individual action for your consideration. For example, last year we introduced Ridwell, a disposal service that handles non-recyclable food packaging and certain other plastics; batteries; clothes/fabric, shoes—and a “rotating” category for things such as strings of Christmas lights. Ten dollars/month provides a discreet outdoor collection bin and regular pick-up. We have now joined those of you who use this service to step up their recycling game conveniently and cost-effectively.

2. Climate change community actions: Even in the darkness overshadowing this post-election period, seeds of hope are being sown with respect to our physical world: the U.S. return to the Paris Climate Accord … General Motors’ decision to move away from fossil fuel-powered vehicles … the U.S.-hosted Earth Day Climate Summit … cancellation of the Keystone Pipeline Project …. In fact, all kinds of climate-friendly actions are being undertaken nationally and at the Washington state and King County levels as well. The future harvests that these actions promise are truly encouraging, but many workers will be needed to bring them in. So, our second project for this season will be looking more closely at various legislative initiatives to try to unearth specific opportunities for some or all of the Union community to actively support. Stay tuned!

3. Union Gardens: With the arrival of February, the gardening season quietly (and damply) begins. Time to clean up the garden beds, loosen and amend the soil, and think about what to grow this year. For serious gardeners, it’s also time to think about indoor starts—and actually to sow peas and spinach outdoors. In fact, before too many more weeks pass, it will be time to transfer starts or directly seed:

• Arugula

• Cabbage

• Cauliflower

• Celery

• Collards

• Kale

• Leeks

• Lettuce

• Onions

• Peas

• Potatoes

• Radishes

• Scallions

• Spinach

Eco-faith 2021 Directions

Individual Acts, Communal Acts, Union Gardens

In a post last October, we wondered …

“…next spring, what if everyone in the Union community who gardens, or who could garden, decided to plant extra tomatoes, or lettuce, or spinach, or onions, peppers, melons, squash, potatoes, …. Could we grow enough food to make a difference for someone else?”

Which leads to this question about a third project: Can Union members plant and manage a “socially-distanced community garden?” The idea would be to plant and grow enough veggies in the back yard, on the deck, in the pea patch, or wherever, for the enjoyment of the gardeners—AND someone else … some Lake Union Village residents, for example, or Union’s burrito-rolling team, ICS sandwich makers, Compass House residents, or ….

So, these are the three project “seeds” we want to plant with respect to Eco-Faith season two: (1) occasionally sharing ideas that Union members can implement on their own to benefit our physical world; (2) climate-focused legislative initiatives that Union could actively support/engage in; and (3) Union Gardens, a socially distanced community garden that aims to grow vegetables to share with others in our wider community.

As we get rolling in the coming weeks, we’ll be on the lookout for purposeful individual actions to share. We’ll be browsing legislative programs for community action opportunities. And we’ll be digging into the possibility of gardening for others as well as ourselves.

We would love to hear what you think about these ideas!