A Good Word: Peace be to the whole community!

Dear Beloved Friends,

We’ve included a calendar in our newsletter and webpage on our new ways of gathering together as more people are vaccinated and the concern about contracting COVID is diminishing.  As we provide experimental ways of meeting this summer, both online and in-person, we invite you to be gracious toward yourself and one another.

It is going to take some time to reacquaint and also to make new acquaintances with people we’ve only met on zoom.

As we gather together more frequently, I offer to you the good, vital word of Ephesians 6:23-24

23 Peace be to the whole community, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all who have an undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ.

Peace. Not just internal peace. Not just peace of mind. Not just peace amongst a few. Peace be to the whole community!  As we begin to emerge from our closed doors, greeting one another with an awareness that we are a bit out of practice in our in-person exchanges, may we step forward in faith that Christ who came to piece back together the fragments of our lives so that we can be peacemakers for the whole community is with us.

Peace be to the whole community! 

What is each of our part in this?  Perhaps a big part is trusting what the Spirit has been doing and revealing to you this past year.  What is it that you uniquely and beautifully bring to the whole community that enables peace to grow?

Jesus who came to “proclaim peace to those who were far off and peace to those who were near” is the same Living Lord whose Spirit invites us to be people of peace both internally and externally.   

And, Jesus promised that the Spirit would be with us to bring a new peace – not as the world gives:

25 “I have said these things to you while I am still with you.26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

As we begin to gather more frequently together and provide experimental ways to be in community together, may we love with faith – faith in what Jesus Christ is doing in our midst through the Spirit dwelling in and with us; faith that the Spirit has been active in our physical time a part and is actively NOW doing a new thing in our midst; faith that we can gather together the lessons, heartaches, pain, and discoveries of this past year to grow together more fully into being Christ’s One Body.

Our world desperately needs to see a community that holds onto an undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ that flows forth to bring healing and hope.

The words of Henri Nouwen affirm this need for a community that sees peacemaking as wholemaking:

So, brothers and sisters, peacemaking starts every time we move out of the house of fear toward the house of love. You and I will always be scared, somehow, somewhere. But if we keep our eyes fixed on the One who says ‘Do not be afraid, it is I,’ we might slowly be able to let go of that fear and become free enough to live in a world without borders, to see the suffering of others, and to bring good news and receive good news.

We are so excited to continue to grow together, united by the Spirit.  Let’s experiment together.

 Peace be to the whole community, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who have an undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 6:23-24)

God on High, Open our hearts to your power moving
around us and between us and within us,
until your glory is revealed in our love of both friend and enemy,
in communities transformed by justice and compassion,
and in the healing of all that is broken.
We thank you now for our living Word.
In Jesus’ name. Amen

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

Pentecost 2021

Dear Beloved Union Family,

Sunday we celebrate Pentecost, the day the poured out Spirit spoke to those gathered “from every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5) and they heard the good news of God’s love in their native language.

What does Pentecost mean for us as we ask “what is God doing NOW in our midst?” Life is complex as we experience hope in possibly gathering more together in-person while still recognizing our need to be cautious, as we embrace good news of the vaccine while grieving over the impact of Covid throughout the world, as we join our voices to speak for peace while we are horrified over violence that displaces people and deprives them of their human rights.

Today we encourage you to listen for the Spirit of God’s voice around you.  The Spirit is actively breathing through our lives. God speaks your native language and unites you with the hearts of people throughout our world to say this is what is true:  You are my witness to a hope that changes the world. Jesus Christ is our Lord. And we are a part of a new humanity. Let’s turn toward God and receive our beloved identity.

For this Pentecost Weekend (a Fourth Weekend):

Please go to this link to discover ways to engage as a listener, receiver, actor, prayer-er.  There are opportunities online and in-person; creative, life-giving ways to embody the good news that God is alive and with us here and throughout all nations. Today.

Going Forward...

Dear Beloved Union,

Last week in our worship gathering (5/9),  78% of participants responded via our  zoom poll that you are ready to gather again in-person while 22% highlighted how important the online connection will be for you as we move into a new stage of being able to be in-person.  Thank you to those who responded and others who continue to communicate with us your questions such as “How will we BE together as we move forward into this new phase with more people vaccinated?”

Your desire for spiritual growth opportunities, for community connection through in-person and online, and for continued imagination for living justly together in our world as “imitators of God” matters to us! We are all learning together. 

Moving forward into this next phase, Union is providing BOTH online and in-person opportunities. Just as you all have provided support and ideas throughout the pandemic, we welcome your insight, wisdom, suggestions now.

Grateful to journey with you as we grow in Christ together,

James B, Renée, and Studio 3

Therefore...Living in Response to the Resurrection

Reflection Exercise

Introduction

Ephesians 5: 1-2: Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children,  and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

 With all the complexities of life that we are experiencing, what difference does the message of resurrection mean for us?

Reflection Questions

As we spend time in Ephesians during this season between Easter and Pentecost, we invite you to reflect on these questions that we offered in worship on April 18.  Following the questions, we’ve provided some thoughts based on Ephesians 3-4.

Take time and sit quietly with each question and then take time to write, draw or speak out loud your response.  You may want to do this multiple times and see what changes for you…

 The virus surges now in India and South America. Even as more people are vaccinated now in the US, controversy surges! How do we face questions about the future while seeking to walk through each day as we continue to unearth deep rooted inequity and suffering?  How does Resurrection empower us to live as imitators of God and live in love?!

 Our scripture boldly asks us to ponder why resurrection matters in our daily living. It is not pie-in-the sky wishful thinking. Resurrection changes how we live each day.

Q1: What are personal limitations and struggles that you have faced through the pandemic?

Take time.

 We have been called to live in new relationships, to let God work in and through us.  To live in and reveal the power of God’s love.  And we recognize that we all need God’s grace.

God is actively gifting us to give a taste of God’s reign to those around us. You can do this because of the Holy Spirit in you who empowers you beyond what you could do on your own.

Q2:  What insight, gifts, or strengths has God gifted you with?

Take time.

Who do we say that we are?  Sometimes we feel that we are not OK. We can be held captive in our world by lies, systems, falsehoods, and fear. At that point the cross captures that feeling and shows us that we are a new creation and we can live as transformed people.

Q3: What does it mean that Christ has rescued us from the captivity of fear and of lies about who we are?

Take time.

 The invitation is towards freedom that Christ offers.  You belong to Christ!

Q4:  What do you appreciate about the Body of Christ and your part in it?

Take time.

You are rooted and grounded in love because of Christ Jesus.

Q5:  Who is God inviting the Church to be (that includes you) in our current time and place?

Resurrection…

This is an event that is earth-shattering, heaven-extending, life-giving. An event that tells us that we do not live in a closed system; on a dead-end road with no hope for imagination of a new way.

God broke through what seemed a closed world system of violence, hierarchy, and fatalism – to SHOW God’s true character and LOVE --- God reached down to the lowest of places to lift all of creation to the highest of places.

Jesus Christ, who became ONE of us – human flesh -- and who entered the world to break down the walls of hostility and create a new humanity, is now our Risen Lord, advocating on our behalf.

Therefore…

 Jesus Christ reveals the great size of God’s love for us –resurrection power.

 Jesus Christ reveals God’s grace for all of us  -- to be united.

 We have access to God in boldness and confidence and through Christ, God’s power is working through us to do more than we can ask or even imagine!

 And, who is the “us”  through him God is working?

 In Ephesians 3, Paul boldly says --- though Christ Jesus’ death and resurrection a mystery had been made clear.

 Are you ready?  The Church is how God, who creates all things and holds all things together chooses to bring Heaven and Earth together – to reveals God’s healing wisdom and God’s healing power of LOVE that restores and brings new life.

 Now, we may say this is crazy!  We are so aware of what the church has done wrong. The ways the church has been complicit in promoting segregation…monitored morality…communicated judgement.

Perhaps we’ve allowed a small, domesticated, picture of the church take hold of us and paralyze us from living intentionally as Christ invites.

 Written from a prison cell, Paul is challenging us to let go of three wrong views that we tend to gravitate towards:

1) The church is static – never changing.  What is your static view that needs to change?

2) The church is an IT – an institution, lifeless, impersonal. What is your institutional view of the church that needs to change?

3) The church is irrelevant or out of touch with the real issues of the world. What is your irrelevant view of the church that needs to change?

 INSTEAD, Paul reveals through Christ

1) The Church is Dynamic and active for the NOW.  A movement!  A movement that reaches out to those who feel the least welcomed – and includes…extends LOVE that cannot be contained within the walls of a building or system

2) The Church is us, a living organism, in which God dwells and works to bring new creation – US --  united and linked with others throughout time and generations. Where we are the church is.

3) The Church is centered on a cross that extends GOD’s LOVE to all dimensions of this earth…. Bearers of Grace and new life… Revolutionary to bring transformation to unjust systems and power structures that oppress.

 Grand language? Yes…but lived out this is a reality that is: gritty, a rolling up your sleeves, weeping alongside another human being, sharing of your suffering, facing your weaknesses, using your tangible gifts --  kind of faith.

 We are invited into a shared faith that is lived out in the world in partnership with God.

Resurrection brings forth a new humanity to be a part of God’s reign which is done so – not through fear, or arrogance or dominance but by Love and service and sacrifice.

 Therefore, our calling is a journey shaped by humble boldness and a bold humility; a journey of gentleness, patience and love – participating in what the Spirit is doing to change the world for GOOD. And, it is a journey that acknowledges our own pain…our limitations…our struggles. Our need for a Savior

 Dear friends – we are connected to one another – by one Death, one Resurrection, One Spirit, One Faith, One hope, one Baptism, One Lord.

We are a BODY --- joined and knit together by Christ’s blood pouring through us…and by the Spirit breathing in us. We are the BODY of Christ – who needs each others strengths and struggles, gifts and hopes. We need each others uniqueness and difference to fully express the LOVE of God to the world that is stuck in hatred, violence, and despair.

 When you say YES to Jesus you say YES to being a part of Christ’s Body. You are included and needed. 

There is so much deceit and trickery in the world that seeks to pull us from our identity. When we try to live alone – think we can follow Christ without being a part of Christ’s body, we fool ourselves – we become vulnerable to the stormy weather that beats upon us.

Your uniqueness is needed alongside another’s beautiful uniqueness to reveal a new way of being together. We have witnessed this over and over through this pandemic.  Some of you are encouragers, some of you are doers, some of you are prophets, some of you are healers.

 ALL of us are invited together to be grace bearers to reveals that the hatred, the division, the discrimination, the name-calling, the despair in our WORLD is counter to the extravagant love of Christ that lifts people up and brings HOPE.

 THE Hope of our calling is to be a part of God’s Kingdom…God’s reign…together!

Together we are a part of what God is doing in our world…. Amen!

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 21:08: Earth Day everyday

Official Earth Day art by Speto, acclaimed Brazilian street artist from São Paulo.

This year’s Earth Day (April 22nd) comes on the heels of the World Meteorological Organization’s 2020 Global Climate report, showing that 2020 was one of the hottest years on record and that the planet is on the verge of climate disaster if we don’t act now. It also comes amidst growing calls for the end of racialized police violence with the conviction of Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd and a relentless string of other Black and brown people killed by police — many of them being children and young adults. To reflect on racism and Creation healing, we invite you to reflect on indigenous scholar and farmer, Dr. Randy Woodley’s article: White Supremacy and the Fate of the Earth.

This year, Earth Day is being officially celebrated all over the globe by EarthDay.org on April 20-23. They have put together informative forums, campaigns, and other ways to engage and we invite you to check out some of these resources. In addition to tuning in live for their program, “Earth Day Live“ at 9 AM PST, you can watch their virtual summits at any time:

• Global Youth Summit: led by Earth Uprising, in collaboration with My Future My Voice, OneMillionOfUs and hundreds of youth climate activists.

• We Shall All Breathe: The Hip Hop Caucus and its partners will present the “We Shall Breathe” virtual summit. This digital event will examine climate and environmental justice, connecting the climate crisis to issues of pollution, poverty, police brutality, and the pandemic, all within a racial justice framework.

• Teach For the Planet: Join a group of gifted global educators and education activists to talk about the importance of climate change education and action today, for tomorrow’s change makers.

There are many more resources on their homepage including their admonition to us to celebrate Earth Day every day through their Restore Our Earth campaign, as well as history of the day (51 years in the making!) and a tool to find (mostly virtual) Earth Day events to tune into.

You can also check this Verge article for a variety of Earth Day celebrations and educational events: President Biden’s Leaders’ Summit on Climate Change (4/22-23), a virtual 5k (4/17-25), National Geographic’s Earth Day Eve Party (tonight!!), and many many more!!

On a closer-to-home scale, we encourage you to look into Earth Ministry’s broad array of events! There are some great opportunities to get involved in regional and state environmental actions. Let us know how you celebrated Earth Day, and what you’re committing to in the year ahead!