Environment

Bridge to a Cool Planet
International Day of Climate Action

October 24th was a beautiful day. Press reports indicate that 5-6,000 people were in attendance to draw attention to our Federal Government of the need to come to an agreement regarding climate change when nations meet in Copenhagen in December, 2009.

Canadian Memorial teamed up with Be the Change Earth Alliance at a tent to support the event and promote Action Circles and the Environment & Spirituality event on November 20th and 21st at the Centre for Peace.

Volunteers

Be the Change volunteers, Zoe Beynon-MacKinnon and Joanne Mackinnon with Suzanne Barois, CMUC volunteer Al Beer with Bruce Sanguin, Sheelah Megill and Kathleen Gunn.

Be the Change article in Granville magazine

An article written by Tyee Bridge about Be the Change has finally appeared in print in the spring issue of Granville magazine. Check out the Granville Online version here.

Collective Action

This short video clip, created by MetroVancouver TV, features an Action Circle that included many people from Canadian Memorial United Church.

This "neighbourhood group" or action circle is one example of what is going on with respect to environmental action at the church. The film looks at the power of collective action to tackle climate change. Here is the link:

Collective Action on MetroVancouver

(Click on the Collective Action title.)

Ecopsychology Retreat

Reconnecting to Nature and Ourselves. Pasley Island Sept 14-16, 2007

retreat

Led by Toni Pieroni, MA, RCC (Registered Clinical Counsellor)

Ecopsychology explores the relationship between humans and the natural world. It sees health as a function of connection. The more connected and whole we are at every level, i.e., within ourselves, our families and communities, and within the living systems of the human and non-human world on our planet, the healthier we are. As people of faith, our participation in the creation of a healthy world can be seen as a “spiritual practice”. This retreat integrates experiential exercises in nature with 5 spiritual practices, based on the work of Joanna Macy, which focuses on our emotional responses to global issues of environmental and social justice.

The 5 spiritual practices are called:

Come from Gratitude for the gift of life
Don’t be afraid of the dark – feel our concerns for the condition of our world
Dare to vision – open to possibility
Know who you are as interconnected with all that is
Link arms and know you make a difference

This retreat includes indoor exercises, group sharing and some time on your own.

“Being in circle is the essence of us as human beings. The energy goes out from these gatherings to the healing of the world,” Larry Butler.

“I found Toni’s leadership and choices of exercises were excellent. People felt at home in the group, in spite of being relatively unfamiliar with everyone. There seemed to be a good connection. Free time was perfect. The "elm dance" and its story were moving and inspiring. Other comments: The fact that so many people spoke so positively about the workshop and "being in circle" makes me think it was very well received.” Russ Quinn

The Nature Challenge

We encourage you to visit the David Suzuki Foundation site to answer their nature challenge.

"Many people ask Dr. Suzuki what they can do to make a difference. The answer? Join the Nature Challenge!"

"We've researched the 10 most effective ways to help conserve nature and improve our quality of life. Here’s how you can make positive changes."

“The Earth is not part of the Human Story, the Human Story is part of the Earth Story.” - Father Thomas Berry

“Perhaps a new revelatory experience is taking place, an experience wherein human consciousness awakens to the grandeur and sacred quality of the Earth process. Humanity has not participated in such a vision since shamanic times, but in such a renewal lies our hope for the future for ourselves and for the entire planet.”
- Father Thomas Berry

“Our movement of lasting change in the world needs to be rooted in love
and sacred action in order to survive…
The wounds on the earth and its
people are outward manifestations of inner disconnect."
-Julia Butterfly Hill

Mission

To cultivate a spiritual understanding of Creation, and to adopt and promote awareness of a spiritually-principled approach to planetary sustainability.

Values

Diversity – honouring and celebrating the diversity in the universe.
Interiority – “we are not a collection of objects but a communion of subjects”. Acknowledge the sacred inner nature of all of Creation.
Communion – having reverence for the interconnectedness of creation and nurturing relationships with ourselves, each other and with creation.
Equity – honouring our fiduciary duty to pass on a clean and abundant planet to present and future generations.

Vision

To develop a deep understanding within our congregation about God’s presence in Creation and our spiritual connections to the planet.
To nurture in every member of the congregation a new understanding of the Creation consciousness.
To periodically host events, workshops, and symposia which promote Eco-spirituality and Cosmo-genesis.
To disseminate information regarding events and activities that promote environmental awareness and speak to related issues and concerns with posters, flyers, church bulletin and web site.
To produce periodic reviews that support our interest and increase awareness.
To carry out a sustainability audit of CMUC.
To collectively become more aware of and to reduce our ecological footprint.
To inspire and empower the congregation to take actions that will make a difference in advancing sustainability and honouring Creation.
To highlight what we are doing well at CMUC and expand on it.
Have the church be a model of an environmentally sustainable home.
To deepen our awareness of the environment in biblical literature.
To challenge conventional thinking.
To have a section on the CMUC web site that talks about the mission statement for the Ministry Team for the Environment. Link our web sites to other web sites that support our goals.
To reach out to the broader local community on eco-spirituality issues, through theme-based services such as Peace in the City.
To connect with others in the local environmental, spiritual and faith communities who share our mandate.