This spring, we’re looking at humanity’s relationship with the earth and the responsibility we have to care for it. This is a broad topic to cover in only ten weeks, so all the extra resources, tangents we don’t have time to explore, and further reading will be linked here. We’ll also be posting any content we cover in case you can’t make it in person. (This is a constantly growing page, so check back later if you don’t see what you’re looking for right now!)

** Note that we will not have Bible study on Feb. 14, March 14, April 18, or May 9. These are 2nd Thursdays, and instead we will serve at God’s Family Dinner and then come back to the lounge for meditation with Rene.

• Covenant of Presence

January 24: Covenant

This week, we will look at the creation stories found in Genesis 1, Genesis 2, and Job 38 in search of a faithful foundation for creation care. There are many great resources on ecotheology, as well as interesting side paths we might normally explore in these texts but which aren’t necessarily relevant to our discussion. Here are links to all those extra resources you should check out!

• Genesis 1
  • Enuma Elish
• Genesis and Gender/Sexuality
  • “The They God (a sermon for Pride)” by Layton E. Williams
  • Genesis and Gender
  • Transgender and Christian: Does the Image of God Have a Gender?
  • “The Garden of Eden and the Heterosexual Contract” by Ken Stone
• Job 38
  • “Mother of the Sea” sermon by Anna Strickland
• Creation Care Community Covenants
  • United Church of Christ
  • Interfaith Declaration on Climate Change
• Ecotheology Resources
  • Creation Justice Ministries
  • The Green Bible
  • Mennonite Creation Care Network
  • Evangelical Environmental Network
  • Interfaith Power and Light

January 31: Evidence & Solutions

This week, we’ll be doing some fundamental education on climate change and the state of the planet. What’s happening? What trajectory are we on? And what does that mean for the coming years? We’ll also touch on some of the possible solutions. There is a lot of good information out there. Here are some of the resources you might want to check out – some we’ll talk about and others we won’t be able to get to.

• U.S. Global Change Research
• The Years Project: Climate Facts
• Drawdown – Lists possible solutions by the amount of CO2 they would reduce. If you’re looking for in-depth research and lots of data, this is the place!
• On Netflix: Bill Nye Saves the World – Season 1, Episode 1

February 7: Movie Night

This week is movie night! We’ll watch a documentary and discuss: What was compelling? Surprising? Empowering? What (if any) of the solutions mentioned seemed the most/least realistic? Here is a list in case you want to start binging.

• Time to Choose (iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube)
• The 11th Hour (YouTube, iTunes, Google Play, YouTube, FreeDocumentaries)
• Before the Flood (Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, Google Play)
• An Inconvenient Truth (YouTube, Amazon, Google Play)
• An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power (Amazon, Google Play, Hulu)

February 21: Energy

This week we’ll start our deep dives into particular areas of ecojustice. Following loosely the Genesis 1 creation poem, we’re beginning with energy, both where it comes from and how we use it. Here are some links that explain more about how you can reduce energy usage and switch to greener energy:

• Energy Saving Tips
  • Managing Your Energy Use (the most comprehensive list!)
  • Energy Efficiency Tips for Renters
  • Energy Efficiency Tips for Homeowners (though not all of them are homeowner specific)
  • Energy-Saving Tips from Austin Energy
• Austin Energy
  • GreenChoice Program – opt in program for wind power
  • Solar Solutions including rooftop panels and community solar
  • Austin SHINES – city-wide solar energy storage project
  • Rebates on energy efficient appliances, thermostats, etc.
  • How Austin Energy is using renewable sources
• Data & Statistics
  • World Bank’s interactive graphs that show the amount of energy each country has used over time
  • EPA’s Power Profiler shows sources of energy around the United States

February 28: Air

A lot of global warming has to do with greenhouse gases, which trap heat inside our atmosphere, but air pollution that doesn’t contribute to global warming is still a problem for our health and the health of the environment. We’ll explore the major human causes of harmful gases and what we can do to reduce them.

• About harmful gases
  • Vehicle-Related Emissions (a good table of what the gases are and why they’re harmful from Drive Clean Texas)
  • EPA: Air
  • Greenhouse Gas Emissions from a Typical Passenger Vehicle
• Tips for reducing harmful gases
  • Drive Clean Texas: Do Your Part
  • EPA: What You Can Do…
  • Take Care of Texas: Keep Our Air Clean
  • Composting Rebate Program from City of Austin

March 7: Water

Note that March 14 is a second Thursday, so we will be serving at God’s Family Dinner and meditating, and March 21 is over spring break, so we will not have Bible study.

March 28: Food

April 4: Biodiversity

Note that April 11 is a second Thursday, so we will be serving at God’s Family Dinner and meditating, and April 18 is Maundy Thursday, so we will be having evening service with University Baptist in the chapel.