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Humbercrest United Church |
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"A big city church with a small town feel" |
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Planet Matters |
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Planet Matters meets on the 3rd Monday of each month |
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Fairlawn Avenue United Church has a very rich, informative Green Action section. Please click here and take the time to explore and be inspired. |
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Bright Ideas for Religious Buildings A Workshop on Lighting Click here to view the event poster. Date: Tuesday, June 8, 2010 Time: 6:30 pm Registration & Refreshments; 7:00 9:00 pm Workshop Location: Forest Hill United Church 2 Wembley Road, Toronto Description: The Green Awakening Network invites faith community representatives to come and learn about energy efficient lighting and reducing electricity costs. The workshop will provide property committee representatives, maintenance staff, environmental committee or Green Team members, and council members with information on how to conduct a lighting audit and retrofit in your building, innovations in lighting, and financial incentives for lighting retrofits. FREE WORKSHOP. Pre-registration required. Contact Corey Helm at greenawakening@tucc.ca or (905) 771-5124 ext. 25 before June 7th to reserve your spot. Corey Helm Network Coordinator - Green Awakening Network
CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENVIRONMENTAL DECLINE AS A MORAL ISSUE "Leaving the world's poor to sink or swim with their own meager resources in the face of the threat posed by climate change is morally wrong. We do not need climate change apartheid." - Archbishop Desmond Tutu
On April 16th-17th many gathered on retreat in Toronto to understand these all-encompassing issues. A few among the many distinguished speakers were:
- Duncan Hanks, E.D., Canadian Baha'i Intl Development Agency - Danny Harvey, Prof., Geog./Urban Studies, U of Toronto; IPCC lead author - Don Hutchinson, V.P., Evangelical Fellowship of Canada; Dir., Centre for Faith and Public Life - Mishka Lysack, Asst. Prof., Faculty of Social Work, U of Calgary - The Hon. David MacDonald, Former cabinet minister & MP; World Council of Churches - Alanna Mitchell, Environmental author and journalist - Graham Saul, E.D. Climate Action Network - Sensei Taigen Henderson, Toronto Zen Centre - Mardi Tindal, Moderator, United Church of Canada - Dave Toycen, Pres., World Vision Canada - Tasneem Virani, Ismaili-Muslim; graduate student, environmental science - Loren Wilkinson, Prof., Regent College
If you were unable to attend, proceedings, both video and powerpoint, will be posted at: ucalgary.ca/oikos/retreat/ Follow-up events are being planned.
2010 Interfaith Leaders Summit Petition addressed to the G8/G20 Political Leadership This June, political leaders from the G8 and G20 countries are coming to Canada. Religious Leaders from these countries and from every region of the world are also gathering in Canada, at the University of Winnipeg, to encourage and challenge the political leadership to take courageous and concrete actions to: 1) address extreme poverty 2) care for the environment 3) invest in peace It is a critical time for the people of Canada, and people of faith in particular, to raise their voices and show our leadership that we committed to working on these issues together. You can make your name count and take action today by signing the 2010 Interfaith Leaders’ Summit Petition which urges our governments to follow through on their promises and improve the lives of our global brothers and sisters. The 2010 Interfaith Partnership hopes that 15,000 signatures will be collected by June 21st. Please share the following news of the petition with your network, and invite all to sign. Please take a moment to read the petition below and to sign your name at: www.faithchallengeg8.com Let’s show our political leaders that people of faith in Canada care about these issues, and are ready to take action to make the world a healthier and more peaceful place! A Time for Inspired Leadership and Action To the political leaders of the G8 and G20 nations, from members of the global faith communities: We urge our government representatives to set aside short-term agendas and work together for a future that allows all citizens of this planet to thrive. At the G8 and G20 summits in 2010, we expect leaders to put first the needs and values of the majority of the world’s population, of future generations and of Earth itself. From our shared values we call on leaders to take courageous and concrete actions to address poverty, care for our Earth, and invest in peace. We urge you to: · address the immediate needs of the most vulnerable while simultaneously making structural changes to close the growing gap between rich and poor; · prioritize long-term environmental sustainability and implement concrete plans to ensure global average temperatures do not exceed a 2° Centigrade increase from pre-industrial levels, while addressing the impact of climate change on the poor; · invest in peace and remove factors that feed cycles of violent conflict and costly militarism; and · commit to bold new efforts to put the Millennium Development Goals back on track, in order to halve poverty by 2015. As people from religious and spiritual communities, we commit to doing our part to reduce poverty, protect the environment, and promote peace, both in our own communities and globally. Thank you for your support!
Calling All Aboard! Humbercrest United's EcoAction Team sets sail! As a congregation we successfully reached and surpassed out goal of 1000 Acts of Green. We now have the challenge of moving forward with even more actions to reduce our impact on the planet, our home. Earth Day Canada has a useful tool to help each of us save on energy, water, waste, greenhouse gases and money. On Friday, May 14th, Humbercrest established Humbercrest United EcoAction Team. This is managed through Earth Day Canada's website. Each and every one of us at Humbercrest United is invited to sign up, join the team, and take on the 50 actions outlined on the EcoAction team site. These actions are also posted on our bulletin board in Heritage Hall. To sign up: 1. Go to www.ecoactionteams.ca 2. At the top of the page, click on My calculator 3. Click on: Sign-up. Enter your information and click Sign-up at the bottom of the window. You will now be signed in. 4. You will now be on the "Welcome" page. To join the team: Click on "Teams" on the left side of the screen. More options will appear. Now click on “Join a Team" on the left side of the screen. You are now on the "Join a Team" window. Type in “Humbercrest United EcoAction Team” Click on Search. If the Team does not appear on the screen, click on Browse all and scroll down to: Humbercrest United EcoAction Team. Then, on the right side, click Join 5. When you begin, please work on Level 1. We are inviting all members of the team to focus on this level to begin with. Be sure to read the Extra Tips offered at the bottom of each question as the tips are very informative. 6. On the left side of the screen is a spot where you can Invite a friend. Once you have completed Level 1, please invite 3 other Humbercrest United friends to join. If you know someone from Humbercrest who does not have a computer, please help out by offering to assist him or her in establishing an email account, and then assisting him or her in entering answers, focusing on Level 1 at this stage. 7. Humbercrest's Team Captain at the moment is Rita Bijons, (416) 766 6331, rita.bijons@sympatico.ca If you run into any difficulties while setting up your account or answering questions, you may contact Rita, or if Rita is not available, Prabhjit Banga, friendly staff at Earth Day Canada, is happy to help out: Prabhjit K. Banga Program Coordinator EcoAction Teams Earth Day Canada 111 Peter Street, Suite 503 Toronto, Ontario M5V 2H1 416-599-1991 or 1-888-283-2784 ext 1137: 416-599-3100*: prabhjit@earthday.ca ü: www.earthday.ca/ www.ecoactionteams.ca Go Humbercrest go!
Hundred Mile Tastings at Humbercrest United Church In June 2009 the Planet Matters group at Humbercrest United met to brainstorm the makings of a 100 mile diet event for Humbercrest, an event to celebrate local food, all the while cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions. Materials from KAIROS' Re-energize campaign, readily available on line, were very useful, explaining that: "There are many environmental and energy-related factors linked to food production. Consuming locally grown foods requires 17 times less oil and gas than a typical diet, in which each ingredient has traveled an average of 1500 miles." So inspired, we set about planning that in early October we would celebrate, with gratitude, our own local bounty of late summer and early fall. Before dispersing for summer, we invited members, as they preserved food over the summer, to set aside some of this wonderful bounty for our Hundred Mile Tastings, planned for Tea Time after worship on October 4th. We prepared a map of Ontario, circumscribing Toronto by its hundred mile radius. In the meantime, we rounded up copies of a useful pocket chart of what is in season when, "Ontario Fruits & Vegetables Availability Guide", and two mini recipe books, "This Summer Make Ontario Freshness Your Pick", provided free of charge by Foodland Ontario. We also advertised our late summer planning meeting so we would leave no detail unattended. As soon as we had all returned from summer vacation, our Minister, Rev. Dr. Susanne VanderLugt cordially invited folks to sign up and declare what they thought they would bring. Once the day arrived, a joyful energy filled the East Hall. The Tea Time committee had prepared lovely tables and beverages. Our local chefs had baked fresh bread with hundred mile flour; crackers; cooked all manner of jellies, jams, and preserves; apple cheese pancakes; apple crisp; homemade soup; cookies; dainties; local cheeses, some from as close as blocks away, from International Cheese Company; fresh veggies, freshly picked figs... A true feast, the air filled with "Mmmmmms and Yummms". We are locavores, grateful for the blessings of this local bounty, and more mindful of the choices we make. For further inspiration be sure to see the May 2009 edition of Mandate magazine. Please contact Rita Bijons for further information. Please join in planning another Hundred Mile Tastings event for this coming fall. Tentatively, we hope to meet right after church on Sunday, September 12th. World Food Day takes place on October 16th. Perhaps we can hold our event on the 17th. Again, this summer as you make preserves, please set aside contributions towards our next Hundred Mile Tastings. Please contact Rita Bijons (416) 766 6331 for further information.
Climate Change and the G20: Not Business as Usual! This important speaking tour is hosted by KAIROS. JUNE 19, 10 am - 12 noon, Ryerson UniversityFROM COPENHAGEN TO COCHABAMBA, TORONTO AND CANCUN:
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