Green Team

The Epworth Green Team’s purpose is to guide and lead the church and its members to examine their environmental practices and to learn to live more sustainably. We also reach out to the community by hosting classes and special events.

For more information on these programs or the Epworth Green Team, call Epworth at 251-1481.
 

Third Annual Soup Swap - Feb. 11, 5 p.m.

Our third annual soup supper begins at 5 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall (basement) of the church. Following the supper stick around for the Soup Swap. Even if you aren’t swapping, the Swap is great fun. Each Swapper brings up to six 1-quart containers filled with homemade soup, frozen if possible. Quart jars or quart baggies are both great soup containers. Each Swapper will have a chance to describe his/her soup in “Telling of the Soup.” Then Swapmater Cheryl Alfred will direct the swapping. Swappers are encouraged to bring copies of their recipes and to use local and vegetarian ingredients. Interesting recipes can be found at goinglocal-info.com. Bring a can of soup to donate to food pantries.

Please sign up by calling the church office at 251-1481, see the bulletin board by the office or email judytucker@juno.com.
 

Epworth-Sierra Club Eco-Films

Join us throughout the 2011-2012 season as we present several films on environmental topics. Bring your whole family for an evening of education and discussion.  Movies begin at 7 pm. Free popcorn!

January 13 - YERT - Your Environmental Road Trip
YERT (Your Environmental Road Trip): 50 States. 1 Year. Zero Garbage? Called to action by a planet in peril, three friends hit the road - traveling with hope, humor, and all of their garbage - to explore every state in America (the good, the bad...and the weird) in search of the extraordinary innovators and citizens who are tackling humanity's greatest environmental crises. As the YERT team layers outlandish eco-challenges onto their year-long quest, an unexpected turn of events pushes them to the brink in this award-winning docu-comedy. Featuring Bill McKibben, Wes Jackson, Will Allen, Janine Benyus, Joel Salatin, David Orr, and others. The YERT Feature Film received the Audience Award at the Environmental Film Festival at Yale, tied with Oscar-nominated Waste Land. http://www.yert.com/

Here's our tentative film lineup for early 2012:

February 10 - Real Dirt
“My ancestors have farmed this land generation after generation, and I just about ended the whole thing. What do you do when nothing is left? And in a rural community where you aren’t welcome because you’re kind of different.” —Farmer John Peterson 
For close to a century, a great American epic has been played out in the tiny town of Caledonia, Illinois, about 75 miles west of Chicago. The Real Dirt on Farmer John tells the story of one man, his farm and his family—a story that parallels the history of American farming. But Farmer John is no laconic, Grant Wood-type with a scowl and a pitchfork. Equal parts performance artist, writer and farmer, John Peterson has been known to switch out of his overalls into leopard latex or a purple-feathered boa. http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/realdirt/film.html

March 9 - Age of Stupid
The Age of Stupid stars Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite as a man living in the devastated future world of 2055, looking back at old footage from our time and asking: why didn't we stop climate change when we had the chance?  Launched at a Guinness World Recording-winning solar-powered premiere in London's Leicester Square, the film was released in cinemas worldwide, topped the UK box office (by screen average), became one of the most talked-about films of 2009 and garnered sensational reviews: The Telegraph called it "Bold, supremely provocative and hugely important", the News of the World described it as "A deeply inconvenient kick up the backside," ABC Australia said "So tightly constructed and dynamic you leave the cinema energised rather than terrified... hits home like a hammer blow" and the LA Times said "Think 'An Inconvenient Truth', but with a personality." http://www.spannerfilms.net/films/ageofstupid

April 13 - Carbon Nation
Carbon Nation is a documentary movie about climate change solutions. Even if you doubt the severity of the impact of climate change or just don't buy it at all, this is still a compelling and relevant film that illustrates how solutions to climate change also address other social, economic and national security issues. You'll meet a host of entertaining and endearing characters along the way. Carbon Nation is an optimistic, solutions-based, non-preachy, non-partisan, big tent film that shows tackling climate change boosts the economy, increases national & energy security and promotes health & a clean environment. www.carbonnationmovie.com

 

Green Team Challenge: Task of the Month

This year in honor of Earth Day, the Epworth Green Team challenged the congregation to make a positive difference in the environment. The Green Team has started a "Task of the Month" energy conservation program which identifies one small task you can do each month, which will collectively make a huge impact on our environment. If you would like to join the club and get a monthly email with your task, we invite you to contact the Green Team to join today!

January 2012: Cut Phantom Electricity
Reduce phantom electricity loads to save money on your electric bills. Here are tips for reducing energy use with electronic equipment:

• Enable power management features on all computers
• Turn your computer completely off when not in use.
• Plug entertainment system components into a power strip that can be switched off when not in use (eliminating the need to unplug individual components).
• When not in use, unplug items with internal power supplies (portable stereos, bread and coffee makers and other items) and those with external DC power (cordless phones, dust busters, and electric toothbrushes, etc.).

Download the Task of the Month flyer to learn more.

December 2011: Lower Your Thermostat
Set your thermostat at least 2 degrees cooler in the winter.
Download our flyer to learn more.

November 2011: Add Attic Insulation
Add insulation to attic areas to appropriate levels.
Download our flyer to learn more.

October 2011: Seal Large Air Leaks
Task: Stop air leaks with caulking, foam and weather-stripping.
Download our flyer to learn more.

September 2011: Weatherize Windows & Doors
Task: Stop air leaks around windows and doors with caulking and weather-stripping.
Download our flyer to learn more

August 2011: Wash Clothes in Cold Water & Air Dry Laundry
Download our flyer to learn more

July 2011 Task: Install a Low-Flow Showerhead and Faucet Aerators
Download our flyer to learn more

May 2011 Task: Change Your Lightbulbs
Change your most frequently used lightbulbs to CFLs (Compact fluorescent lightbulbs)
 

Check these out!

Want to learn more about caring for our earth? Here's a few of the latest DVDs you can find in our library at Epworth.

Sustainable Table: A Documentary About Your Food by Mischa Hedges.

What’s on your plate? Where does it come from? What effects does it have on the environment, your body and the economy? What can you do to help?

The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream.

Suburbia, and all it promises has become the American dream. But serious questions are emerging about the sustainability of this way of life. With brutal honesty and a touch of irony, this film explores the American way of life and its prospects as the planet approaches a critical era. Are today’s suburbs destined to become the slums of tomorrow? What can be done NOW to avoid the end of suburbia???

Trashed: This is the Story of Garbage…American Style.

Garbage. This is an issues influenced by every American, most of whom never consider the consequences of it or its implications to our biosphere. At times humorous, but deeply poignant, Trashed examines the American waste stream fast approaching a half a billion tons a year. It is an informative and though-provoking film everyone interested in the future should see.

Affluenza with NPR’s Scott Simon.

Medical alert! An outbreak of Affluenza has been reported in your area.
Symptoms: Swollen expectations, Hypercommercialism, Shopping Fever, a Rash of Bankruptcies, Fractured Families, Chronic Stress, and Resource Exhaustion.
Treatment: See Affluenza for instant relief. A funny and powerful program examining the social malady of overconsumption and materialism.

Effective Stewardship: Wisdom on the Environment.

This 20 minute film suggests that Christians may care deeply about the environment and nevertheless support proposals that do more harm than good. As the lesson’s six experts make clear, we are called not simply to care for God’s creation but to care for it effectively.

A Thousand Suns: Food, Ecology, and Religion in the 21st Century.

This film tells the story of the people of the Gamo Highlands of the African Rift Valley, one of the most densely populated rural regions of Africa. Surprisingly, its people have been farming sustainably for 10,000 years. This 30 minute film explores the modern world’s untenable sense of separation and superiority over nature and how we can learn from the interconnected worldview of the Gamo people to achieve long-term sustainability.