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| Introduction |
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| NOTICES |
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| Current Justice Activities |
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| New Orleans Work Trip 2008 |
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| Environmental Stewardship |
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| The Big Green Box (battery recycling) |
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| Advent Trees |
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| Biblical Basis |
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| Action Items |
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| Resources |
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| Legislative Advocacy |
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| Introduction |
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The Justice Program is one of four (4) COGS programs that operate
within the Ministry of Justice; the other three (3) are Pre-School,
Public Relations and Community Interface.
The Justice Team does most of its business by e-mail, only meeting quarterly or by request by members for a special purpose. As projects arise, it is expected that a person will take the lead in moving it forward along with other interested members so each person does not necessarily need to be involved in all projects.
If you would like to be added to the e-mail list, please contact the current leader of the Justice Team, Don Viets.
New Initiatives - friends or members of COGS, especially new members, are encouraged
to contact Don Viets if they are interested in developing an outreach intiative that would support the mission of each
and/or any of these four program areas within the framework of the Ministry of Justice/Community/Pre-School/Public Relations.
The Justice Column appears in the monthly Staff Newsletter.
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| Notices |
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Notices are summarized below with the most recent listed first.
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NM Interfaith Power & Light Meeting
Wednesday November 12, 6:30 - 8:30 pm at St. Michael and All Angel's, 601 Montano NW, ABQ.
Is the World Disintegrating? --- or --
Is this a Prime Opportunity
for People of Faith to Unite in Responding to Global Warming?
All are welcome to attend the talk by guest, John Talberth, Ph.D.,
Redefining Progress and designer of national IPL web based tool to measure
faith community's energy consumption and savings, will explain the program and how
participating faith communities can earn $10,000 in prizes.
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COGS adopts East San Jose Magnet School
During November 2008, COGS member and friends will be filling
new packpacks with supplies that the students need.
The school is located at Gibson and Broadway and of the approximately 6520 students in that school, 65% came to school without all
the supplies needed for their classes. In 2007, 97.4% of the children at San Jose qualified for free or reduced meals.
- New Orleans Evening - Fund Raiser -
Saturday evening November 8, 2008
The Justice Team held a Fund Raiser to provide support for the next
New Orleans work week for two teams of 6 people each. Travel dates
are Sunday March 29 and Saturday April 4. The work week is Monday
through Friday March 30 to April 3, 2009.
For more information, please contact Beth Kissling (503-1331)
See photos from the Fundraiser.
Progress report on Disaster Ministry re New Orleans
as reported by the South Central Conference of the United Church of Christ.
Homes and peoples lives are being rebuilt all along the gulf coast
from Beaumont TX to Biloxi MS. Faith based organizations
are working in communities along the gulf coast to
assist people in their recovery from hurricanes of 2004 and 2005.
Much has been accomplished in two and a half years and there is still much more work
to be done.
- 847 Homes gutted
- 26 Rebuild projects complete
- 312 # volunteer groups
- 3,560 # of volunteers
- 89,000 # hours worked
- 1,736,390 $ value of volunteer labor
- $40,000 average cost to rebuild a home
See also COGS previous New Orleans Work Trip.
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| Current Justice Activities |
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Justice Activities are summarized below with the most recent listed first.
- March 30 - April 3, 2009 - New Orleans work week
- November 30, 2008 - Project Share
- November 12, 2008 - Annual Meeting of NM Interfaith Power and Light
- During November, 2008 - COGS adopted East San Jose Magnet School - filling backpacks with supplies
the students need
- November 8, 2008 - Fund Raiser for New Orleans work trip in 2009
- September 2008 - the Big Green Box for recycling batteries returns to COGS.
- August 31, 2008 - Project Share - 5th Sunday of the month,
COGS members bring food to the church and others members prepare and serve
hot food to the hungry of Albuquerque at the Project Share building downtown.
- April 6-12, 2008 - Six COGS members went on a work trip to New Orleans - see
New Orleans Work Trip below.
- Sunday March 30, 2008 - Project Share - 5th Sunday of the month,
COGS members bring food to the church and others members prepare and serve
hot food to the hungry of Albuquerque at the Project Share building downtown.
- Easter Sunday March 23, 2008 - Decorative native plants
were given in celebration and in memory of loved ones and will planted later outside the church
building.
- Lent & Easter 2008 - Bottles of loose change were collected so that
we could help provide clean water for a High School in Lesotho. April Update -
almost $4000 was collected in change and checks, allowing us to help more than one school!
- February 10 and March 9, 2008 - Thirty pounds of batteries were collected for recycling.
- February 5, 2008 - The Justice Program Leads including Don Viets (Ministry of Justice and Community Interface) and
Pastor Sue Gallagher attended a legislative update in Santa Fe.
- January 7, 2008 - The Advent trees were planted in two nearby parks. See
Advent Trees below.
- December 2007 - Three grant gifts were given to deserving community organizations.
- Barrett House (Domestic Violence shelter for women and children)
- Parole Empowerment Partnerships project (Mentorship for troubled youth)
- San Jose Magnet Elementary Schools (for high risk school children)
- December 2007 - Jeri Smith took charge of distributing
legislative updates on a Justice Alert email list.
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| New Orleans Work Trip |
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The United Church of Christ Disaster Response and Recovery in New Orleans sponsors the work
trips to New Orleans but they are organized by someone at the local level where the teams originate.
The Church of the Good Shepherd's first such work trip was in the summer of 2007. This second one took place during April 6-12, 2008. Six COGS members
participated. They were housed in the dormitory style
facitities at St. Paul's UCC. Repairs to the home they worked on included putting in new tile
in three rooms on the ground floor and redoing the walls in the bathroom.
Left shows the home; the right shows the 80-year old owner chatting with some of the
COGS workers.
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More Photos of the
New Orleans trip
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| Environmental Stewardship |
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Environmental Stewardship was ushered into COGS with the showing of An Inconvenient Truth in the Fall 2006. The Justice Web page allows us to share our ideas with the congregation and to invite your comments.
Purpose of the Environmental Stewardship Group is to
- educate the members of COGS concerning environmental stewardship and
- support COGS in advocating for and acting on environmental stewardship.
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| The Big Green Box |
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Battery Recycling at COGS
During Lent 2008 members and friends of COGS were able to
recycle any type of battery - flashlight, hearing aid, radio, clock, etc. -- of any composition,
including alkaline, lithium hydride, and all others -- right here at COGS.
We saved our batteries and deposited them in the Big Green Box that was provided
during two Sundays in Lent - February 10 and March 9, 2008.
When full, the box will be sent off to the recycling company. We have been assured that 85% of the material deposited will be reused in other products.
For this trial program, a nominal cost of $1.20 per pound for shipping is being subsidized by a donor who firmly
believes in saving water and energy, reducing the burden on our landfills, and lessening toxic waste.
If successful, COGS may decide to continue this recycling activity at semi-annual intervals.
March 10 Update
John Dickel is pleased to report that The Big Green Box collected 30 lbs of batteries
during Lent but one box holds 40 lbs.
Between then and August, further contributions of batteries came in
and filled the box which was then shipped to
the recycling plant.
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The Big Green Box returns to COGS in September 2008. Look
for it in the hallway where it will remain until it is full!
You will be reminded in October to bring your batteries for recycling
when you come to church.
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| Advent Trees |
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A Natural Christmas away from the usual hectic pace.
Members and friends of COGS purchased more than 18 trees during Advent 2007 to create a small forest
for the city to plant in an Open Space area in the spring.
Trees help process smog, provide shade, prevent erosion, and create places for critters to live.
The City of Albuquerque, Department of Parks and Recreation, Open Spaces Manager, proved to be a reliable partner to the community in environmental matters. Church of the Good Shepherd is grateful to the City and its Forestry crew for their cooperation and assistance in making this pilate project a huge success.
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Christmas eve service - 2007 -
All the trees in the sanctuary (plus many more) were COGS' gift to an Open space area of the
City of Albuquerque and the gifts beneath them were destined for the homeless,
the store house, and needy families in the area.
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Photos of the trees changed as Advent proceeded to reflect these developments.
The trees were planted on January 7, 2008 in two nearby parks:
Los Ranchos
de Palomas and Rotary park, both in the Northeast Heights.
An article with a series of photos also appeared at New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light
and also in their Quarterly Newsletter - Faroloto: Winter 2008.
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| Biblical Basis for Environmental Stewardship |
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Why in the world should the church be concerned about the issues of the environment?
Pastor Sue answered this question in her Reflections presented in the November 2006 issues of Staff -- partially reproduced below:
The stories in Genesis tell us that God created the world and all that is in it. Whether you believe in the literal details of the creation narratives or not, the fact is that God is considered the prime mover. That belief is reaffirmed in various creeds and statments of faith throughout history, such as the Apostle's Creed.
It was not until the Middle Ages that the earth began to get a bad rap. Peoples' focus became more heaven-centered when life on earth became too painful.
As modern theology began to bring God "down to earth", concern for the environment was rekindled. It was no accident that the resurgence coincided with the obvious crisis of global warming, depletion of our natural resources, increased interest in earth-centered recreation, and preservation of open spaces.
Care for the earth and the delicate balance of creation is probably the most critical issue facing us today.
It is an issue of
theology -- to love God is to love God's creation and to care for it.
justice -- not all countries suffer equally, and some countries are in a better position than others to create needed technology, such as fuel-efficient cars.
humanity -- we certainly saw that in all of the recent natural disasters.
environment -- hundreds of species of plants and animals disappear on a regular basis, thus upsetting the delicate balance of nature.
common sense -- when we take steps to become more environmentally sensitive as a church, it helps us remember to do the same at home and in our community.
We at COGS try hard not to force issues on the congregation, so take what you read here and use it as you see fit, but know that it does come with a deeply felt commitment to saving the earth for our children and our childen's children.
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| Action Items |
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The Justice Team recommends to COGS the following activities in support of environmental stewardship:
Individually
- Visit the Environmental Stewardship Table during Sundays - the table features among other things, documents on recycling, solar energy, battery-recycling, and relevant Web links, etc.
- Purchase some of the long-lived, energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs which are available in a labeled box on a table in the church hallway.
- Participate in an "Alternative Transportation" Sunday in relationship to Earth Day in April.
- Participate in "A Magical Energy Tour" of COGS members' homes and other Albuqeruque "green homes" which use various forms of energy-saving devices. (To be arranged.)
As a Congregation
- Arrange for an energy audit of the existing building.
- Members of the Environmental Stewardship Group will research various "green building" concepts for presentation to the COGS building committee for possible incorporation in any plan for building renovation or expansion.
Advocacy
- Letter writing to e-mail campaigns.
- COGS is a member of the New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light coalition (NMIPL) which includes other Albuquerque churches. John Dickel is our COGS liason to NMIPL.
Educational
- Environmental Stewardship table (see above).
- Adult Education Seminars on various energy issues.
- Possible presentation to the congregation of one or both of two plays on environmental stewardship.
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| Resources |
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Energy Savvy Websites
- www.nmsea.org - NM Solar Energy Association: Directory, Incentives and Laws Guidebook, local information.
- www.energysavers.gov - Qualify for tax credits for energy upgrades.
- hes.lbl.gov - Audit your home's energy use with help from Lawrence Berkeley Labs.
- www.eere.energy.gov - DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Site
- www.ftc.gov/appliancedata - Research the efficiency of new appliances before you buy.
- www.affordable-solar.com - Albuquerque based solar electric components and information.
- www.pnm.com - (Albuquerque) Energy efficiency rebates.
- Energy tax credits
- Free weatherization DVD
- Weatherization how-to-videos
- Household tips
- Appliances
- Home Energy Analysis
- PNM Sky BlueTM wind energy program
- Solar PV program
- Customer-owned generation: net metering and interconnection
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| Legislative Advocacy |
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Starting in late December 2007, we began networking with the Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministry (LOGM) in Santa Fe, to
obtain and distribute legislative updates on a Justice Alert email list operated by Jeri Smith.
New members are urged to sign up to be included on this list.
The following issues are being followed by the Council of Churches, the Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministry, and other church groups:
- Healthcare
- Homelessness
- Affordable housing
- Tax policy
- Family sustaining income -- Family opportunity accounts
- Death penalty repeal
In addition, we wish to follow legislation with regard to:
- Real ID--Immigration
- Nuclear buildup -- retooling of nuclear bombs in NM
- Environmental stewardship
- Peace Declaration
- Bread for the World
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