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BLESSED EARTH

Good Steward Workshops yielding a harvest

S e r v i n g G o d , S a v i n g t h e P l a n e tJULY 2009 NEWSLETTER || WWW.BLESSEDEARTH.ORG || VOL. 1, NO. 6

Friends,

One of the best parts of our work is receivingletters from people around the country, shar-ing their creation care journey. Last spring,we began offering a Good Steward Work-shop. During the workshop, each personcreates a Sustainable Lifestyle Covenant,listing practical things they pledge to do to-day, this week, this month, and this year tohelp care for God’s creation. We send ac-countability emails periodically, to check inon how they are doing reaching those goalsand to encourage each other. The storieswe get back are inspiring -- they keep ourwell lled!

  A few testimonies from our Good Steward Workshops:

“I have been decluttering and donating, aswell as reading Scripture that emphasizes

our responsibility to care for God’s Earth. Ibought all the organic I could at the grocerystore, used my cloth bags, and didn’t pur-chase things I didn’t need. Plus, we boughta reel mower, and Brian has mowed thegrass twice with it. He enjoys it, and thekids love that he can hear them knocking onthe windows when he’s cutting the grass! Ibought my rst tomato seeds, and hope tostart a small garden soon. And, I’m goingto the local farmers market this Saturday!Christina from Mobile, Alabama

“With the help of the Lord, we would say we

are doing well. Right now we are celebrating

our 15th anniversary, and it’s been so cool tosee us as couple recycling items in our room.We just place them in a separate bag andwait until we see a bin for the plastics or pa-per. I thank the Lord that Steve is also doingthis with me.”Karoline from Costa Rica

I am in the process of clearing a spot for thecompost bins. I actually had to do some ma-

 jor work tearing down a fenced in area. Thechurch has made a $5,000 commitment toplant trees -- we are not sure yet whether we

will do it through Floresta or through some

missionary folks we support in Burkina Fawho are doing some reforestation woWe’re waiting for the containers promised my guys who work for the water authoritystart the church recycling project.John

With every blessing,

Dr. Matthew Sleeth

Executive Director

Creation Care Scripture Green Tip of the Month

PO BOX 227 || WILMORE, KY 40390 || CONTACT@BLESSEDEARTH.ORG

“ose who oppress the poorinsult their Maker, but those whoare kind to the needy honor him.”

Proverbs 14:31

Try making some old-fashioned Sun Tea!Children are fascinated by the sun’s power to changethings and love to get involved in this process. Notonly will you have saved energy by not boiling your water on the stove, but your whole family can getinvolved and get outdoors!

Emma Sleeth with her father, Dr. Matthew Sleeth, in their earth-friendly (unmowed) y

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Letters from you: Back to the basicsBy Jim Williamson

Contributing Writer

What a difference a month makes...A little over a month ago I attended

a Creation Care conference hosted by Flour-ish and CrossPoint Church. I really didn’t

know what to expect. Not familiar with any ofthe speakers, I hoped I would not get suckedinto a left-wing, liberal faction. What I found,however, was a group engaged in the honestexploration and discovery of where we areglobally, nationally and locally as it relates tothe issue of caring and being good stewardsof God’s creation - the Earth and all its won-ders.

The discussion of the obvious ef-fects of our pollution of the earth was espe-cially convicting. It also became clear thatthe lifestyle I maintain has both ripples andcost to others.

It seems a lot of what I enjoy and fo-cus on comes at a cost to others who have asmall voice or little opportunity to overcome.It was never intentional on my part; I justhadn’t slowed down in a long time to con-sider that every choice I make impacts theworld. It sounds simple but, literally, whenI use paper towels, that paper comes fromtrees. Usually the cheapest trees availableare trees from the rain forests of Central andSouth America. The forests are, therefore,

producing less oxygen. This directly causesless rain in regions of Africa that are alreadyhaving water problems. Then, the competi-tion for water in these areas becomes taxed.Families in Africa are forced to source waterfrom farther locations to bring back to theirhomes, and children are often given the task

of collecting that water. Their very safety isat risk to being captured for exploitation inarmies or human trafcking. The ripples ofour actions are bigger and farther reachingthan we often think.

Another helpful part of the confer-ence was a practical workshop led by NancySleeth. Nancy challenged us to take a com-plete inventory of the consumption in ourown lives.

Some of the changes I made imme-diately upon my return home were easy andare already producing results. Here are justa few:

• I joined a community garden in myneighborhood. I now have a time setaside to do a short presentation aboutcreation care in our children’s programon Sunday.

• It’s been simple taking “Navy” showersand moderating my water use. For ex-ample, whatever the dogs do not drinkin their bowls goes out to water plants.

• I’ve had coffee with my Pastor to go overwhat I learned in the conference and dis-

cussed what we might do as a churc

We talked about starting a commungarden on unused church property.• I haven’t upgraded my TV for the digi

transition -- and I may not!Evangelism seems to be most e

fective when the local church is truly reacing into and loving its community. After atending the Flourish Conference, I denitebelieve creation care is one of the most poerful ways to reach into today’s communand change lives for Christ.

MEDIA & SPEAKING EVENTSPrayer & Praise 

Follow us in July with these upcoming press appearances:

 July 2, 2009 Lexington Herald-Leader. Nancy Sleeth interviews with Sharonompson to share eco-friendly cooking, gardening, and meal ideas that savetime, money, and God’s green earth.

 July 6, 2009 700 Club, “Inside Green.” Dr. Matthew and Nancy Sleeth walk you through their home while teaching everyday practical tips for serving Godand saving the planet. Check your local cable listings for air times.

If you would like to schedule an interview with Dr. Matthew or Nancy Sleet please e-mail us to share your inquiry at press@blessedearth.org.

Praises

• Our intern for the month of June produced alarge number of short videos featuring creationcare reections and practical tips. We will peri-odically release a video on our YouTube page.

• We are now working on a 12-lm creationcare series with Dot&Cross (producers of theNOOMA lms featuring Rob Bell). They aregeniuses at what they do, and we are gratefulfor the opportunity to provide a resource likethis to the Church.

• The700Club interviews lmed last month will

begin airing July 6. See our Media Digest formore information.

Prayer Requests

• Continued discernment of God’s next steps forour ministry.

• Vigilance and wisdom for being good stewardsof new opportunities we are receiving as aministry.

• A restful vacation this July as we take sometime to recharge from an extremely busy year.

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Blessed EarthPO Box 227

 Wilmore, KY 40390

SUMMER GREEN GUIDEResourceoftheMonth 

National Geographic Online has alwaysbeen innovative with providing practical strategies fortaking better care of all creation -- from plants andanimals to the air and water.

For the summer, the ofcial Summer Green

Guide on the National Geographic Web site providesanswers to the most commonplace questions. Youcan even take quizzes to nd out how you, your fam-ily and your friends can reduce your impact on theenvironment while participating in summer activities.

In addition to unique information and tips,the Summer Green Guide even offers step-by-steppractical guides for summer projects that will savemoney and  the earth. Check it out today!

www.thegreenguide.com/summer

Blessed Earth is an educational nonprot that inspires and equips faith communities tobecome better stewards of the earth. Trough outreach to churches, campuses and media

we build bridges that promote measurable environmental change and meaningful spiritual growth.

OUR MISSION

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