Native Plant Pollinator Garden Party
Saturday, October 9 at 9:45 a.m.
Get out of the house and help beautify the Native Plant Pollinator Garden at CTK! Join the Creation Care Team in getting your hands dirty weeding & adding some plants to the garden. Bring your gardening gloves & tools to weed and plant native pollinator plants in the garden. Participation will be limited to 6 people maximum, to maintain social distancing. Contact Lisa Brenskelle with any questions or to volunteer.
Fall Outings in Nature: Guided Night Hike & Earth Examen Armand Bayou Nature Center, Pasadena
Saturday, October 9, 6:00 p.m.
You are invited to join an outing to Armand Bayou Nature Center in Pasadena for a private two-hour guided night hike and practice of a spiritual discipline, the Earth Examen. Come enjoy the sights and sounds of the prairie, forest, and bayou at night as a spiritual experience! Some nocturnal creatures you may see or hear are owls, bats, fireflies, raccoons, spiders, armadillos, deer, frogs, and more! The hike is suitable for kids 6+. The Earth Examen will be explained at 6 p.m., followed by check-in at the center at 6:15 p.m., and the hike at 6:30 p.m., during which you can practice the Earth Examen. Space for these outings is very limited, so if you’d like to join us, contact Lisa Brenskelle to sign up. Masks must be worn during the hike. Due to the limited group size, you must sign up in advance to participate.
People’s Eco-Challenge
October 6 – October 27, online
The Lutherans Restoring Creation Team – Gulf Coast invites you to join their team for this year’s People’s Eco-Challenge. This online event offers you the opportunity to care for the earth by taking on a challenge in: justice for the whole community, healing & renewal, waste, food, health, transportation, energy, community, nature, water, or simplicity. You can learn about these topics, take action in your personal life, advocate or create a new environmental justice/stewardship habit over the course of the 3 weeks of the challenge!! Join the team! Have questions? Contact Lisa Brenskelle
Fall Interfaith Environmental Stewardship Event
Sunday, October 17, 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.
Willow Waterhole Greenspace, 5300 Dryad Dr., Houston, TX 77035
Join with people of other faiths to care for our shared environment! We will engage in hands-on environmental stewardship at the Willow Waterhole Conservation Reserve, getting the park ready for MusicFest on October 30. This event will offer activities for all ages and skill levels and appropriate precautions to prevent spread of the Covid will be taken. Meet at the Swartz Gazebo in the park to sign in. Metro bus line 7 stops nearby, and line 49 is not far. Tools/supplies will be provided. This event is organized by Christ the King Lutheran Church and the Interfaith Environmental Network of Houston, in partnership with the Willow Waterhole Greenspace Conservancy. The conservancy requires signing of a waiver to participate. Please register. Contact Lisa Brenskelle with any questions.
Bike Around the Bay
October 23 & October 24
Join the Lutherans Restoring Creation Team for Bike Around the Bay as a cyclist or supporter! There are multiple ride options: 20 or 43 mile routes in Galveston on Oct. 23, or a two-day ride all around the bay (overnight in Galveston) on Oct. 23 & Oct. 24 for a total of 175 miles. Beneficiary of the ride is the Galveston Bay Foundation, which acts to preserve the bay. Galveston Bay is the 2nd highest producer of seafood among U.S estuaries, provides flood protection, water filtration & recreation in this region, and is crucial to the Port of Houston. Please consider joining the Lutherans Restoring Creation team or making a donation to support the team and Galveston Bay. For cyclists, this is great opportunity to both enjoy and care for God’s good creation. See details for this event.
Sunday Evening Conversations on Creation Continue…
The CTK Creation Care Team invites you to a monthly environmental education web meeting series whose theme in 2021 is Healthy Planet = Healthy People = Healthy Economy.
Why Insects Matter Sunday, October 31, 5:00 p.m. online
In October, join Scott Solomon, Associate Teaching Professor in Biosciences at Rice University, for a discussion on the complex relationships we have with insects and the reasons why they have been —and continue to be— among Earth’s most essential species. Insects are also the most diverse group of organisms on the planet and life as we know it could not exist without them. Come learn to appreciate the insects around you! Time for interactive Q&A with Professor Solomon will be provided. Please register for this talk. Contact Lisa Brenskelle with any questions.
You can still join: Living the Change Weekly Discussion Group
Tuesdays, thru December 14, 6:00 p.m., online
As recent scientific reports have made clear, a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 is needed to avoid the worst impacts of a changing climate. The multifaith statement to the U.N. Climate Conference, Walk on Earth Gently, invites people of faith into a journey of Living the Change that the world needs – a transformation to a sustainable lifestyle. The journey is inspired by religious teachings to turn away from consumerism & to seek balanced relationships with all people and the planet we share as our common home. Texans of faith are invited join us on the journey, in a weekly small group discussion focused on making personal lifestyle changes in three key areas: transportation, energy, and food. Join us on this 12-week journey to reducing your contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. Can’t make it every week? Join us as you are able. A detailed schedule is given below. All participants will receive a copy of Living the Change materials customized for the Houston area. Are you ready to commit to a more sustainable lifestyle? Then join us on this journey to Living the Change. Register for this event. For more information, Contact Lisa Brenskelle
October 5, 12 & 19: Transport, weeks 2, 3 & 4
October 26, November 2, 9 & 16: Energy, weeks 1, 2, 3, & 4
November 23, 30 & December 7 : Food, weeks 1, 2 & 3
December 14: Food, week 4 & closing
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GreenFaith Certification Achieved!!
In 2017, the Creation Care Team received GreenFaith certification for CTK. To achieve certification, the team had to fulfill requirements for creation-focused worship services, religious education on creation for all ages, interfaith & multi-generational creation-focused activities, environmental justice education & interactions with local environmental justice leaders, and communications about our activities. In addition to these requirements, we also had to complete 25 actions or awareness building activities in the areas of energy, transportation, food, water, waste, toxins and grounds. Work to achieve GreenFaith certification began in 2013, two years after CTK entered into covenant with Lutherans Restoring Creation and the Creation Care Team was formed. Participation in GreenFaith built the foundation for a number of creation-focused activities now routinely offered by the CTK Creation Care Team for the congregation, in all areas originally required for GreenFaith certification. We continue to use what we learned during the certification process to guide our ongoing efforts to incorporate care for creation into the full life and mission of CTK, in worship, education, discipleship, advocacy/public ministry, and stewardship of building & ground