July Sustainability Article Expanded

Olivet  has been designated a Green Chalice Congregation!!!

The Green Chalice ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is designed to support and recognize Disciples congregations, like Olivet, who are working to become better stewards of creation.

Becoming a Green Chalice congregation is a journey – it begins with commitment and education and continues as we work toward certification and achievement. 

• Olivet has been actively engaged in caring for creation as a part of our ministry for the last several years.  Many environmental and energy saving features were incorporated both in our current church building, constructed in the 1990’s, and in the more recent Music & Education addition.
• The Sustainable Living Steering Committee serves as our Creation Care or Green Team and offers several kinds of educational opportunities…both in-house and outside speakers, tours, field trips and hands-on projects.
• In April 2015, the Olivet Board approved a proposal from the Sustainable Living Steering Committee, with concurrence of the Property Committee, that Olivet officially participate in the Green Chalice ministry, with the goal of becoming a Certified Green Chalice Congregation.
• We continue to work toward walking more gently on the earth – programmable thermostats are installed throughout the building; mulch is used to help control weeds, reduce herbicide use and reduce water consumption; recycling is encouraged and use of disposables has been reduced.
• On Earth Stewardship Sunday, April 17, 2016, we took another important step.  We affirmed our intent as a congregation, and as individuals, to care for God’s good creation in the words of the Disciples Alverna Covenant.  We also had the opportunity to make individual pledges to care for creation – affixing our pledge to the large Green Chalice poster in the front of the sanctuary at the close of services.
  

Olivet has now received official designation as a participating Green Chalice Congregation:

Dear Olivet Christian Church,

On behalf of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), I extend congratulations to Olivet Christian Church for becoming a Green Chalice Ministry.  Green Chalice celebrates the fact that you are living out your faith by caring for God’s creation and leading the denomination and your community in authentic ways.  Green Chalice applauds the fact that you have a green team, have affirmed and signed the Alverna Covenant, and have made changes that help your ministry walk more gently on the earth.  Take time to commemorate and celebrate this accomplishment.  Please add this recognition to your newsletter and website.

When you are ready for the next step, you can work to become a Certified Green Chalice Ministry, a more extensive program that looks at every area of work life from the building and grounds to education and outreach.  We now have seven Certified congregations that have taken this honorable step with several working toward it.  Perhaps, Olivet Christian Church will be the next.

I look forward to hearing about the new things that Olivet Christian Church is doing to save our sacred planet.  May your journey be blessed by God.

In Christ,

Rev. Carol L.  Devine

Minister Green Chalice

This letter and the accompanying certificate will be framed and posted in Fellowship Hall.  As a Green Chalice Congregation we are both encouraged and challenged to continue the journey of making positive changes that reduce our adverse environmental impact and increase our ability to be good stewards of God’s creation.

If you would like more information about The Green Chalice certification please visit https://www.discipleshomemissions.org/dhm/dhm-ministries/environment/ 

Governor's 100 Missouri Miles

According to the flyer:

Missouri has been recognized as the "Best Trails State" in America.  From neighborhood greenways to back country hiking trails, Missouri is crisscrossed by thousands of miles of spectacular trails to accommodate a wide variety of activities and interests. To celebrate this distinction and encourage Missourians to take advantage of Missouri’s award-winning trails, Governor Jay Nixon and First Lady Georganne Nixon are inviting Missourians to join them as they complete “100 Missouri Miles” of physical activity on Missouri trails this calendar year.  The Governor’s 100 Missouri Miles Challenge is a great way to get healthy and have fun while exploring Missouri’s great outdoors.  Whether you run, walk, bike, paddle, or roll, everyone can participate!

At this website you can see how many miles Governor Nixon and First Lady have walked, sign up to begin logging your miles, see what others are doing, and so much more!

https://100missourimiles.com/

June Sustainability Challenge

~JUNE CHALLENGE~

The June challenge is to start composting, it's the perfect time of year!  This month in the OCN we highlighted how to get started composting and you can find the expanded information here on the blog: http://occsustainable.blogspot.com/2016/05/june-sustainability-article-expanded.html.  In that extended article at the bottom you can find 3 great resources that can help take you through step by step how to get started.  You can get started simply by just using an old ice cream container!  For those of you that already have a composting system in place that’s great too, if you perhaps are having issues with it (smell-which it should have, not heating up, lots of insects, etc.) there is great trouble shooting information. 

For everyone just send us photos of your systems if you want to get in the photo as well or perhaps photos of how you have used your compost we would love to see it!  You might see it featured next month or you might be the proud new owner of a geobin composter which is the PRIZE FOR JUNE RAFFLE (see photo below)!  Please send photos and names no later than July 1st to kaitlynwintersbradley@gmail.com.

Geobin composter- PRIZE FOR JUNE RAFFLE!

Clary-Shy Park and the Columbia Farmers Market Design Voting

We have been asked to pass along the following information, and here you can have your say in the design for the future farmers market.

Please take some time to check out the designs for the Farmers Market/Urban Agriculture Park that the MU Architecture students put together. They are really impressive!!

The Ozark Mountain Daredevils design, one of four that you can vote on.

The MU Architectural Studies students finished their design work on Clary-Shy Park and the Columbia Farmers Market, and we are looking forward to taking what we have learned into the next phases of design. The final student projects are now posted online. Please see their work and fill out a quick survey  https://studio2market.wordpress.com/give-feedback-online/.  This survey will ask you to rank and comment on the four different park designs. We appreciate your feedback!

Questions? Contact Instructor Laura Cole: colelb@missouri.edu

May Monthly Challenge Winners

Each month we challenge you all to do something new.  For May the challenge was to: Go outside and visit one of the hundreds of natural areas around mid-Missouri.  This could have been a trail, conservation area, state park, city park, or anywhere in between!

  

This month the winner was 

Shawn and Jason Keel! 

These boys visited Runge Nature Center in Jefferson City, Missouri. 

The boys playing on a trail at Runge Nature Center (Photo Credit: Tracy Keel)

Having fun on the turtle at Runge Nature Center (Photo Credit: Tracy Keel)

Congratulations to our winners!  They won their very own Missouri State Park Centennial Passport book.  This allows them the opportunity to travel around the state to visit a few or all of the 88 state parks and historic sites before Oct. 31, 2017.  There are many different prizes associated with this book and hundreds of memories.  If you would like your own book or more information about the program visit https://mostateparks.com/passport

 You could be our winner next month, stay tuned for the June monthly challenge!

Honorable mention:

Karen and Kaitlyn Bradley who traveled to Ha Ha Tonka State Park and pictured is the 12th largest in the state.  (Photo Credit: Kaitlyn Bradley)

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.

Albert Einstein