Did you see the June 8 Guitar Hero III tournament at Northpointe Church? All proceeds go to Greenville Middle Academy green efforts. On May 19 & 21, the greenLIFEproject brought Rock Band, Guitar Hero, Live Earth and An Inconvenient Truth to the 6th grade science classes of Greenville Middle Academy.

“One of the most successful fundraisers at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis is not a bake sale. It’s an organic plant sale.

On a Sunday morning after the early worship service, members wander around the courtyard carrying cardboard boxes filled with tomatoes, basil and peppers.

“Yes, they’re pesticide-free and locally grown,” sale coordinator Gail Jankowski says, assuring two women who ask.

 

Naturally, they are. The 325-member church, surrounded by lush greenery, stresses caring for God’s creations. Ecology is such an important part of their theology that the congregation now is attempting to become the first accredited “green sanctuary” in California.This commitment is obvious to church visitors. Before entering the sanctuary, worshippers walk past carpool sign-up lists, informational pamphlets on solar panels, the plant sale and a crowded bike rack. And, of course, there’s the parking lot.

“There are probably more Priuses in our parking lot than anywhere else in Sacramento,” says Tom Jan- kowski, Gail’s husband. “Certainly, more than any other church.”

Getting the label of a “green sanctuary” is about more than recycling newspapers and driving fuel-efficient cars. It’s about changing the church to make it environmentally friendly. Davis congregational leaders have audited everything from the bathroom cleaning supplies to the type of paper used in Sunday school classes to the number of sermons devoted to the environment.

“It’s being integrated into every aspect of our church. It makes sense for us theologically and for us as a community,” said the Rev. Elizabeth O’Shaughnessy Banks.” Excerpt from Sacbee.com.

Click on the link below to read the entire article.

Green Sanctuary

“Keystone’s warm atmosphere extends into their sanctuary, where the earth-toned theme continues. Remarkably comfortable Steelcase Cachet seating can be easily reconfigured into any arrangement, and even sofas are available for service-goers arriving early enough to claim them.

But while you put money in the Sunday basket for African orphans, or spend a Saturday at the local food bank, are you recycling your plastics? Are you conserving natural resources by carpooling and using fluorescent bulbs? Do you even consider good ecology and being environmentally sensitive a form of stewardship?

If you attend Keystone Community Church in Ada, Michigan, your answer to this question would be a resounding, “Yes!” In fact, the Keystone community so embraces the concept of environmental stewardship that they decided to become the first LEED-certified church in the nation.” – Excerpt from Worship Facilities Magazine (www.worshipfacilities.com).

Click on the link below to read the entire article.

Keystone Community Church

Click on their website, www.disciplerocks.com, to find out more about them.

This is one band you really need to check out.  Good Christian music with a heavy metal sound.

 

FUSION Explosion was exploding with excitement Friday, June 1st.  There were at least 200 students there, mingling with their friends.  They were also there to hear the group Daylight Wasting, a Christian rock band out of Greer, SC.  Also there that night was Tina Marie, a motivational speaker that travels the country talking about “Truths in secular music” as well as Abstinence.

The Fusion Warehouse Student Center is in an old Wal-Mart building in Anderson, SC.  It is a meeting place for 13-18 year olds.  The building is 66,000 square feet and has a video arcade, a cafe’, movie theaters and a 2000 seat concert area. 

Randall Brown, Fusion coordinator, stated that the youth center is “bringing the community, leaders, and organizations together”. 

Click on the link below to go to their website.  I spoke with them in May, and they said that they have been so busy with the students that they haven’t had time to update their website but you can still find some good information there.

Fusion Warehouse Student Center

 

“The Bible says, ‘Let nothing be wasted,’”.  “The Bible commands us to be good stewards of all of our resources. To be able to save money and use it for ministry and missions — I was very concerned with that” says Mike Buster, executive pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas. – Excerpt from churchbusiness.com.

Click on the link below to read the entire article.

Green Machines

Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting June 13-14, 2006

Click on link below for article by media outlet stating that 2006 Baptist Convention is against environmental stewardship.

Texas Baptists

Click the link below to view entire article.

Inside the Multi-Site Revolution

Click on the link below to view Part 3 of an interview by Tom Doyle in Faith & Insight. We could not find part 1 & 2 on their site. The article says Jim can be reached at jtomberlin@cox.net

An Interview with Jim Tomberlin

With its weekly updates on iTunes and thetask.org, the podTask is full of information for students to get involved with international missions by hearing about what others are doing around the world in proclaiming Jesus’ name.” – Excerpt from The Baptist Courier

“We want to provide…videos, stories and music for students to download and watch to encourage them that GOd is moving around the world, and he’s using students to reach the world,” siad Felicity Watson , host of the podTask.

Click on the link below to go to the website.

Missions Podcast

Once you have signed on to the webpage, scroll down and click on PodTASK to subscribe to iTunes to listen to the podcasts as well as watch videos about missions.

Click on the link below to read the entire article.

Texas Baptists Oppose Coal Power Plants

Churches and Theaters

Kent Shaffer posts this article on ChurchRelevance about how National CineMedia is making its movie theaters available as churches. Posted on ChurchRelevance.com December 20, 2006.

We are very excited about theaters as churches because no construction is as sustainable or “Green” as not building until you absolutely have to. Remember WillowCreek started at a movie theater…