DEN Enews

The Reign of Christ is the last Sunday in the liturgical year. As we enter Advent on December 1st, we will be posting smaller issues with a focus on the Advent Season where we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ at Christmas. We welcome you to consider how you can use the Season of Advent to provide for a greener world in your homes and daily practices. In a guide of Ecological Virtues, Laudato Si’ has written:

Ecological virtues…. relate to our disposition to do the good for our common home. They are fundamental values that can become a habit if we embrace and commit to them as a way to act for more love and justice in God’s creation.

One of the ways to consider your individual footprint is to discover how eco-friendly your bank is with this simple tool:

Another way is to vote for the candidate that closely aligns with your core values. Today is election day so if you have not made a decision yet , perhaps this guide will be helpful:

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There has been a lot of print lately on this Wind Power for Hydrogen Export project. Is this really a GREEN idea? Our DEN Facebook page has shared information on this project and the group Green Nova Scotia First is inviting you to the community information session in the poster below.

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Healthy Coastline Research Project - You are invited to the closing meeting of this phase of the project

The project, "Strengthening the Eastern Shore Parishes for coastal ecosystems protection and climate change preparedness through citizen science" was developed as a response to our commitment to live out the 5th Mark of Mission, To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth in response to a motion passed unanimously at Synod 2019 that calls for the diocese to “d. form small groups to take leadership on environmental issues within each parish and to connect with the Diocesan Environment Network. e. identify environmental and climate-related threats in their context and to develop or adapt existing tools on disaster preparedness and mitigation”.

This past year, the Diocesan Environment Network (DEN) in partnership with the Anglican Parish of Port Dufferin, a research scientist, local citizen scientists, the communities we serve on the Eastern Shore, our funders, and researchers involved in similar projects in Argentina and Melanesia, developed community monitoring of coastal ecosystems and climate change events and began to gather standardized information on coastal parameters related to climate-related threats.

You are invited to join us November 30, 2024, 10 am to 1 pm at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #58, Downstairs, 23566, Nova Scotia Trunk 7, Watt Section, NS B0J 3B0 (lunch included) for the final meeting of this phase of the project, in person or by Zoom, as we celebrate and report the results of this phase of the project.

Please RSVP [email protected]

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DEN is thrilled to be able to tell you more about one of our Advocacy Editors, Jesse Hamilton, also known as:

Jesse is dedicated to all things Nature and hikes the great outdoors with her cat, Daisy. Her website is a joy to wander through for blogs, videos, much needed humour and so much more. Jesse’s latest foray has been into digital art and we are thrilled to offer you her products page of gifts that may entice you for your nature loving friends and family. These products can be paired with any of her digital art.

Digital art

Products

Our Advocacy Editors do an amazing job of finding petitions pertinent to our world’s health and sustainability. To date this year, they have sent the enews 190 different ones and also track when there are positive impacts from these efforts. Yes we can make a difference. In Jesse’s voice, This is an ongoing list of links from a weekly petition collecting project. Anyone can click and sign; it's that easy to use your Green Voice!

Too often dangerous chemicals are allowed to linger in our environment and by the time action is taken, the damage is done. Flufenacet is a toxic pesticide that poisons and disrupts ecosystems, threatens children’s brain development, and releases forever chemicals. It fails to meet EU safety standards, but is still sprayed on fields across Europe. Forever chemicals seep into water sources, poisoning and passing on life-altering consequences to future generations. On December 4th and 5th, the EU Food Committee will decide whether to ban the toxic chemical. Canadians can sign this petition and help urge for this turning point in public health and environmental protection.

A major oil company called Energy Transfer is suing Greenpeace USA and Greenpeace International. The company is accusing Greenpeace USA of organizing protests against its oil pipeline project in North Dakota — rewriting the history of the movement led by the Standing Rock Sioux in defense of their land and water. This case isn’t just about Greenpeace; it’s about all of us. Polluting companies are increasingly using abusive legal tactics that threaten freedom of expression and existence worldwide. Join the global movement to support Greenpeace and not let fossil fuel companies rewrite our history or dictate our future.

February 2025 is the deadline for every UN country to submit a new plan outlining how they will cut their climate pollution. You can be a part of calling on governments around the world to cut ties with biomass in their national climate plans. Drax is an energy giant that logs and burn forests for electricity while receiving billions of dollars in subsidies. We can't replace fossil fuels with so-called "solutions" that contribute to climate pollution and destroy forests. We can put pressure on delegations to insist that their country’s investments be in genuine renewables. Take a moment to remind world leaders that healthy, thriving forests are crucial in the fight against climate change, and cutting them down to burn for electricity is unacceptable.

Puffins are running out of food and time because the EU is prioritising profits over the survival of a species. Sandeels are the primary food source for puffins, kittiwakes, and other vulnerable species. At the start of this year, the UK made a critical move hailed by conservationists by introducing a fishing ban to protect sandeels. This essentially provides a lifeline to seabird populations and the North Sea ecosystem. However, the EU has since initiated legal action arguing the UK’s ban breaches their fishing rights. Puffins are caught right in the middle. Their population has dropped by 25% since 2000. By 2050, it is estimated to drop to 90% without urgent intervention. Danish fishing fleets alone remove hundreds of thousands of tonnes of sandeels every year from the North Sea. Tell the EU to drop this case immediately and align with conservation efforts to protect our oceans and the wildlife that depends on them.

Plastics and their components harm human health through every stage of our lifecycle. Microplastic pollution is found everywhere, including in our blood and even the placentas of unborn fetuses. Exposure to the harmful chemical additives in plastic is linked with breast cancer, endometriosis, ovarian cancer, polycystic ovarian syndrome, behavioural disorders, reproductive disorders, and more. It is clear that individual action to limit plastic consumption won’t solve the problem. Production limits alongside regulation and the elimination of toxic chemicals in plastics are needed right now. Luckily, we have a critical window of opportunity to call for change. Canada is about to engage in final negotiations for a global plastics treaty. Ask our ministers to take action in both the global treaty negotiations and in our country.

Green Christmas

Grandma believes that doing one new green thing each Christmas and building on past years’ green actions is more helpful than reminding folks of how wasteful our Christmas is. Here are a few ideas.

The tree debate. Green trees are nice. Farmers spend 10 years growing a beautiful tree to be cut down, put in a warm house for a couple of weeks and then discarded. If lucky it goes to someone with goats or horses who will eat the boughs and then it is thrown out and inside another 10 years it will decay and go back to the soil. Yeah, Grandma likes artificial trees that last 10 years indoors and at least another 10 years outdoors with a few lights. It will one day be thrown out. It just takes them a few weeks short of a couple of decades to get there. One green action could be to buy a second-hand Christmas tree at a summer yard sale and use it for an outdoor decoration. At night no one sees the tree; they see a tree shape with lights.

Use LED lights where you can. They use less electricity and can be up to 90% more efficient. Grandma even has a few strings of solar lights. She also has a few older styles of lights that are slowly being replaced. Try buying ONE string of newer lights this year and adding each year. I recently saw a 30-light set for $10, so they aren’t always expensive.

Gift Wrap. Grandma saves some of her Christmas wrap and reuses it the next year. She also donates to Santa’s “recycled wrapping paper” project. Santa is a green warrior, and his gifts are often wrapped in recycled paper.

This year, our new green Christmas project is to use the brown paper bags my daughter's groceries are delivered in each week.  They will be decorated and made pretty. This makes a throwaway product used twice. I am sure some will be saved for another year.

Make some decorations. Grandma loves a paper chain made from red and green construction paper. Stringing popcorn keeps hands busy when school is out.

Start a family baking tradition if you don’t have one. Remember the Rice Krispie shortage the other year? I know people that have boxes of Rice Krispies and Corn Flakes in their cupboards NOW, just in case of shortages. Making the squares with the kids is a Christmas tradition in many houses.

Gifts. The guideline here is

Something you want

Something you need

Something to wear

And something to read

Each year I tell you the story of how our family searched high and low for a “wanted”, magenta marker”. No other colour of marker would do. Grandma finally found one. The cost was $1.99 for the marker and $7 shipping. On Christmas morning, a seven-year-old was running around screaming how she had her “magenta” marker. Yeah, it was worth it.

Think of others. Money is tight and family comes first but make room for others. Often under our tree is a card with a note inside saying that a meal was purchased at a shelter in their name. I promise if all you can do is send a $10 donation somewhere, it will be appreciated.

Amid all the festivities, give yourself the gift of time. Since getting our Jazz, I have started taking more walks. When life gets busy, “the dog needs a walk”, is a great excuse. I do the thank-you walk. Left foot I think “thank” and right foot I think “you”. Over and over think “thank you”. Some days I use the Lord’s prayer or recite a creed. When my mind is still going in a fast-forward speed, walking and saying any of these things, calms me down. By the time I get to the wharf, my world is centred. Walking back home I re-organize, bit by bit. I walk in the door ready to take on the next thing on the to-do list.

There needs to be a “done” time on Christmas Eve. In our house, it was 3 PM. That is when I gave up fussing. There might be some midnight work later, but 3 PM was GO time. Get the kids cleaned, dressed and out the door to church. The village kids carried the animals and the holy family to the manager. Hymns and carols were sung with gusto. Then out the church doors we went shouting “Merry Christmas”.

For our family, the next stop was at my parents for supper. My brother arrived with his kids and a wonderful loud evening commenced. Close to 8 o’clock, the kids had to go outside to look for Santa. Some years we heard bells in a neighbour’s yard. Then came the rush to gather up everything and go for home. The younger kids went to bed quickly. Preparations for the next day continued but a trip to the barn was necessary. The barn was magic on Christmas Eve, a calm and peace existed there. It was just what this tired single Mom needed.

Grandma wishes you all the best and happiest Christmas. Don’t forget to shout, “Merry Christmas!”

Gardening

Shush!!!! Grandma has been secretly working (well, with Mo Marian and Carole) on a seed-sharing idea for spring. Grandma thought that with this network of parishes and regions inside the Diocese, we have this fantastic network where small things like seeds could be spread.

I wrote up a budget for the project and sadly looked at the total.

Then Carole had this brilliant idea.

Ask for seeds!

Just ask!

(Ah, OK?) I told Carole that for the first wave of this project, the 2025 wave, I need to make up two thousand seed packets. That number is enough to include the cathedral, South Shore Region, parts of Rivers to Trails Regions and every delegate at Synod.

Just think if we could get two thousand seed packets planted this year. That would be an enormous step forward for the planet, not just our little areas

We have 94 parishes and 22,000 members. The goal in the future years to supply seeds to EVERY parish. Next year is the trial run.

So, I ask.  

Would anyone have flower seeds to donate? We sure could use your help if you collect seeds. Feel free to email Grandma at [email protected] or the DEN email  [email protected] to get addresses or make arrangements to get the seeds to my production shop (otherwise known as my kitchen table). If your parish wishes to financially donate to this project, please contact Carole or Rev. Marian Lucas-Jeffries at the DEN email.

Let’s make our parishes a greener place to be.

Crafting

There are so many neat things you can make and do with kids at Christmas. I use the word “kids” loosely. Some of my kids are in their 70 and 80s. For this issue, I will try to show you some crafts instead of doing them all.

A free printable Christmas Card for kids to colour can be found at

https://rediscoveredfamilies.com/printable-christmas-cards-for-kids/#instructions

Go to Google and type in Christmas Colouring sheets. There are too many to give an example. Get your youth to colour cards or pictures and give them out in Advent.

Christmas Bunting. I keep buying Christmas fabric from sales. Instead of a paper bunting across a doorway or room, you can make re-useable cloth bunting. Tutorial is found here

https://thecraftymummy.com/2011/11/bunting-tutorial/

Christmas garland around a door if you don’t have a mantel to use. I saved a plaid ribbon for years and always have battery-operated lights. This would look good this year.

https://www.thecraftpatchblog.com/diy-christmas-garland/

If you would like to receive a pack of craft ideas by email consider https://www.easypeasyandfun.com/ I signed up for their free newsletter expecting to be bombarded with emails. Instead, I received ONE email with the newsletter and will get one monthly apparently.

Have fun crafting!

Something to eat.

Every household has their favourite foods. They don’t have to be expensive or take 10 hours to make. We like nachos as part of the “Eve” feast. Corn chips, olives, tomatoes and lots of cheese. They aren’t even the meat and spices type of nachos, but we love them.

The cheesy potatoes are a favourite. These can be made ahead and frozen. Just warm in a microwave before serving. Sugar cookies (often thought to be shortbreads) are a staple at Christmas.

Cheesy potatoes

Peel half a dozen good-sized potatoes and boil till soft. Dump into a bowl and mash the potatoes. Add an egg and a few shakes of either Thyme or Italian seasoning. Add some fine breadcrumbs and maybe a quarter cup of flour or more till the mixture is quite firm.

Cut up a small wheel of camembert, a sharp old or any other cheese.

I try to make the potato portions the same size so they cook evenly. I cut the mixture in half. The halves get cut into quarters and those into eights or more. Flatten each piece in your hands. Put a piece of cheese in the middle and wrap the pastry around the cheese to form a ball

When ready, bake at 350 for about 20-30 minutes or freeze at this point and cook on that meal day. So simple, but my family think they are fancy for feasts.

Sugar Cookies (passed down from my mother and her mother before her)

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar (but you know I use less)

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

½ cup milk (possibly more if dough is dry)

Mix well. Add the following dry mixture a bit at a time

4 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

These are the roll-out and cut-into-shape cookies. I often grab a glass from the cupboard for my cutter but at Christmas, they become stars, candy canes or Santas. Bake 350 for about 8 minutes, till the bottoms are just brown.

Merry Christmas folks! See you in the New Year when Year 5 of the DEN newsletter starts up again!

Claudia (AKA Grandma)

A Prayer for the end of a Liturgical Year

^{_{Joyful, loving God, let the winds of your Spirit blow through our lives as we prepare for a new year, a new opportunity to serve you with our whole hearts. While the world is full of dark and broken places, remind us that we have not always failed. We have shared moments of joy and transformation. We have sometimes touched the heart of another with compassion and love. We have returned to you in gratitude for all of our blessings and asking forgiveness for all the ways we have contributed to the broken places. You continue to claim us as your own beloved children and we are thankful. May the joy of this knowledge enter us more deeply, enabling us to love our neighbors and ourselves. Hear our prayers in Jesus’ name.  Amen}}

 ^{https://rachaelkeefe.wordpress.com/2014/11/19/confessional-prayer-for-the-end-of-the-liturgical-year/}