Green Chalice Invites You to Take the Eco-Challenge!
Are you looking for a way to continue the work you start in the Season of Creation? Join the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in their Green Chalice 21-Day Eco-Challenge 2018 – Register now!
In his book Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, Chip Heath suggests that people who are seeking change may slip into ideas about others like, “Why are these people acting so badly? They must be bad people.” Instead, he suggests that we lead others by setting up situations that bring out the good in people, including ourselves.
Sometimes a brief restart or behavioral experiment can support a new habit. While we will need large collective habit changes to help our planet have a healthy climate, clean water, and fresh air, we can have a powerful and immediate impact by shifting personal and church-wide habits. This is why the Green Chalice Ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is inviting all and any faith communities and individuals to participate in the 21-Day Eco-Challenge October 3-24, 2018. This challenge launches the day before the Feast of St. Francis and a few days before World Communion Sunday, allowing for powerful connections to be made regarding not only the work of St. Francis to care for creation but the redemptive and Re-Membering work of Christ’s Body in the world.
The EcoChallenge is a 21-day sustainability engagement program. Individuals and faith communities track and share their creation care progress online in a robust platform and earn points for taking action. The combination of collective action, camaraderie, and friendly competition make change a little easier — and a lot more fun. The EcoChallenge is free and open to the public, and may help kickstart your congregation into some new habits.
Small actions add up to big impact. This is a glimpse from the April 2018 Eco Challenge:
- Up to 2677 light bulbs were replaced
- Up to 150,402 pounds of CO2 saved
- Up to 56,169 gallons of water saved
- Up to 183,396 minutes spent learning about creation care
- Up to 21,165 meatless or vegan meals consumed
- Up to 2,037 public officials and community leaders contacted
- Up to 42,989 miles traveled by bike or bus
You can participate in two ways:
- Join the denominational Green Chalice Team
- Register your congregation or group as a team (it only takes one person to form a team)
If you are joining the October Eco-Challenge as a team, please consider naming the organization Green Chalice with your congregational team name. This will help us identify congregations that are connected to our network while still highlighting your congregational team name.
For example:
Organization: Green Chalice/Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Team Name: First Christian Church, Black Mountain (or add more than one, FCC Elders, FCC Youth and FCC Choir)
Scott Hardin-Nieri is the Director of Creation Care Alliance of WNC and an ordained pastor with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a proud partner of Blessed Tomorrow, a coalition of faith leaders committed to serve as faithful stewards of creation. Founded by ecoAmerica, Blessed Tomorrow offers tools, resources, and communications to demonstrate visible climate leadership, inspiring and empowering faith leaders to speak about, act on and advocate for climate solutions. Learn more about our partnership and the resources available to you here.
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