Climate change, also known as global warming, is something I have been following for years now, and it worries me more and more. Many things we all do have an impact on worldwide use of energy or should I say waste of energy. We literally burn the resources that our children or their children will desperately need. So, what can we all, what can I do? This question will receive almost as many answers as the number of people you ask. One person says, “whatever I do this doesn’t make a noticeable difference” and she would be right. The next person says, “my thermostat is at 68 degrees during winter and 78 degrees during summer” that is great! Will it make a difference? Not by itself but if 1000 or 100000 people do the same thing, it does make a difference. Another person talks about all the energy and water used to raise cattle and decides to be vegetarian, that is a great step, number four uses public transportation and a bicycle, that can increase your health and is great for the environment.
Me, I am using an electric vehicle, the energy use is mostly covered by the solar panels on our roof. I really hope that everyone in our congregation was able to identify with one or more of the listed behaviors for their own – the more the better.
However, even if we are feeling good about what we contribute, it is so important not to project our own priorities onto others. While I do the thermostat thing and drive an EV and have solar cells, I really enjoy meat, and public transportation is like wasting time for most of us. When someone else is a vegetarian but has an old car (maybe cannot afford a newer one) and drives 50 miles each day, nothing gives me the right to judge him or on the other hand him the right to judge me.
We are living on god’s earth, and it is our responsibility to use and conserve what we have been given. Please take a moment to reflect on what you have been doing to retain our planet’s capability to sustain itself, to leave a habitat for animals but just as much for our children and their children.
We just witnessed a wonderful baptism for Clara Mae, and she will be around to see many of the effects that our behavior causes. “It takes a whole village to raise our children” was the baptism song by the Keynotes, it takes all of us and so many more to rethink what we need and identify what is just convenience but hurts our world and creates debt for future generations.
Let us all look at our habits, where can we skip plastics, open the windows at night instead of air condition, eat vegetarian more often, walk distances less than 1 mile instead of driving…
So many small things add up to a better world for our children, for Clara and her children.
God has given us great opportunities but also great responsibilities and if this little article has made a small difference for conserving god’s and our planet, it was very much worth it.
-Robert Teufel

In the coming weeks, the nine conferences of our synod will be meeting to discern and nominate candidates to be our next bishop. We are members of the El Camino Real Conference of the Sierra Pacific Synod, which includes the churches of the South Bay, Monterey Bay, and parts of the Central Valley, and we have offered to host our Conference gathering. The 26 churches of our conference will gather at CGS on Saturday, June 3, from 11-3pm. 

We will worship together, have lunch, and then discuss who we would like to nominate to stand for election at our Synod Assembly in September. We may nominate up to five pastors, and if they accept their nominations, they will go through a screening process and be asked to provide additional information about themselves before the official vote takes place this fall. This pre-assembly nomination process has been put in place to help ensure that assembly voters are able to make a faithful and informed vote.

There are three ways that CGS members are invited to be a part of this process:

1. All members are invited to attend, discuss, and vote at this conference! Come and join in this opportunity to have an impact on the future of our synod. No registration is necessary, but if you plan to attend, please just tell Pr. Kris so that we can ensure that we have enough lunches for everyone.
2. Consider if you know an ELCA pastor that you think may be a good candidate to be our next bishop. Note that any ELCA pastor can be nominated—they do not have to be from this synod. Consider reaching out to them, or having Pr. Kris reach out to them so we can see if they would consider accepting a nomination if we made one. We also will be spending quality time at the conference talking about what we are looking for in a bishop, so it’s ok if you’re not sure what would make for a good candidate. Come to the conference and find out!
3. The conference will be providing a catered lunch, but we will be taking care of the logistics of that lunch. If you are able to help with set up and clean up, please contact Jean Hope.

We hope you’ll consider supporting our broader church by participating in this conference!

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