Recycle with Environmental Ministry
-submitted by Judy Lord, Environmental Ministry

Environmental Ministry is still participating in four Terracycle recycling brigades. We collect a number of things, most of which are not recyclable through the city or county recycling programs. Then we send them to Terracycle, and the church receives a check paying us 2¢ for each item. Here are lists for those of you unsure just what things we collect:

Oral care products packaging: Any brand of toothpaste tubes and caps, toothbrushes, toothpaste cartons, toothbrush outer packaging, and floss containers. Sorry, no electric toothbrush parts are accepted.

Energy bar package recycling: Any brand of foil-lined energy bar wrappers; foil-lined granola bar wrappers; foil-lined meal replacement bar wrappers; foil-lined protein bar wrappers; foil-lined diet bar wrappers.

Cereal bags: Plastic cereal bags and box liners.

Personal care and beauty product packaging: Hair care packaging such as shampoo caps, conditioner caps, hair gel tubes and caps, hair spray triggers, and hair paste caps. Skin care packaging such as lip balm tubes and caps, soap dispensers and tubes, body wash caps, lotion dispensers and caps. Cosmetics packaging such as plastic lipstick cases, lip gloss tubes, mascara tubes, eye shadow cases, bronzer cases, foundation packaging, powder cases, eyeliner cases, eyeliner pencils, eye shadow tubes, concealer tubes, concealer sticks, and lip liner pencils.

We will also be collecting electronic waste for the YRUU’s at our table. (See article in the Religious Education section of this Torch.)

Now that you know what to bring in, find a corner or doorknob where you can place a bag for collecting these items. Then take them to the boxes and bins under the Environmental Ministry table. We plan to be here every Sunday except the weekend of the Art Fair, Celebration Sunday, and picnic Sunday, and we’ll be expecting you.

Here Comes the Swap!
-submitted by Judy Lord, Environmental Ministry

Everyone loves a swap, where people bring usable clothes, toys, etc. they no longer need and take away the treasures they find. Bring a lot – or nothing, and take a lot – or nothing. No money is involved.

Our pre-holiday swap will be held Saturday, November 5, at our sister church, San Esteban Episcopal, at 4615 So. 3200 West in West Valley. As we did last year, we will be collecting items here at the church Saturday morning, 8-10, and setting up the swap at San Esteban for noon-4 that afternoon. Remember, our congregation is invited to go to the swap, too. Start now collecting items to be passed on.

Supporting Standing Rock: a fundraiser, a gathering, and a workshop; Fri, Nov 4, 2016, 7PM
Eliot Hall; Co-Sponsors: Beehive Design Collective
and Environmental Ministry
-submitted by Joan M. Gregory, Environmental Ministry

Join the Beehive Design Collective and Environmental Ministry as we co-sponsor this fundraiser, gathering, and workshop to support the ongoing water and land defenders at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

The workshop will include a report back from Carol Saurveyor, who has been on the ground at Standing Rock. There will be a presentation of the Beehive’s narrative graphic, Mesoamérica Resiste, which will focus on the historical examples of indigenous resistance and resource extraction that represented in the graphic (more on this graphic and the Beehive Collective below). The presenters will tie this history back to the current struggle in so-called North Dakota, and the group will break out to discuss how these issues affect local communities, and what can be done to address them.

The Beehive is an all-volunteer swarm of educators, artists, and activists using images to communicate and educate about the complex realities of our times. The dizzyingly detailed, hand-drawn, large-format posters and banners they tour with are portable murals that come alive through storytelling, illuminating how single issues are interconnected and part of bigger systems. Join in as the Bees deconstruct often overwhelming global issues in an engaging and interactive presentation, using metaphors from the natural world to connect social and environmental struggles.

Mesoamérica Resiste is the final installment in a trilogy of graphics about corporate globalization and militarization in the Americas. With this project the Bees’ strive to go beyond illustrating only the bad news to also sharing stories of grassroots organizing, collective action, and inspiration. The story begins with exploring the legacy of colonialism, connecting that history to today’s industrial development plans and resource extraction. The rest of the graphic documents many examples of resistance and alternatives to these top-down plans, especially organizing led by Indigenous peoples. Celebrating the ecological diversity of Mesoamerica is also a goal of this graphics campaign, with a cast of characters that includes over 400 species of insects, animals, and plants.

Oil pipelines, resource extraction and climate change affect us all. Right now, Standing Rock is at the frontlines of these issues, and they are leading the way in fighting back, for all of us. Indigenous organizers are drawing from their roots to show us another way of resisting dirty industry and corporate greed, a way that is not rooted in the non-profit industrial complex, but in the grassroots, in prayer, in intersectionality, and in a dream for a better world. All people of conscience must support the water and land defenders at Standing Rock, by organizing in their own communities and raising funds for the front line. All of the donations and honorariums that we receive from this tour, after our small overhead for gas and supplies are covered, will go directly to those on the ground at Standing Rock, to help them fortify for the winter and continue the work into the future.