Saturday, May 13
- 8:30am Combined CCMC & NSMC Women’s Breakfast at the Jelly Cafe, 795 W. Dundee Road, Palatine (see Google map). There is outdoor seating and no RSVP is required.
Sunday, May 14
- 9:30am CCMC Hybrid Worship
- Speaker: Shane
- 10:45am Christian Formation
Tuesday, May 16
- 7:00pm ARCC meeting on Zoom (contact Anne for details on how to join Zoom)
- Since the ARCC group has been meeting for over a year now, the topic for the May 16 discussion will be “Looking Back” at what have we changed over the past year to reduce our carbon footprint and “Looking Ahead” at what new goals will we set for the next year.
Thursday, May 18
- 7:00pm Bible Study on Zoom (contact Anne for details on how to join Zoom)
Sunday, May 21
- 9:30am NSMC Hybrid Worship (contact Anne for details on how to join Zoom)
- 10:45am Christian Formation\
After more than two years of preparation, La Posada Immigrant Aid, a new faith-based immigrant legal aid center located in Sunnyside Mennonite Church in Elkhart, Indiana, is open for business, largely due to the support and collaboration of several Mennonite Church USA affiliated churches, conferences, schools, organizations and individuals. Read the story here: mennoniteusa.org/news/county-immigrant-aid
The third Global Mennonite Peacebuilding Conference and Festival will bring together Mennonite practitioners, artists and theologians from around the world to learn, share and discuss their work for peace. Join this international gathering June 15-18 at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia on the theme “Coming Together: The Journey of Faith and Peace.” Learn more and register here: mennoniteusa.org/emu-peacebuilding-conference
Mennonite Church USA is hosting a collaborative Youth & Young Adult Climate Summit, July 7, 2023, at the Kansas City (Missouri) Convention Center. The event will bring together experts in climate change, spiritual activism and social justice to explore the ways that young people ages 14 to 25 can put their faith to work to address the spiritual and human crisis caused by climate change. Register here: mennoniteusa.org/news/climate-summit
Linda Gehman Peachey, a member of Mennonite Church USA’s Women in Leadership steering committee, is haunted by a question asked in Chanequa Walker-Barnes’ book, “I Bring the Voices of My People.” She asks: “What does it mean to know that a system is evil and to participate in it anyway?” Read her Menno Snapshots blog here: mennoniteusa.org/haunted-question
After attending Mennonite Church USA’s Hope for the Future Conference as a representative for Bethel College, in North Newton, Kansas, Josué Coy Dick had an enriching experience. He observed that the conference gave him an optimistic energy about the future of the Mennonite church. Read more about his time here: mennoniteusa.org/we-are-the-church
–from Creation Justice Ministries 52 Ways to Care for Creation
Endangered Species Day
Happy endangered species day on May 21! Check out the Creation Justice Ministries resource to learn about and celebrate endangered plants and animals.
–from Creation Justice Tips | United Methodist Church
Reenergize Your Plants
When you care for your house plants, reenergize them with any of these: cooled cooking water from preparing vegetables, potatoes, pasta, or green tea (leaves or brewed). No wasted water and happy plants—a good combination.
Try a Shampoo Bar
When you shampoo your hair, kick the plastic habit. Choose a shampoo bar instead. Try various options for no plastic-use for multiple personal and home care products.
MCC Thrifty 50 Challenge
Do you want to help our planet but aren’t sure where to start? MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) Thrift is celebrating their 50th anniversary by issuing 50 challenges to help us be more equipped to care for our planet. We’ll include one challenge each week for the next 50 weeks.
Week 49 | Conserving water with laundry
Welcome to week three of our eco-friendly laundry challenge? How are you doing so far?
This week, let’s talk water conservation. The average non-efficient washing machine uses 19 gallons of water per load. Yikes! The good news is that using an Energy Star-rated washing machine can get water use down to seven gallons.
Here are a few more ways to reduce water consumption while doing laundry:
- Run full loads. Rather than running many small loads, save them to run larger, fuller loads so your water consumption is lowered.
- Check if your washing machine has a size cycle option. This option will help adjust the amount of water used automatically. Looking for your machine’s manual to find this option? Google is a great place to look.
- Skip the extra rinse. Follow the recommended laundry detergent amounts for your type of soap and washing machine and shorten your wash times. Many machines have an extra rinse cycle built in so check your manual to learn how to turn this option off.