Christ the King Lutheran Church - New Brighton, MN
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Values and Mission
    • COVID-19 Updates
    • Racial Justice Resources
    • Become a Member
    • The Herald Archives
    • Staff
    • CtK Council Page
    • Contact Us
    • Life@CtK Blog
    • Gallery
  • Worship
    • Worship Online
    • Home Grown Worship
    • Servicio Cultivado en Casa
    • Drive-In Worship
    • Online Archives
    • Worship with Children
    • Special Services
  • Music
    • Virtual Choir
    • Music Ensembles
    • Music & Arts Series
  • Get Involved
    • Faith Formation >
      • Children, Youth and Family >
        • Children
        • Youth
        • Confirmation
        • Summer at CtK
        • Safe Boundaries Policy
      • Adult Faith Formation
      • Small Groups
    • Mission >
      • Global Mission
      • Local Mission
    • Community >
      • Community Garden
      • Christ the King Foundation
      • Faith Community Nurses
      • Social Ministry
    • Bread Oven Ministry
    • "The One Thing" for Racial Justice
  • Giving
  • Members
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Values and Mission
    • COVID-19 Updates
    • Racial Justice Resources
    • Become a Member
    • The Herald Archives
    • Staff
    • CtK Council Page
    • Contact Us
    • Life@CtK Blog
    • Gallery
  • Worship
    • Worship Online
    • Home Grown Worship
    • Servicio Cultivado en Casa
    • Drive-In Worship
    • Online Archives
    • Worship with Children
    • Special Services
  • Music
    • Virtual Choir
    • Music Ensembles
    • Music & Arts Series
  • Get Involved
    • Faith Formation >
      • Children, Youth and Family >
        • Children
        • Youth
        • Confirmation
        • Summer at CtK
        • Safe Boundaries Policy
      • Adult Faith Formation
      • Small Groups
    • Mission >
      • Global Mission
      • Local Mission
    • Community >
      • Community Garden
      • Christ the King Foundation
      • Faith Community Nurses
      • Social Ministry
    • Bread Oven Ministry
    • "The One Thing" for Racial Justice
  • Giving
  • Members

Caring for the Land and the Water in Minnesota

10/5/2020

0 Comments

 
Written by Diane Shallue, CtK Member and Chair of the Caring for Creation Team
 
Today is the Feast of Saint Francis.  It seems a good day for a deeper focus on caring for the earth, clean water and sustainable agriculture.  I read an article in the Star Tribune on July 20 titled, “Grass Buffers Have Proven their Worth in Minnesota Farm Country.”  I knew that there was a lot of resistance to the law passed in 2015 that required buffer land along waterways, but I was not aware of the end result.  The law says that public waters, as defined by the Department of Natural Resources, must be buffered by permanent vegetation at least 30-feet wide, with an average of 50-feet. Public ditches, meanwhile, which typically are man-made or man-altered, require 16.5-foot buffers.  I was very pleased to read that the current compliance with the law is high. Tom Gile, Resource Conservation Section Manager from the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources was quoted in the article.  “On public waters, our compliance is now over 99 percent statewide,’’ Gile said. “On public ditches, compliance is higher than 96 percent.”  Cleaner water is one result.  Another result is that the buffers provide much needed wildlife habitat in parts of Minnesota that have lost hundreds of thousands of Conservation Reserve Program set-aside acres.  The members of the Caring for Creation Team were surprised at the high rate of compliance and encouraged by it.

Another discussion with the Caring for Creation Team was sustainable farming.  I did an internet search and found that Minnesota has a Sustainable Farming Association. (See https://www.sfa-mn.org/.)  This is what the organization says about itself. “For 30 years, we’ve quietly proven that farming differently works—for us and the environment. We run small farms, some organic, some bigger than others. We help each other clean up and grow more, row-by-row, pasture-by-pasture. We treat our animals humanely and with respect. And we know that the soil-building techniques we teach can capture carbon and fight climate change--all while increasing farmers' profitability.”

Although the Caring for Creation Team has not been meeting regularly, we still encourage members of CtK to care for creation in whatever ways they can. Recycle, reuse, and reduce use of water, production of waste, pollution of air and water, and deforestation.  It seems like an overwhelming project, but God calls us to be good stewards of the gifts of creation.  Step by step and little by little, we can answer God’s calling.  
​
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Christ the King Lutheran Church
1900 7th St. NW
New Brighton, MN 55112
Phone: 651-633-4674


Sunday Morning Online Worship:
  • Online Worship Livestream at 9:30 am  
  • Online Zoom Coffee Hour at 10:30 am

Picture
Picture