Eupan - Good for All - www.eupan.net

We planted a garden several weeks back. I do not even remember when we planted for sure. We spent time today working it. Perhaps 6 total "man" hours were involved today. But, the mystery is that over the past several weeks - in incremental moment and times, the work of creation has been doing its work. While I believe in God - and uniquely believe in who God is made known in the person of Jesus - I like the language of Jesus in parables concerning gardens, soil, seeds, and harvest. In a parable of Jesus in Mark's Gospel, Jesus relates the following - which I have chosen to render in "my own translation" simply for consideration and pause - adding periods to slow down our reading: It is also like this with the Kingdom. A man scatters seed. On the earth. Night. Day. He sleeps. He wakes. The seed sprouts. The seed grows. He does not know how. By itself. The soil produces. Grain. First the stalk. Then the head. Then the full kernel in the head. As soo

By our anthropocentric bias, it seems evident that many world crises are anthropogenic, perhaps leading to our anthropocide - and certainly the extinction of some species within the biosphere. We can change our ways. Will we? ~ marty alan michelson, ph.d.

I strive to be a person who effects, embodies, and lives toward eupan . It is not easy. I may, in fact, be a horrible model or example of it - and I am certainly no exemplar. Today I am reminded of the reality that individual persons continue to perpetuate and extend violence in our world. In the name of justice, sometimes violence is effected. I pray for many people; parishioners, kids, family members, criminals, students, administrators, politicians, sinners, saints, doctors, teachers, wives, husbands, addicts, lawyers - and the list could go on. I strive to be a person who effects, embodies and lives toward eupan . . . but sometimes prayer is easier. Praying for people is easy. Actually living out goodness, especially towards those who perpetuate and extend it, is much more difficult. So, I pray. I pray that God will help me to effect eupan . Prayer is easier than embodiment. Embodying goodness takes more work than prayer. But, I will continue to pursue prayer - and embodied go

On page 32 of his book, Hot, Flat and Crowded , Thomas Friedman writes "To put it another way, the Industrial Revolution gave a whole new prominence to what Rochelle Lefkowitz, President of Pro-Media Communications and an energy buff, calls 'fuels from hell' -- coal, oil, and natural gas. All these fuels from hell come from underground, are exhaustible, and emit CO2 and other pollutants when they are burned for transportation, heating and industrial use. These fuels are in contrast to what Lefkowitz calls 'fuels from heaven' -- wind, hydroelectric, tidal, biomass, and solar power. These all come from above ground, are endlessly renewable, and produce no harmful emissions." This reminded of a June 26, 2008 post from a brilliant friend, James K.A. Smith on his blog , which I will cite below (with permission). If we are committed to eupan , we must consider ways in which we consume goods and resources for our good, that “take away” from the good of others. We

At Southern Nazarene University, we are pleased to announce the formation of Student Government's Task Force for Campus Stewardship and Sustainability! This group will dedicate themselves to having their voices heard regarding practices of sustainability that affect students today, and students of the future! If you have an interest in being on this Task Force? Membership is OPEN to ALL!, the first meeting is Wednesday, April 15th at 2:00pm, at SNU, in the Student Life Conference Room located in the Webster Commons. by Stephen Vandervort posted by Marty Alan Michelson

The Oklahoma Society for Science and Faith (OSSF) is pleased to announce the Ecological and Environmental Ethics conference to be held on the Southern Nazarene University campus on April 23 - 25, 2009. Keynote speakers include Dr. Larry Rasmussen, Dr. J. Matthew Sleeth and Dr. Laura Ruth Yordy. I have the privilege of serving on the Board of the OSSF and have read written works by each of the authors and am certain the conversation and reflection will be worthy of your time. ~ marty alan michelson, ph.d.

I have returned from a week of teaching in Costa Rica - in the Cloud forest located in San Gerardo de Dota, a small community in the Talamanca mountains in the midst of a precious ecosystem. One of many observations I came home with has to do with simple practices of "reduce, reuse, recycle." We lack good models for reducing, reusing, and recycling. (And, particularly in Oklahoma, in my observation.) While I was with undergraduate and graduate students, professors and parents who work in the midst of the laboratory environment in Costa Rica, I noted that they reuse and recycle - well, everything! From writing on pages across the entire line (ignoring those faded pink lines that leave white space) - to printing on the back side of every piece of paper - to composting all food and sorting through all tin, aluminum, cardboard, paper, and more - I came home with a model that I can pick up on whereby I might learn to practice better the issues of care and concern for my own, per

Passing along information here as I continue to learn. The size of the problem equals the size of the opportunity The Natural Step is an international not-for-profit organisation [sic] dedicated to education, advisory work and research in sustainable development. Since 1989, we have worked with thousands of corporations, municipalities, academic institutions and not-for-profit organisations [sic] that have proven that moving strategically toward sustainability leads to new opportunities, reduced costs, and dramatically reduced ecological and social impacts. The Natural Step Framework is a proven, scientifically robust model that helps organisations [sic] make pragmatic decisions to move toward sustainability. We research the science of sustainability and link it to real world applications. We create dialogue about the opportunities and challenges in building a sustainable future. We are accelerating change toward sustainability. ~ marty alan michelson, ph.d.