"Earth-Honoring Faith" Month

In honor of the release of Larry Rasmussen's (Reinhold Niebuhr Professor Emeritus at Union) new book, Earth-Honoring Faith, the Edible Churchyard has put together a series of earth-honoring activities for April. So excited to see you there!

At-Table Chapel & 3rd Annual Adopt-A-Plant with Hal Taussig
James Chapel, 12pm Tuesday, April 2
Participate in this traditional blessing of church grounds and country farms, while connecting to seasons and cycles in the present day.

Rogation Celebration Chapel
James Chapel, 12pm Wednesday, April 10
Participate in this traditional blessing of church grounds and country farms, while connecting to seasons and cycles in the present day.

Communion Chapel with Larry Rasmussen and Melanie Harris
James Chapel, 12:30pm Thursday, April 18
Followed by Lunch event with Dr. Rasmussen

Earth Day Chapel
McGiffert Roof, 12pm Monday, April 22
Blessing of community-grown seedlings and planting ceremony to official kick off the rooftop gardening season. Remember to bring your adopted plants!

Earth Day Earth-Honoring Faith Book Talk with Larry Rasmussen
McGiffert Roof, 12:45pm Monday, April 22
We have the opportunity to engage with Larry Rasmussen about his new book and his long-standing alliance with the earth and creation. Hosted by Prof. Hyun Kyung Chung. Lunch will be provided.

SU 190: The Politics of Food
Saturday, April 20, 9am-5pm
The Poverty Initiative and the Edible Churchyard team up to provide a nuanced analysis of our complex global food system. The course looks at the intersections of food justice and economic justice, and examines in particular the current paradigm of so-called 'emergency food system.' We will focus on the many ways that diverse religious communities can draw on their traditions to help conceive and work toward an alternative system and what many are doing already. The course will look at the struggles of farm workers in Florida, restaurant workers in New York, and rural communities in Brazil and India to consider an alternative politics of food.

Film Screening: 'A Place at the Table: One Nation, Underfed'
Social Hall, April 25, 7pm.
This new documentary produced by actor and anti-hunger activist Jeff Bridges looks at the state of food insecurity in the United States, emphasizing the potential for policy change and civic engagement to bring an end to hunger and malnutrition. Bring a potluck dish to share that represents your cultural food ways!

SU 190: Material Remains: Learning Garbage to Know The World with Robin Nagle
April 26 & 27
This course considers archaeological and cultural legacies of garbage in the contemporary world while exploring logistical questions about its genesis and management. It includes a visit to a Sanitation facility, and a potential optional Freegan tour.

Workshop: Effective Microorganisms & Soil

Ever wonder how to deal with toxic soil?  No?  Well, if you plan to do anything in NYC soil, you might need to. This is a pervasive and pernicious issue as most of our soil is now toxic.  Most community gardens respond by capping off the soil and bringing in 'new soil' from elsewhere.  We're exploring ANOTHER OPTION: Soil remediation using biological processes (i.e. bioremedition).

Join the Edible Churchyard for an evening with Shig Matsusaka (who was referred to us through the Horticultural Society of New York), we will provide a hands-on workshop on Effective Microorganisms and their use in gardening.  Shig will also present information on his use of EM for bioremediation of the soil of NYC community gardens.

March 4, 6-8pm, Upper Refectory

Talk @ UN Church Center: Edible Churchyards: Faith Communities & Urban Food Justice

The Interfaith Consortium for Ecological Civilization (ICEC) &

The Temple of Understanding

 Science, Ecology and Faith Series

"Edible Churchyards: Faith Communities and Urban Food Justice"

Presented by Piper Dumont

The Edible Churchyard is Union Theological Seminary’s initiative to re-imagine churchyards and rooftops as gardens to revitalize communities, reclaim food-based knowledge, and nourish the land and our bodies.  It connects environmental concerns with Union’s legacy of community justice and leadership development. 

Director Piper Dumont will discuss the ongoing development of the Edible Churchyard, including interfaith collaborations in the Harlem neighborhood.  Piper is an educator and agrarian who cultivates connections with land and people.  Her doctoral work at Columbia University analyzes food education through families, communities, and popular culture.  She is part of a movement developing models of community-based ecological and food justice as they convert the built environment into growing spaces.

Hosted by ICEC, this speaker series focuses on climate change and sustainable development and the role of the interfaith community as a catalyst for change.

www.ic4ec.org

February 20, 2013

1-2:30 pm

The Church Center for the United Nations, 10^th Floor

777 UN Plaza / 777 First Avenue at 44^th Street

New York, NY 10017

Movie Night: Waste Land

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19^TH
 SOCIAL HALL, 8PM
We’ll have snacks and bring a mug for tea!

Academy Award nominated WASTE LAND was filmed over three years and follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world's largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. There he photographs an eclectic band of “catadores”—self-designated pickers of recyclable materials. Muniz’s initial objective was to “paint” the catadores with garbage. However, his collaboration with these inspiring characters as they recreate photographic images of themselves out of garbage reveals both the dignity and despair of the catadores as they begin to re-imagine their lives.

Director Lucy Walker (DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND, BLINDSIGHT and COUNTDOWN TO ZERO) and co-directors João Jardim and Karen Harley have great access to the entire process and, in the end, offer stirring evidence of the transformative power of art and the alchemy of the human spirit.

www.wastelandmovie.com

www.facebook.com/WasteLandMovie

Composting @ Community Lunch!

Is your freezer overflowing with compost? Is the roof just a little too far away? Well, bring your compost to COMMUNITY LUNCH!  EVERY THURSDAY!  All spring!

Look for this big COMPOST sign to find a convenient compost bin for your bag of food scraps/paper waste from the week. We'll be strategically close to the garbage cans, so you can also compost your food scraps from lunch (instead of throwing them away)!  There will also be a knowlegeable compost enthusiast on hand to answer any of those compost, decomposition, and soil health questions that keep you up at night!