I can relate to this excerpt from today’s post….

“…Then we talk and argue and go over things again and worry furiously, not wanting to have to make mistakes and yank things up. All the while, nothing has been planted, nothing has the chance to grow. No one gets too messy either, in good Anglican fashion. Well, except for those people and missions who are set aside waiting for a resolution - a plan. And those set aside can whither and die, while we chat each other up and express ourselves endlessly. I would like to argue for an artist’s approach, knowing that our great Creator, fashioned us in a process of getting in the dirt, breathing on the wind and moving ribs and other things around. God got busy with the tools and used the available gifts in creation. I would like us, for a change, to get out there and get dirty, to get elbow deep and realize we might fail, and might have to do some replanting, reworking, re-hydrating in order to be a community acting for the love of Christ….”

Click here to see today’s pictures.

Information was posted on Episcopal Cafe, and to the General Convention listserv, after I posted this here. If you have Internet access, and see any of the three posts, this is an FYI/reminder about a “fringe event” that is scheduled for July 30th.

There are a lot of things going on, so it might get lost in the shuffle.

Here’s a link to a blurb on the Lambeth Conference’s site.

From the Secretary of the Anglican Society for the Welfare of Animals (quoted with permission):

“ASWA is having a fringe meeting at the Lambeth Conference on Weds 30th July - 8.00pm - we have Joyce D’Silva from Compassion in World Farming speaking and also the Bishop of Monmouth - Dominic Walker.  Do you know of any US Bishops who are attending who might possibly like to come? It is a champagne reception and the speakers are excellent.  We are just worried that with the Anglican churches obsession at the moment with the gay issue and the women bishop issue that once again the poor old animals won’t get a look in.  I appreciate that any US delegates will already be at Lambeth and there is an advert for the event coming out in the Church Times this week but I just wondered if you had any good contacts who might spread the word?”

Not only do I hope that some of our bishops can attend this special event, but would also like to know who attends, and also to hear their feedback if they do.

If any bishops find this post via the GC post, they are more than welcome to comment below — or privately to ASWA-USA{at}ENAW.ORG. Or, if you’re blogging about Lambeth, could you comment on ASWA’s event on your blog?

Thank you.

Sue Grisham - ASWA-USA Rep; ENAW Co-founder

I found this today on Bishop Marc’s blog: What is eaten in one week: a perspective

I decided it might be interesting to try to do something like this in place of a food journal, for the following reasons:

1) For the past two years I tried to keep a food journal during Lent. I think it would be more interesting to visualize, also to have a sense of portion, and to know how much to allot myself for the week.
2) It might help me know exactly what I’m short of, and need to buy.
3) It might help me keep track of how healthy I am or am not eating.
4) If I “start out fresh” with an empty cupboard & refrigerator, I can keep an accurate record of what my food costs really are. (Not that they’ll be “real”, or accurate, because I buy snacks at work, and I tend to “buy one, get one free” whether or not I plan to eat it during a given week.) So I think if I do this on a weekly basis, I’ll just take a picture of whatever I buy (and maybe include whatever I pick from the garden), and the total I spent on food for the week.
5) It might answer the question people have, “What do vegans eat?!”

The picture I’m posting was taken on a Saturday evening. I included old fruit & veggies that I still need to eat. I may buy more tomorrow, but I felt that the amount of food shown in the picture represents pretty well how much I eat in a week’s time.

Actually, I’m posting two. Since this is an animal-friendly site, I feel obligated to post one picture of my cat checking out the Yve’s Meatless Ground. The second is just the food….

Disclaimer for the “Food Police”: I eat Oreos when I get a hankering. I don’t know if they’re vegan. I don’t see any identifiable animal ingredients on the label, and the cholesterol is listed at 0%. So although they contain sugar, and little else that would be considered food ingredients, I consider them “vegan-enough”.

This is probably more and less than I’d eat in a week. I wouldn’t be inclined to eat the Field Roast roast, cold cuts, two packages of Yves Meatless Ground, Lightlife Smart Strips and the Dixie Diners Chicken (Not) ‘n Dumplings all in the same week, all by myself. On the other hand, I’m down to two store-bought potatoes. Will I eat rice and pasta the other nights, or make pizza on the flat breads? Who knows. I’m also out of fresh fresh fruit. What I have, should be eaten tonight or composted.

Maybe I’ll try to arrange future photos in the order of the vegan food pyramid.

On another topic, but about food, I took some pictures of a sweet potato that is growing on its own in my kitchen without dirt or water. I may put it in a pot, because it’s pretty. Here are two of the pictures I took:

But, now I’ll digress. I have this picture on a T-Shirt. I tend to wear it to church picnics (when I go, which hasn’t been for at least a year). I’m posting it, because the pig’s ears remind me of the sweet potato leaves….

Let’s see if I can make it a banner link….

Nope. Click here, if you want to go to the GoVeg site.

This blog was mentioned in the HSUS’ “Humane Steward” e-newsletter today:
“Cruelty To Compassion: A Modest Measure”

You’ll notice that there are a number of other videos you can watch at the bottom of the screen.

(This is for any kind of a gardener. But I’m going to add my regular tags, to keep my gardening posts all in the same archives.)

As long as I found this picture tonight, I thought I’d post it. Please click on the icon on the top right, and sign the Proclamation.

General Convention 2003 — Resolution D016 final version, adopted:

Resolution Number: 2003-D016
Title: Support Ethical Care of Animals
Legislative Action Taken: Concurred as Substituted and Amended
Final Text:

Resolved,That the 74th General Convention recognize that responsible care of animals falls within
the stewardship of creation; and be it further
Resolved,That The Episcopal Church encourage its members to ensure that husbandry methods for
captive and domestic animals would prohibit suffering in such conditions as puppy mills, and
factory-farms; and be it further
Resolved,That The Episcopal Church’s Peace and Justice Office identify existing guidelines to educate
its members to adhere to ethical standards in the care and treatment of animals; and be it further
Resolved,That The Episcopal Church, through its Office of Government Relations, identify and
advocate for legislation protecting animals and effective enforcement measures.

Citation: General Convention, Journal of the General Convention of…The Episcopal Church, Minneapolis,
2003 (New York: General Convention, 2004), p. 253.

Diocese of Chicago, 2003 — Resolution I with explanation which included the national resolution, adopted:

RESOLUTION

RESOLVED, that the Diocese of Chicago, acknowledging Resolution D016 adopted at the 74th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota, August 2003, commits to engage in continuing dialogue in our congregations and within the diocese, recognizing that the treatment of captive and domestic animals is part of our responsibility as stewards of creation, and with the help of available educational resources, will act in appropriate ways to promote the protection of animals from neglect and cruelty.

EXPLANATION

Animals, particularly those who are bred and raised as commodities, too often live, hidden from public view, in conditions where they are so severely confined in unnatural environments, which frustrate their needs to practice exploratory, social and grooming behavior, and which deprive them of sufficient space for movement and comfort. Puppy mills and factory farms are just two examples where billions of animals in the United States are kept in horrendous living conditions, mostly without benefit of meaningful or enforceable animal protection laws.

Resolution D016 of the 74th General Convention of the Episcopal Church provides a platform on which to build, giving a long-awaited Christian face, hands and voice to animal advocacy as an ethical and moral concern for “the least of these” who have no voice. We are asking the Diocese of Chicago to affirm the resolution that passed at General Convention. We also urge individual church members and their congregations to become better educated about the plight of animals, to be able to make informed choices, and to take all appropriate actions to help protect animals from unnecessary suffering.

* FINAL VERSION - Concurred

Resolution D016

Topic/Title: Stewardship: The Protection of Animals from Cruel Treatment
Proposer: The Rev. Canon David Shoulders (Indianapolis)
————————————————————————
Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That the 74th General Convention recognize that responsible care of animals falls within the stewardship of creation; and be it further
Resolved, That the Episcopal Church encourage its members to ensure that husbandry methods for captive and domestic animals would prohibit suffering in such conditions as puppy mills, and factory-farms; and be it further
Resolved, That the Episcopal Church’s Peace and Justice Office identify existing guidelines to educate its members to adhere to ethical standards in the care and treatment of animals; and be it further
Resolved, That the Episcopal Church, through its Office of Government Relations, identify and advocate for legislation protecting animals and effective enforcement measures.

* Resolution is final but status and text are still under review before publication.

Diocese of Chicago, 2004 — Resolution K, adopted, but the Chicago Deputation did not choose to submit a similar resolution at GC2006:

Resolved, that the Diocese of Chicago, acknowledging Resolution D016 as adopted at the 74th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota, August 2003, commits to offering vegetarian / vegan dishes at all events where dishes containing meat are served.

Further Resolved, that this Diocesan Convention hereby requests the deputies elected from this Diocese to the 75th General Convention to sponsor substantially similar legislation at the 75th General Convention.

General Convention 2006 — Resolution D041 original version with explanation, (later amended, but rejected by the House of Bishops):