24 August 2011 - Christian Vegetarian Association Update Newsletters


	Update Newsletters

Update Newsletters
24 August 2011

1. Activist Feedback

2. Commentary on the Lectionary, Romans 12:9-21, On Vengeance

3. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman

4. Regarding Pet Snakes

5. Answers to Last Week’s CVA Quiz

1. Activist Feedback

Sharon, who leafleted with three friends at the Wisconsin State Fair and the Ozaukee County Fair, writes:

At the Wisconsin State Fair, we stayed for only about 2 hours outside the main gate. Much to our surprise, we were welcomed. Many people asked questions about meat alternatives. We also had a map of the fair grounds and were able to direct people interested in vegetarian options on what vendors they could go to. As we walked around the fairgrounds, we thanked the vendors who offered vegetarian options.

We went to the Ozaukee County Fair, Cedarburg, WI on Sunday August 7th. This was the last day of the fair; however it is also the day the animals are sold for slaughter. We decided to set up at the entrance of the barn yard.

We had a welcome response from a local church that will be putting on a vegetarian health fair this fall. We gave them some extra leaflets and the web site information.

Again as we always do, we walked around and thanked the vendors who had vegetarian options to eat. I wanted to take every creature home with me, so before we left, we gathered outside one of the barns, we created a small circle, and we prayed.

Upcoming Outreach Opportunities

The Christian Vegetarian Association is looking for volunteers to leaflet at the upcoming events with our “Would Jesus Eat Meat Today?” booklets to spread the word about vegetarianism as good stewardship of all of God’s Creation. Volunteers have a great opportunity to earn $18.00 per hour (up to 2 hours) per person to be donated to their favorite Animal Advocacy or Veg Group. For more information please contact Paris at christian_vegetarian@yahoo.com or Lorena at (770) 633-7415.

9/1-2 PA Pittsburgh Benny Hinn Miracle Services

9/2-4 KS La Cygne Music with a Mission Tour

9/2-4 SD Sioux Falls Lifelight Christian Music Festival

9/3 NC Shelby Seventh Day Slumber Christian Rock

9/4 NC Boone Seventh Day Slumber Christian Rock

9/5 MO Springfield Music With A Mission Tour

9/7 TX Plainview Music Music With A Mission Tour

9/9 TX Kileen Music With A Mission Tour

9/9-10 FL Orlando Night of Joy Magic Kingdom® Park

9/9-10 CA Anaheim Women Of Faith Conference

9/9-10 PA Philadelphia Women of Faith Conference

9/9-10 FL Orlando Rock The Universe Christian Music Festival

9/10 TX Longview Music With A Mission Tour

9/10 PA Philadelphia GreenFest Philly

9/10 CA Los Angeles Harvest Crusade

9/10 TX Midland Seventh Day Slumber Christian Rock

9/15-17 MO St. Louis Love Life Women's Conference- Joyce Meyers-

9/16-17 WA Spokane Women Of Faith Conference

9/16-19 MO Kirkwood Greentree Festival

9/16-17 PA Shippensburg Uprise Festival

9/17 OH Sandusky PointFest Christian Music Festival

9/17 OH Mt Vernon SonFest 2011 Christina Rock Festival

9/17 MI Coldwater Seventh Day Slumber Christian Rock

9/18 OH Greenville Music With A Mission Tour

9/18 OH Greenville Illumination Festival

9/23-24 NC Charlotte Women Of Faith Conference

9/23-24 VA Middleburg Awakening Festival Christian Music Festival

9/23-24 AZ Phoenix Women Of Faith Conference

9/24 NC Charlottesville TABLE Vegetarian Festival

9/25 PA Mifflintown Seventh Day Slumber Christian Rock

9/25-26 IL Belleville Our Lady of the Snows Youth Day Celebration

9/28 OK Inola Seventh Day Slumber Christian Rock

9/29 SC Central Music With A Mission Tour

9/29 NJ Ocean City Starfield Christian Concert

9/29-10/1 TX Dallas Benny Hinn Miracle Conference

9/29-10/1 GA Atlanta Joyce Meyers Ministries Conference

9/30 WI Milwaukee Women Of Faith Conference

9/30-10/1 CO Denver Women Of Faith Conference

9/30-10/2 CA San Diego National Youth Workers Convention

10/1 OK Grove Seventh Day Slumber Christian Rock

10/1 MS Crystal Springs Music With A Mission Tour

10/1-2 CA San Francisco TABLE World Vegetarian Festival

10/2 AL Madison Music With A Mission Tour

10/7-8 PA Pittsburgh Women of Faith Conference

10/7-8 VA Lynchburg Extraordinary Women's Conference

10/7-8 OR Portland Women Of Faith Conference

10/7-8 CO Co. Springs Hearts @ Home- Mom Revolution Women's Conference

10/7-8 MA Amherst Acquire the Fire Christian Youth Conference

10/8-9 MS Biloxi TABLE Gulf Coast Street Fest

10/13-15 CA Long Beach Joyce Meyers Ministries Conference

10/14-15 IN Fort Wayne Extraordinary Women Conference

10/15 FL Tampa TABLE Tampa Bay Veg Fest

10/21-22 MS Tupelo Extraordinary Women Conference

10/29-30 MA Boston Boston Vegetarian Food Festival TABLE

11/3-5 OH Cleveland Joyce Meyers Ministries Conference

11/4-5 IL Rockford Extraordinary Women Conference

11/4-5 MN Rochester Hearts @ Home Mom Revolution Conference

11/18-20 GA Atlanta National Youth Workers Convention

International Events:

8/26-30 England, London Lincolnshire Grapevine International Christian Celebration

9/17 Canada, Ontario Leamington Project X @ UMEI Fireflight

10/2 Canada, BC Langley Come to the Well Tour

2. Commentary on the Lectionary, Romans 12:9-21, On Vengeance

In this passage, Paul encourages members of the church in Rome to live peacefully and harmoniously with each other. In dealings with others, Paul advised, “Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good” (12:21). I want to focus on Paul’s teaching, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord’” (12:19).

Interestingly, the Greek text here says “wrath,” not “wrath of God.” In virtually all translations, “of God” is added, evidently because translators have believed that this what Paul meant. However, if we take Paul at his word, it is possible to interpret this passage in a way that permits us to regard God as purely loving and caring rather than as wrathful.

To my reading, Romans 12:19 tells us that vengeance is the prerogative of God, and God can choose to repay or not repay as God pleases. In ancient times, it was generally believed that sin must be punished, and nobody would have taken seriously a teaching that sin should go unpunished. I think Paul is saying that our inclination to mete out punishment ourselves is unnecessary, because God will punish as God sees fit.

Actually, Paul writes that if we treat our enemy with kindness, “you will heap burning coals upon his head” (12:20). If you really want vengeance, then attend to the needs of your enemy, because this will frustrate your enemy’s desire to find an excuse to harm you.

What, then, is “the wrath”? I think “the wrath” refers to humanity’s anger, which is ultimately self-destructive. God can choose not to avenge wrongdoing, because wrongdoing avenges itself. We are punished by our sins and not necessarily for them. One important mechanism of that process is that, to the degree that we harm others, we distance ourselves from others and become more alone in a mysterious and often terrifying universe. We need a sense of connection with the earth, with nature, and with each other – the grounds of our being – to avoid existential despair. We weaken that connection whenever we harm the earth, nature and its creatures, and other humans.

Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.

3. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman

All of Hell Witnessed Jesus Christ’s Victory
http://www.all-creatures.org/sermons97/s11sep88.html

4. Regarding Pet Snakes

In recent years snakes have become increasingly popular in the exotic pet trade. Unfortunately, this news is all bad for snakes. The exotic pet trade is extremely cruel and exploitive because it creates a platform for anyone to obtain exotic animals for captives - even though most are ill-equipped to properly care for the animals.

Due to this, many snakes ultimately end up in deplorable homes where they wallow in misery. It has been well documented by animal cruelty groups that 90% of all pet snakes die prematurely due to gross neglect and improper care. The majority of snake keepers are individuals who buy animals on a whim, driven by novelty and shock value. Due to such problems the exotic pet trade should never be supported. Doing so only funds the suffering and death of legions of snakes.

Matt Ellerbeck - The Snake Man...Snake Advocate & Conservationist

5. Answers to Last Week’s CVA Quiz

A. Carbon dioxide

B. Methane

C. Nitrous Oxide

1. Which of the three gasses is the most potent in terms of global warming?

Answer: A. Nitrous oxide has 310 times the global warming potential compared to carbon dioxide over a 100 year period. Methane has 56 times the global warming potential compared to carbon dioxide over a 20 year period. The shorter comparison period for methane reflects how methane has a shorter atmospheric half-life as carbon dioxide. However, after correcting for duration in the atmosphere, methane is still a much more potent gas in terms of global warming potential.

2. Which of the three gasses has contributed the most to global warming?

Answer: B. While less potent than nitrous oxide and methane, the volume of carbon dioxide emissions attributed to humanity is far greater than that of the other two.

3. Animal agriculture contributes heavily to emissions of which of these gas(ses)?

Answer: All of them. Methane is directly produced from digestion of plant foods by herbivores raised for flesh and dairy. Carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide are produced by animal agriculture indirectly, particularly in the production of fertilizers for plant foods that are fed to farmed animals. Most people answered B (methane), and I regarded this answer as correct, since it wasn’t clear that indirect effects were included.

We had many people respond with correct answers. Two lucky winners will win a t-shirt or book prize (their choice among a list of available prizes).

Your question and comments are welcome

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