Today in the Mission Yearbook: June 22, 2016
• CLICK HERE to read more.
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook
Today in the Mission Yearbook: June 22, 2016
• CLICK HERE to read more.
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Word from Uganda: "Be a Butterfly, Not a Chameleon "
This somehow didn't get posted last year when I wrote it, but since we just ended school holiday and similar Bible studies were happening every Tuesday and Thursday, I think it is a good fit to post now ...
• read the rest of Natalie's post ...
• help raise funds for Natalie's mission ...
From Uganda, Dr. Greg Bartha: "Karamoja Two"
Karamoja Two
A team from the Cross Emergency Medical Clinic has recently returned from another medical outreach to the Karamoja region. Again, this is a remote area. The road is not paved and very rough and the trip is quite tiring. We visited three sites. One of our vehicles got stuck in a water crossing en route to the first location. A number of Karamojong people came to help the team members push our van out of the mud. They are extremely strong people and I do not think we could have moved the vehicle without their help. We set up under a tree and people gradually started coming for treatment ...
• CLICK HERE to read the rest of Greg's post ...
TOMORROW ... Take a break from the heat, and help send kids to camp
 |
| Photo by Jeff McDonald |
According to the ministry's website, Op Camp will be taking place at Butman Methodist Camp, outside Merkel, Texas. "Since 2002," the website notes, "Unlock Ministries has been helping great kids succeed through Op Camp. For over 10 years, the United Way has been generous supporters of Op Camp because they SEE THE RESULTS. Kids come back from camp happier, more confident and ready to take on their challenges."
Invitation to Prayer from Faces of Children ... TOMORROW
Faces of Children is an ecumenical prayer ministry under the auspices of First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. Our mission is to initiate ministries of prayer for children in churches, communities, and neighborhoods. In doing so, we seek to provide an opportunity for people of God to join together, learn about children and their needs throughout the world, and celebrate Christ's love (especially as it relates to children).Invitation to Prayer, WEDNESDAY
Hi Friends,
Thank you for joining me in prayer for the children of the world. If you can, we'd love to have you pray together with us this Wednesday at 11:30 a.m., in the gym conference room at First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas, followed by lunch together.
Also, Faces of Children is now on Facebook ! I invite you to like our page so that you can see regular stories, prayer needs, and updates from partner ministries.
All the best,
Carrie
Dear Intercessors,
We just finished VBS, and for our VBS Missions Project this year, we raised money to send to one of our partner ministries, Partners Relief and Development. The purpose of Partner's is to work for free and full lives for Myanmar's children, and the money sent will be used by Partner's to help them buy relief supplies for members of the Rohingya ethnic group who are forced to live in concentration camps in Myanmar. For the next few weeks, I thought I would share what we did in VBS. For those of you with children, each one of these has a corresponding learning activity that can be done to help further explain the situation.
The Rohingya children used to be able to go to schools. Now that they live in the camps, there are not many schools. When the camps were first formed, a few organizations came in and built schools and supplied them with basic school supplies, but that was many years ago and a lot of the supplies have run out. Even for the schools that have supplies, there often aren't any teachers! We asked the children what school would be like without teachers. You'll have to ask your kids what they think that would be like. We also asked the kids to color pictures of a rainbow, but we had a shortage of different colored crayons! They had to figure out how to color the rainbow the way they wanted it to be colored when there weren't enough supplies to easily do it.
A prayer for you and your kids to say together: Dear Jesus, We know that right now there are Rohingya children just like my friends and me who don't get to go to school. Even though it is fun to have a summer break or time off from school, it also would be really boring if we never got to go. Please be with the Rohingya children who want to learn but don't have the opportunity. Please help groups like Partner's bring in supplies and train community leaders to help provide some education for these kids. And more than anything, Jesus, please help the Rohingya children know that they are loved and that their lives were created for a purpose! Please give them direction and hope for the future. Amen.
Sincerely,
Carrie
Carrie J. McKean
Faces of Children Director
First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas
(432) 684-7821 x153
If you have prayer requests about children, those who care for them, those who have authority over them, or those who harm them (the really hard prayers to say sometimes), please send them to info@facesofchildren.net
In the News ... "10-Year-Old Mowing His Way to Church Camp"
 |
| KOSA Photo |
Julia Thatcher, Reporter
• KOSA-TV
ODESSA, TEXAS - A ten-year-old boy is mowing lawns across Odessa trying to save money for church camp. His parents said they would pay for it but Patrick Martinez says he wants to raise the money and pay for it himself ...
• read the rest of this KOSA report
Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook
Today in the Mission Yearbook: June 21, 2016
• CLICK HERE to read more.
Monday, June 20, 2016
From @chinaaid : "Wenzhou house church leader beaten by authorities"
The China Aid Association is a non-profit Christian organization - based in Midland, Texas - with a mission to uncover and reveal the truth about religious persecution in China, focusing especially on the unofficial church. They do this, they explain in their website, by exposing the abuses, encouraging the abused and equipping the saints to advance the kingdom of God throughout China. |
| CAA Photo |
Distributed by ChinaAid, May, 2016 ...
WENZHOU, ZHEJIANG, CHINA – In a written testimony, the leader of a house church in China’s coastal Zhejiang was beaten by a group led by the local Communist Party Secretary ...
• more on this story from China Aid
Invitation to Prayer from Faces of Children ... WEDNESDAY
Faces of Children is an ecumenical prayer ministry under the auspices of First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. Our mission is to initiate ministries of prayer for children in churches, communities, and neighborhoods. In doing so, we seek to provide an opportunity for people of God to join together, learn about children and their needs throughout the world, and celebrate Christ's love (especially as it relates to children).Invitation to Prayer, WEDNESDAY
Hi Friends,
Thank you for joining me in prayer for the children of the world. If you can, we'd love to have you pray together with us this Wednesday at 11:30 a.m., in the gym conference room at First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas, followed by lunch together.
Also, Faces of Children is now on Facebook ! I invite you to like our page so that you can see regular stories, prayer needs, and updates from partner ministries.
All the best,
Carrie
Dear Intercessors,
We just finished VBS, and for our VBS Missions Project this year, we raised money to send to one of our partner ministries, Partners Relief and Development. The purpose of Partner's is to work for free and full lives for Myanmar's children, and the money sent will be used by Partner's to help them buy relief supplies for members of the Rohingya ethnic group who are forced to live in concentration camps in Myanmar. For the next few weeks, I thought I would share what we did in VBS. For those of you with children, each one of these has a corresponding learning activity that can be done to help further explain the situation.
The Rohingya children used to be able to go to schools. Now that they live in the camps, there are not many schools. When the camps were first formed, a few organizations came in and built schools and supplied them with basic school supplies, but that was many years ago and a lot of the supplies have run out. Even for the schools that have supplies, there often aren't any teachers! We asked the children what school would be like without teachers. You'll have to ask your kids what they think that would be like. We also asked the kids to color pictures of a rainbow, but we had a shortage of different colored crayons! They had to figure out how to color the rainbow the way they wanted it to be colored when there weren't enough supplies to easily do it.
A prayer for you and your kids to say together: Dear Jesus, We know that right now there are Rohingya children just like my friends and me who don't get to go to school. Even though it is fun to have a summer break or time off from school, it also would be really boring if we never got to go. Please be with the Rohingya children who want to learn but don't have the opportunity. Please help groups like Partner's bring in supplies and train community leaders to help provide some education for these kids. And more than anything, Jesus, please help the Rohingya children know that they are loved and that their lives were created for a purpose! Please give them direction and hope for the future. Amen.
Sincerely,
Carrie
Carrie J. McKean
Faces of Children Director
First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas
(432) 684-7821 x153
If you have prayer requests about children, those who care for them, those who have authority over them, or those who harm them (the really hard prayers to say sometimes), please send them to info@facesofchildren.net
I am PCUSA ... and PRO-Fossil Fuel ... What does blanket divestment REALLY accomplish
For my part in the Presbyterian Church USA's debate over divestment of church funds from fossil fuel producers (and the vote that will be coming up this week in the bi-annual gathering of PC-USA's General Assembly) I have suggested more than once that a blanket divestment is NOT the answer. I have recommended an alternative ... redirected investment of funds into responsible/moral fossil fuels producers.
WITH RESPECT, AND WITH AN OPENNESS TO DISCUSSION, I want to ask proponents of blanket divestment ... what does it REALLY accomplish? Sure, it's easy to do ... and when it's done, you feel good ... but couldn't you have done so much more? Here are some points to consider, on how you could accomplish 'so much more' through redirected investment, rather than blanket divestment ...
• Encourage responsible/moral production - In a previous post, I offered criteria for assessing fossil fuel producers, and determining whether their means of production was responsible/moral. If producers in which PCUSA funds are currently do not meet your criteria, pull almost all of those funds out, and reinvest them in producers who do meet those criteria.
• Continue to have a voice - Why do I say "almost all?" Because as long as you have even a small share of the company's stock, you have a voice at stockholder meetings and other gatherings where you can raise concerns, and recommend measures to address those concerns.
• If not you, then who? - Trust me on this ... blanket divestment by PCUSA will not hurt fossil fuel producers where it matters most - the pocketbook. They will easily recoup those losses, with funds from investors who don't give a flip about creation care, and will reinforce the company's commitment to business-as-usual.
• Setting an example for others - The Presbyterian Church USA is not the only entity out there that is pro-creation care. Unfortunately, the denomination's more extreme voices are easily dismissed as 'tree-hugger' rhetoric by equally-extreme advocates for business-as-usual ... not unlike the debates between extremists in the polical debates this presidential election year. Isn't there some room in between the two extremes, a more moderate position that brings people closer together in important issues, rather than driving them further apart? What if it were possible to set an example of pro-business investments that encourage responsible, even moral fossil fuel production?
These are some of my thoughts in this discussion. What do YOU think, and what discussion points would you offer?
NOTE: As the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA meets in Portland this week and considers demands for an immediate and total, blanket divestment of the denomination’s investment funds from “fossil fuel producers,” I have to ask ... is blanket divestment the answer? Shouldn’t we, instead, consider reinvestment of those funds into responsible – even moral – fossil fuel producers?
Let me give you some idea of my background - the context in which I am composing these posts. It’s important to the consideration – if any! – that you will give to my posts.
For the past 32 years, I have lived and worked in and around the city of Midland, in the western region of Texas ... smack-dab in the middle of what they call ‘the oil patch.’ There is some cattle and some cotton in the foundation of this community, but most of Midland today is built upon the energy industry, and the production of oil and natural gas plays a major -even predominant role - in our local economy.
I do not work directly for the energy industry ... though I have been happily married those same 32 years to someone who is. As for me, I first worked in in this part of Texas as a contract archaeologist ... but my vocation has changed more than once with the ups and downs – especially the downs! – in the energy industry over the past three decades. So I have also worked as a television writer/producer, a newspaper reporter/editor, a website/social media manager, and for the past eight years in the public information and media office of a community college.
This has given me a tremendous opportunity to observe the industry ‘up-close and personal,’ as we used to say in the news business. I suggest that I might have more insight than some others into the industry, its people, its technology and practices, and the changes in said technology and practices. I have seen, reported-on and learned from – to borrow a phrase from a movie title – the good, the bad and the ugly of fossil fuel production ... and the beautiful, as well.
Let me qualify that last paragraph, though ... my experience observing fossil fuel producers has been exclusively with oil and natural gas. I have no such current experience with the coal industry, and I am not qualified to comment upon changes that may have taken place in their technology and practices. When it comes to coal, all I have to go on are the 50-year-old memories I have of that industry – actually, the remnants of that industry – in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area of northeastern Pennsylvania ... observations which helped set my course down the environmentalism path as a teenager way-back-when.
Anyway, that is where I come from. Where I am going, in the days ahead, is to develop my pro-fossil fuel thesis, and to suggest options for a position within the Presbyterian Church USA that still promotes protection and restoration of God’s creation, yet encourages responsible – even moral – energy production that includes fossil fuels. Thank you for your time in reading the above. I welcome any comments you wish to make in the space below ... regardless of your stance on fossil fuel production. It is my hope that this will be the start of a discussion among those who ultimately share a common goal, a common destination ... though for now, we may be reaching it by different paths.
WITH RESPECT, AND WITH AN OPENNESS TO DISCUSSION, I want to ask proponents of blanket divestment ... what does it REALLY accomplish? Sure, it's easy to do ... and when it's done, you feel good ... but couldn't you have done so much more? Here are some points to consider, on how you could accomplish 'so much more' through redirected investment, rather than blanket divestment ...
• Encourage responsible/moral production - In a previous post, I offered criteria for assessing fossil fuel producers, and determining whether their means of production was responsible/moral. If producers in which PCUSA funds are currently do not meet your criteria, pull almost all of those funds out, and reinvest them in producers who do meet those criteria.
• Continue to have a voice - Why do I say "almost all?" Because as long as you have even a small share of the company's stock, you have a voice at stockholder meetings and other gatherings where you can raise concerns, and recommend measures to address those concerns.
• If not you, then who? - Trust me on this ... blanket divestment by PCUSA will not hurt fossil fuel producers where it matters most - the pocketbook. They will easily recoup those losses, with funds from investors who don't give a flip about creation care, and will reinforce the company's commitment to business-as-usual.
• Setting an example for others - The Presbyterian Church USA is not the only entity out there that is pro-creation care. Unfortunately, the denomination's more extreme voices are easily dismissed as 'tree-hugger' rhetoric by equally-extreme advocates for business-as-usual ... not unlike the debates between extremists in the polical debates this presidential election year. Isn't there some room in between the two extremes, a more moderate position that brings people closer together in important issues, rather than driving them further apart? What if it were possible to set an example of pro-business investments that encourage responsible, even moral fossil fuel production?
These are some of my thoughts in this discussion. What do YOU think, and what discussion points would you offer?
NOTE: As the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA meets in Portland this week and considers demands for an immediate and total, blanket divestment of the denomination’s investment funds from “fossil fuel producers,” I have to ask ... is blanket divestment the answer? Shouldn’t we, instead, consider reinvestment of those funds into responsible – even moral – fossil fuel producers?
Let me give you some idea of my background - the context in which I am composing these posts. It’s important to the consideration – if any! – that you will give to my posts.
For the past 32 years, I have lived and worked in and around the city of Midland, in the western region of Texas ... smack-dab in the middle of what they call ‘the oil patch.’ There is some cattle and some cotton in the foundation of this community, but most of Midland today is built upon the energy industry, and the production of oil and natural gas plays a major -even predominant role - in our local economy.
I do not work directly for the energy industry ... though I have been happily married those same 32 years to someone who is. As for me, I first worked in in this part of Texas as a contract archaeologist ... but my vocation has changed more than once with the ups and downs – especially the downs! – in the energy industry over the past three decades. So I have also worked as a television writer/producer, a newspaper reporter/editor, a website/social media manager, and for the past eight years in the public information and media office of a community college.
This has given me a tremendous opportunity to observe the industry ‘up-close and personal,’ as we used to say in the news business. I suggest that I might have more insight than some others into the industry, its people, its technology and practices, and the changes in said technology and practices. I have seen, reported-on and learned from – to borrow a phrase from a movie title – the good, the bad and the ugly of fossil fuel production ... and the beautiful, as well.
Let me qualify that last paragraph, though ... my experience observing fossil fuel producers has been exclusively with oil and natural gas. I have no such current experience with the coal industry, and I am not qualified to comment upon changes that may have taken place in their technology and practices. When it comes to coal, all I have to go on are the 50-year-old memories I have of that industry – actually, the remnants of that industry – in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area of northeastern Pennsylvania ... observations which helped set my course down the environmentalism path as a teenager way-back-when.
Anyway, that is where I come from. Where I am going, in the days ahead, is to develop my pro-fossil fuel thesis, and to suggest options for a position within the Presbyterian Church USA that still promotes protection and restoration of God’s creation, yet encourages responsible – even moral – energy production that includes fossil fuels. Thank you for your time in reading the above. I welcome any comments you wish to make in the space below ... regardless of your stance on fossil fuel production. It is my hope that this will be the start of a discussion among those who ultimately share a common goal, a common destination ... though for now, we may be reaching it by different paths.
In the News ... "Midland spiritual retreat center to break ground"
• Just a few moments away from families and workplace
Staff Report
Odessa American
MIDLAND, TEXAS - rganizers of a 20-acre Christian-based retreat center in Midland County expect to break ground June 29 on the $11 million facility.
Plans call for The Way Retreat Center to host youth and adult retreats in the Permian Basin, along with business retreats, weddings, family reunions and other events. The facility will sit on 20 acres of about 300 acres of donated land in northeast Midland County, the geographic high point of the county ...
• read the rest of this OA report
Staff Report
Odessa American
MIDLAND, TEXAS - rganizers of a 20-acre Christian-based retreat center in Midland County expect to break ground June 29 on the $11 million facility.
Plans call for The Way Retreat Center to host youth and adult retreats in the Permian Basin, along with business retreats, weddings, family reunions and other events. The facility will sit on 20 acres of about 300 acres of donated land in northeast Midland County, the geographic high point of the county ...
• read the rest of this OA report
 |
| Courtesy Photo |
Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook
Today in the Mission Yearbook: June 20, 2016
WHITEWATER VALLEY PRESBYTERY, INDIANA - Prayers of lament went out from the Presbytery of Whitewater Valley at the horrors of the Syrian refugee crisis ...
• CLICK HERE to read more.
Sunday, June 19, 2016
From "I Am Second" ... Shana
Shana pictured herself meeting the perfect husband and living happily ever after. But somewhere along the journey of her marriage things took a turn and her story didn’t have a fairytale ending.
Everything looked happy on the outside, “but I was dying on the inside.” How do you cope with realizing your spouse would rather live without you? How do you deal with such pain? When is enough, enough? For Shana, the lack of love led to a decision. Find how she overcame the painful past and walked into a peaceful future.
Inspiring the Revolution of Second
You are here for a reason. We all have needs and could use some help. Talk to us. Call, chat, or email. 24 hours a day.
Go a step further ... talk with the people in your life. Spread the revolution of Second. Share the videos with friends. Gather a group of friends to discuss the films. Start an I am Second group.
Volunteer at concerts. Serve through I am Second community service events. Organize your own I am Second events. Sign up for an I am Second Expedition to help people in other countries. Check out Live Second for other opportunities. Connect with us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
I am Second is designed to help people discover their purpose in life. Have you discovered yours?
To find out more about the people and leadership team behind I Am Second you can check out Who We Are.
In the News ... "We stand on the side of love for Orlando"
 |
| MRT Photo by Tim Fischer |
Rev. Emily Wright-Magoon, Unitarian Universalist Churchof Midland, Contributor
• Midland Reporter-Telegram
MIDLAND, TEXAS - Hate is strong. Love is stronger. The terrorism in Orlando was part of the violent, divisive hate we witness too often. But what we know in our hearts — with faith — is that love is stronger.
We Unitarian Universalists join with faithful people of other traditions in our belief that love is the most powerful force. Love is our spiritual practice. We believe that hell is not a place in the afterlife where sinners are punished, but hell is what we create here on Earth when our pain and fear cause us to create division in our hearts and communities ...
• read the rest of Rev, Wright-Magoon's column in the MRT
Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook
Today in the Mission Yearbook: June 19, 2016
MINUTE FOR MISSION: PRESBYTERIAN MEN - As we reflect our heavenly Father’s love this Father’s Day, it becomes extremely important that all men show love for all of God’s creation. We must lift our hearts together, working together to spread God’s love ...
• CLICK HERE to read more.
Saturday, June 18, 2016
In the News ... "52 Faces" Q&A with Mickey & Bonnie Eckles
 |
| MRT Photo by James Durbin |
• read the rest of this MRT report
• visit the "52 Faces" index page
In the News ... "CrossRoads car show rolls into town Sunday"
• Odessa American
ODESSA, TEXAS - The West Texas Street Rod Association has scheduled the Crossroads Car Show from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at CrossRoads Fellowship, 6901 E. State Highway 191.
Registration begins at 9 a.m. Prizes will be awarded starting at 2 p.m. Must be present to win.
There will be face painting, inflatables for kids and food trucks.
For more information, call 368-2500 or 368-2524 or email donavon@crossroadsfellowship.cc
In the News ... "Big Spring Community Members Hoping to Help Homeless"
 |
| KMID Photo |
Kaci Jones, Reporter
KMID-TV
BIG SPRING, TEXAS - It's been less than a year since the Salvation Army of Big Spring closed its shelter doors leaving dozens of homeless without a place to stay.
Community members stepping up hoping to provide help to those left without a place to go ...
• read/watch the rest of this KMID report
Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook
Today in the Mission Yearbook: June 18, 2016
• CLICK HERE to read more.
Friday, June 17, 2016
I am PCUSA ... and PRO-Fossil Fuel ... Responsible/Moral Production
For my part in the Presbyterian Church USA's debate over divestment of church funds from fossil fuel producers, I have suggested more than once that a blanket divestment is NOT the answer. I have recommended an alternative ... redirected investment of funds into responsible/moral fossil fuels producers. Is there such a thing? I think there is, and I would like to suggest some criteria for that ... criteria that could be used by PC-USA's Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) ministry in deciding - on a case-by-case basis - what to do with the church's investment funds.
• The Producer's Record on the Environment - There is no lack of local/state/federal government agencies that can provide data on the producer's record when it comes to environmental record. How well (or how poorly) does the agency (the EPA, for example) rate the producer? What complaints have been filed, and how well have those complaints been addressed.
• The Producer's Record in the Workplace - Again, there is no lack of local/state/federal government agencies that can provide data on the producer's record when it comes to to workplace safety and the producer's treatment of employees. What is the producer's safety record with OSHA, for example. This criteria can also be assessed with general data from the producer on pay scale, health insurance, leave policy. You could also look at the producer's use of a number of amenities showing-up in the workplace ... in-house gymnasiums, childcare, walk-in medical clinics, and dining facilities with a menu that includes healthy alternatives.
• Producer's Voluntary Compliance/Participation - Does the producer voluntarily contribute to and participate in a variety of programs out there that address fossil fuel production in the U.S. These programs could include efforts to protect/expand habitat areas for listed species of wildlife, and libraries for the formulae used in such production processes as 'fracturing.'
• Producer's Contribution to the Community - How is the producer involved in various facets of the community? This could be through monetary and in-kind contributions to schools and NGOs in the community. It could also be through encouraging employees to contribute their time to community service efforts, and introducing matching grants for employees' monetary contributions to charities.
• How the Producer is Reducing its Own Carbon Footprint - Whether it's in construction of new buildings or in the refurbishment of old buildings, is the producer being eco-friendly by incorporating features that reduce energy consumption? Is the same being done in the field by upgrading production equipment and procedures that reduce energy consumption?
• A Renewable-Energy Division of the Fossil Fuel Producer - What many people don't realize is the growing role being played by fossil fuel producers in creating/expanding solar fields, wind farms and other areas of renewable energy.
• Producer's Presence/Record in the Third World - Many of the nation's larger fossil fuel producers (what we call "the majors") have operations in in countries outside the United States. When it comes to oversight and regulation of the fossil fuel industry, the U.S. is one of the most challenging countries to do business ... many Third World companies have nowhere near the same level of oversight/regulation ... if they have any at all. So, what is the producer's record when it comes to production outside the U.S.?
These are some of my suggested criteria in assessing responsible/moral fossil fuel production. What criteria would YOU recommend?
NOTE: As the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA meets in Portland this month and considers demands for an immediate and total, blanket divestment of the denomination’s investment funds from “fossil fuel producers,” I have to ask ... is blanket divestment the answer? Shouldn’t we, instead, consider reinvestment of those funds into responsible – even moral – fossil fuel producers?
Let me give you some idea of my background - the context in which I am composing these posts. It’s important to the consideration – if any! – that you will give to what follows ...
For the past 32 years, I have lived and worked in and around the city of Midland, in the western region of Texas ... smack-dab in the middle of what they call ‘the oil patch.’ There is some cattle and some cotton in the foundation of this community, but most of Midland today is built upon the energy industry, and the production of oil and natural gas plays a major -even predominant role - in our local economy.
I do not work directly for the energy industry ... though I have been happily married those same 32 years to someone who is. As for me, I first worked in in this part of Texas as a contract archaeologist ... but my vocation has changed more than once with the ups and downs – especially the downs! – in the energy industry over the past three decades. So I have also worked as a television writer/producer, a newspaper reporter/editor, a website/social media manager, and for the past eight years in the public information and media office of a community college.
This has given me a tremendous opportunity to observe the industry ‘up-close and personal,’ as we used to say in the news business. I suggest that I might have more insight than some others into the industry, its people, its technology and practices, and the changes in said technology and practices. I have seen, reported-on and learned from – to borrow a phrase from a movie title – the good, the bad and the ugly of fossil fuel production ... and the beautiful, as well.
Let me qualify that last paragraph, though ... my experience observing fossil fuel producers has been exclusively with oil and natural gas. I have no such current experience with the coal industry, and I am not qualified to comment upon changes that may have taken place in their technology and practices. When it comes to coal, all I have to go on are the 50-year-old memories I have of that industry – actually, the remnants of that industry – in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area of northeastern Pennsylvania ... observations which helped set my course down the environmentalism path as a teenager way-back-when.
Anyway, that is where I come from. Where I am going, in the days ahead, is to develop my pro-fossil fuel thesis, and to suggest options for a position within the Presbyterian Church USA that still promotes protection and restoration of God’s creation, yet encourages responsible – even moral – energy production that includes fossil fuels. Thank you for your time in reading the above. I welcome any comments you wish to make in the space below ... regardless of your stance on fossil fuel production. It is my hope that this will be the start of a discussion among those who ultimately share a common goal, a common destination ... though for now, we may be reaching it by different paths.
• The Producer's Record on the Environment - There is no lack of local/state/federal government agencies that can provide data on the producer's record when it comes to environmental record. How well (or how poorly) does the agency (the EPA, for example) rate the producer? What complaints have been filed, and how well have those complaints been addressed.
• The Producer's Record in the Workplace - Again, there is no lack of local/state/federal government agencies that can provide data on the producer's record when it comes to to workplace safety and the producer's treatment of employees. What is the producer's safety record with OSHA, for example. This criteria can also be assessed with general data from the producer on pay scale, health insurance, leave policy. You could also look at the producer's use of a number of amenities showing-up in the workplace ... in-house gymnasiums, childcare, walk-in medical clinics, and dining facilities with a menu that includes healthy alternatives.
• Producer's Voluntary Compliance/Participation - Does the producer voluntarily contribute to and participate in a variety of programs out there that address fossil fuel production in the U.S. These programs could include efforts to protect/expand habitat areas for listed species of wildlife, and libraries for the formulae used in such production processes as 'fracturing.'
• Producer's Contribution to the Community - How is the producer involved in various facets of the community? This could be through monetary and in-kind contributions to schools and NGOs in the community. It could also be through encouraging employees to contribute their time to community service efforts, and introducing matching grants for employees' monetary contributions to charities.
• How the Producer is Reducing its Own Carbon Footprint - Whether it's in construction of new buildings or in the refurbishment of old buildings, is the producer being eco-friendly by incorporating features that reduce energy consumption? Is the same being done in the field by upgrading production equipment and procedures that reduce energy consumption?
• A Renewable-Energy Division of the Fossil Fuel Producer - What many people don't realize is the growing role being played by fossil fuel producers in creating/expanding solar fields, wind farms and other areas of renewable energy.
• Producer's Presence/Record in the Third World - Many of the nation's larger fossil fuel producers (what we call "the majors") have operations in in countries outside the United States. When it comes to oversight and regulation of the fossil fuel industry, the U.S. is one of the most challenging countries to do business ... many Third World companies have nowhere near the same level of oversight/regulation ... if they have any at all. So, what is the producer's record when it comes to production outside the U.S.?
These are some of my suggested criteria in assessing responsible/moral fossil fuel production. What criteria would YOU recommend?
NOTE: As the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA meets in Portland this month and considers demands for an immediate and total, blanket divestment of the denomination’s investment funds from “fossil fuel producers,” I have to ask ... is blanket divestment the answer? Shouldn’t we, instead, consider reinvestment of those funds into responsible – even moral – fossil fuel producers?
Let me give you some idea of my background - the context in which I am composing these posts. It’s important to the consideration – if any! – that you will give to what follows ...
For the past 32 years, I have lived and worked in and around the city of Midland, in the western region of Texas ... smack-dab in the middle of what they call ‘the oil patch.’ There is some cattle and some cotton in the foundation of this community, but most of Midland today is built upon the energy industry, and the production of oil and natural gas plays a major -even predominant role - in our local economy.
I do not work directly for the energy industry ... though I have been happily married those same 32 years to someone who is. As for me, I first worked in in this part of Texas as a contract archaeologist ... but my vocation has changed more than once with the ups and downs – especially the downs! – in the energy industry over the past three decades. So I have also worked as a television writer/producer, a newspaper reporter/editor, a website/social media manager, and for the past eight years in the public information and media office of a community college.
This has given me a tremendous opportunity to observe the industry ‘up-close and personal,’ as we used to say in the news business. I suggest that I might have more insight than some others into the industry, its people, its technology and practices, and the changes in said technology and practices. I have seen, reported-on and learned from – to borrow a phrase from a movie title – the good, the bad and the ugly of fossil fuel production ... and the beautiful, as well.
Let me qualify that last paragraph, though ... my experience observing fossil fuel producers has been exclusively with oil and natural gas. I have no such current experience with the coal industry, and I am not qualified to comment upon changes that may have taken place in their technology and practices. When it comes to coal, all I have to go on are the 50-year-old memories I have of that industry – actually, the remnants of that industry – in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area of northeastern Pennsylvania ... observations which helped set my course down the environmentalism path as a teenager way-back-when.
Anyway, that is where I come from. Where I am going, in the days ahead, is to develop my pro-fossil fuel thesis, and to suggest options for a position within the Presbyterian Church USA that still promotes protection and restoration of God’s creation, yet encourages responsible – even moral – energy production that includes fossil fuels. Thank you for your time in reading the above. I welcome any comments you wish to make in the space below ... regardless of your stance on fossil fuel production. It is my hope that this will be the start of a discussion among those who ultimately share a common goal, a common destination ... though for now, we may be reaching it by different paths.
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