Innovate~Educate~Collaborate

Tag: adult education

  • I was fortunate to grow up during a time….BY JULIE PELLER PH.D

    I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to speak with different groups of people about environmental topics I have studied and researched.  Since I have been involved professionally and personally in investigations of plastic pollution, many recent presentations have focused on the massive plastic waste problem on both the global and local levels. In…

  • GREEN JUNCTION & PLASTICS 14 SEPT 2019 BY JULIE PELLER PH.D​.

    The Midway Islands are unincorporated territories of the United States, located about 1300 miles northwest of Honolulu, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Formally designated Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in 1996, there are 2.4 square miles of land. US Fish and Wildlife staff who study seabird habitats and island restoration are currently the…

  • GREEN JUNCTION 7 August 2019 BY JULIE PELLER Ph.D​.

    When you make the decision to purchase a pesticide at the store to kill bugs, pests, or weeds, do you select bifenthrin, cyhalothrin, imidacloprid or another active ingredient?  What chemicals, formulated to kill specific pests, do farmers or pest control professionals in your area frequently use?  Even though I am an experienced chemist, I currently…

  • GREEN JUNCTION 22 JULY 2019 BY JULIE PELLER PHD.

    Green Junction Environmental justice is defined as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.” (US EPA) Since pollution affects lower-income/ most vulnerable populations far more than people who are of higher…

  • GREEN JUNCTION 13 JULY 2019 BY JULIE PELLER PHD.

    I had the wonderful opportunity to take a nature walk at a local park, which included hiking through grassy fields and along beautiful areas of wildflowers. These fields are allowed to grow naturally; they are not manipulated by the input of chemicals to eliminate plants that are not grass, the more common scenario when it…

  • Green Junction: by Julie Peller PhD.

    Julie Peller PhD, is an environmental chemist (Professor of Chemistry at Valparaiso University ) and she leads the Environmental Ministry at Nativity of Our Savior in Portage IN. Julie has been writing a weekly column for church bulletins for the past ~5 years called the Green Junction and is helping to move the call of Laudato Si…

  • Reflections: 27 May 2019

    “The saints are what they are, not because of their sanctity makes them admirable to others, but because the gift of sainthood makes it possible for them to admire everybody else.” -Thomas Merton The gift of sainthood is the acceptance, recognition, and belief in the Universal Christ. Because we meet the Living God in the…

  • On The Road…A reflection on the thoughts of Thomas that went to the soul of who we are as humans

    Click on the link and watch this eleven minute video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL6eNmGxnbQ&fbclid=IwAR1yzcSvxAkAjC8reGQl6CDN-IGtf0l7LnN5BYCmMISueWlLKMHqht8Brq4&app=desktop   I watched and listened to the words in this video clip, Merton speaks to all of us who understand the Universal Christ, and the journey we all take in the modern world as a path of contemplation, and as Merton says “God is…

  • Missional Church, Discipleship & ‘Hassle Maps’

    Let’s face it: All too often, our quest for discipleship and creating a missional church is a succession of hassles. There’s an endless stream of frustrations, inconveniences, complications, disappointments, and potential disasters lurking in most of our daily experiences in re-missioning and creating discipleship. We all have our ‘preferred’ methodology for creating discipleship and a…

  • Lumen Gentium Are you still with us?

    DOGMATIC CONSTITUTION ON THE CHURCH:  LUMEN GENTIUM. “Thus, the Church has been seen as ‘a people made one with the unity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.'(4*).” Many scholars believe this document, Lumen Gentium (Light for the Nations) is likely one of the most important. Christ is light for all the nations,…