By Celeste Kennel-Shank
Mennonite Weekly Review

		Members of Shalom Mennonite Congregation walk and bike to church Jan. 20 as they prepare to use less oil during Lent, beginning Feb. 6, to show their concern about the Iraq war and climate change. — Photo provided by Shalom Mennonite Congregation
	The Less Oil for Lent campaign Churches interested in participating can contact Tom Benevento by e-mail or by calling 540-433-2363.

Members of several Mennonite churches in Harrisonburg, Va., are cutting down their use of oil through these practices and others during the season of Lent. They are encouraging other churches to do the same as part of the Less Oil for Lent campaign beginning Feb. 6 on Ash Wednesday.

The Less Oil for Lent campaign, sparked by a group at Shalom Mennonite Congregation, aims to be a positive action Mennonites and other Christians can take to show their concern about the Iraq war and climate change. Members of Community Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg Mennonite Church and Park View Mennonite Church have also joined the effort.

“We see a very direct relationship between what our government is doing in Iraq with our consumption of oil,” said Earl Martin of Shalom Mennonite. “We were interested in raising our voices for a cessation of war in Iraq, and we feel one way to do that is to address our addiction to oil.”

During Lent, the 40 days before Easter, many Christians sacrifice one or more luxuries in order to seek new spiritual insights.

“We thought perhaps giving up some of our high use of oil during Lent would remind us of some important things, and also maybe have the effect of introducing us to some new patterns,” Martin said. “There are ways we all can become more attentive to the story of Jesus setting his face toward Jerusalem and walking with Christ through those last weeks.”

Ray Gingerich of Community Mennonite, director of the Anabaptist Center for Religion and Society at Eastern Mennonite University, said observing Lent in this way can take on a new meaning for Anabaptists.

“Instead of seeing it as a ritual, we tie it in with discipleship,” Gingerich said.

Community Mennonite has been exploring the theme “Growing a Greener Congregation” during the month of January. Some members will continue the idea by participating in the Lenten campaign, Gingerich said.

“I’m the kind of person where I know it in my head but I don’t do it with my feet,” Gingerich said. “This is the kind of encouragement I need.”

Shalom Mennonite will launch the campaign Feb. 3 by distributing multicolored pieces of paper on which members can write down the ways in which they plan to reduce oil use, Pastor Emily North said. The following Sunday the papers will be attached to a dark background, creating a kaleidoscope visual for Lent symbolizing the sum of the sacrifices individuals make, North said.

“All you do is make one little change, and it changes what you see through the kaleidoscope,” North said. “Beauty is created when people come together.”

The campaign aims to make people aware of their own consumption patterns and allow them to reflect on ways to change those patterns after Easter morning. Organizers are suggesting numerous ways to reduce oil consumption, recognizing every family has different abilities.

“What we wanted to do was have it in such that way that it would fit for lots of different kinds of people,” said Tom Benevento of Shalom Mennonite.

A group has begun biking most Sundays to Shalom Mennonite, and during Lent some are willing to give rides to people in a bicycle trailer.

Among the other ideas for reducing oil use are:

- Insulating homes, especially around doors and windows.

- Lighting candles instead of using electricity on Sunday.

- Burning scrap wood for heat.

- Reducing or eliminating consumption of meat, since meat requires more oil than plants to produce.

- Turning down the hot water heater to 115 degrees Fahrenheit.

The idea for the campaign came in part from an oil-free Sunday observed by some churches during the Gulf War. Corvallis (Ore.) Mennonite Fellowship began meeting in homes after oil-free Sunday, having previously driven long distances to other churches, its Web site states.

The Fellowship’s formation provides an example of potential good results of the current campaign, Benevento said.

“We’re interested to see what could transform beyond our expectations,” he said.