As you remember our last alert request was to Telephone Governor Haslam, (615) 741-2001 and ask him to use his leadership to help pass the TN Scenic Vistas Protection Act,  Senate Bill 577/House Bill 291.

As of last week, your calls were coming through loud and clear. Thank you. However we have not seen action from the Governor yet. If you haven’t already, please make that call. If you have called, please see that someone else you know calls. Post this appeal on blogs, link to it on Facebook, tweet it. Help us spread the word. These small actions are powerful. YOUR call may be the one that finally tips the balance. Thank you!

If you haven’t seen the legislative materials on the LEAF website, you may want to check it out.     We have added maps of the mountains under attack, charts of who profits, the latest health studies, maps correlating MTR and poverty, data proving that MTR is a job killer, documentation of the cost of MTR to the Tennessee budget, links to the bill and the committee members, and so much more.

Heads up. Get your tickets now if you plan to come to the Kathy Mattea/Barbara Kingsolver event at the Bijou Theatre in Knoxville on March 11th.  The pace of sales indicates a certain and early sellout, maybe within the next week. The folks on this alert list are the powerhouse of LEAF’s political and spiritual strength, and we don’t want you left out.

We remain hard at work. Don’t forget to call the Governor, and please continue to keep the mountains and LEAF in your prayers.

Thank you,
Dawn Coppock
Legislative Coordinator, LEAF
www.tnleaf.org

“A View from the Mountaintop”

at the Bijou Theatre on March 11 @ 5 PM

KNOXVILLE, TN:    On March 11, 2012, renowned author, Barbara Kingsolver, and Grammy-award winning singer, Kathy Mattea, will combine their talents to present “A View from the Mountaintop,” an evening of spoken word and song at the Bijou Theatre that celebrates their shared Appalachian heritage and casts a spotlight on mountaintop removal mining, a controversial practice that has destroyed over 500 mountains across Appalachia and presents a looming threat to Tennessee’s mountains on the Cumberland Plateau.

Kentucky native, Barbara Kingsolver, has been named one of the most important writers of the 20th Century by Writer’s Digest.  Her novel, The Poisonwood Bible, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Other works include: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and The Lacuna. In 2000, Kingsolver was awarded the National Humanities Medal, our country’s highest honor for service through the arts.

Kathy Mattea, a native of West Virginia, has won two Grammys and has twice been named Female Vocalist of the Year by the Country Music Association.  Her recordings intertwine Celtic, gospel, and bluegrass influences with the folk and acoustic music that have always served as her artistic anchor. Her most recent CD, the Grammy-nominated, Coal, celebrates the culture of Appalachia.

The evening is sponsored by LEAF (Lindquist Environmental Appalachian Fellowship) a non-profit, non-denominational fellowship of Tennesseans whose faith leads them to take action for Tennessee’s environment.  LEAF seeks to protect Tennessee’s highest ridgelines by working for the passage of the Tennessee Scenic Vistas Protection Act that is currently under consideration by the Tennessee Legislature.

For more information on mountaintop removal and its impact in Tennessee: www.tnleaf.org

Dear Caretakers of Creation,As the LEAF vote counter, I have some good news and some bad news. We are close to having enough votes to get the Tennessee Scenic Vistas Protection Act out of both the House and the Senate Committees and to the floor for a vote. The bad news is that close doesn’t count, and many of the “no” votes are pretty entrenched. We need a game changer. So the action we need most is for you to call Governor Haslam, (615) 741-2001.

Ask him to use his leadership to help pass the TN Scenic Vistas Protection Act.  SB 577/HB 291. Go on to talk about jobs, or human health, water, or earth stewardship, if you feel lead. But please make the call and ask your friends and family to do the same.

We have posted an updated fact sheet on our site if you want to review the latest data on MTR in TN. Please continue to keep the mountains and LEAF in your prayers.

The Tennessee Scenic Vistas Protection Act lobby training will be this Tuesday, January 17 from 10-11 CST at the Nashville Sheraton Downtown. The room number will be posted in the lobby. Training will be conducted by Mike Murphy, government relations professional, and will cover policy, messaging and general techniques for effective legislative advocacy. All who plan to lobby for the SVPA, please try to be there.

We hope to have the training taped also.
 
Dawn Coppock
Legislative Coordinator, LEAF

The Tennessee State Legislature began the 2012 session this week and LEAF is off to a great start. Tuesday night LEAF had a lovely final service for the 40th Day of Prayer for the Mountains at Christ Church Cathedral in Nashville. The media was abuzz all week with stories about LEAF and Mountain Top Coal. (See our Facebook for some of the links.) Pat Hudson, Pat Chastain, Ryan Bennett, Audrey Coppock-Seal and I were all there for the service and then on Legislative Plaza, talking and listening to the legislators. We have great momentum and are optimistic about the chance to protect our mountains from destruction in 2012. 

The session is expected to end in April. So we have less than 4 months to pass the Tennessee Scenic Vistas Protection Act. The committees are unchanged and the bill is in. As the bill is scheduled for votes, I will alert you and let you know where your contacts will help most. You can print or save the committee contact list below for future reference. Your contacts are our most powerful tool. 

This week, please continue to keep the mountains and LEAF in your prayers and please ask two more people to sign up for the action alerts to increase LEAF’s voice. Thank you for your steadfast concern for Tennessee’s mountains. 

Dawn Coppock 

Legislative Coordinator, LEAF 

For more information contact Dawn Coppock, LEAF Legislative Director c 865-382-0895, o 865-933-8173, dawn@dawncoppock.com or see www.tnleaf.org.
  

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Committee Contact List
  

Governor, Bill Haslam - Phone (615) 741-2001
Lt. Governor, Ron Ramsey – Phone (615) 741-4524
Speaker of the House, Beth Harwell – Phone (615) 741-0709
 
 
House Conservation & Environment Committee
* Denotes also on House Environment Sub-Committee
 
Committee Officers: 

David Hawk* Committee Chair – Phone (615) 741-7482    
Ron Lollar* Committee Vice-Chair- Phone (615) 741-7084 (Chair of Sub-Committee)
Richard Floyd* Secretary – Phone (615) 741-2746 (Vice Chair of Sub-Committee)  

Members: 

Sheila Butt - Phone (615) 741-3005    
Charles Curtis* - Phone (615) 741-1963
Brenda Gilmore* - Phone (615) 741-1997 

Andy Holt – Phone (615) 741-7847    
Mike Kernell* - Phone (615) 741-3726
Pat Marsh* – Phone (615) 741-6824
Michael McDonald – Phone (615) 741-1980  

Frank Niceley* – Phone (615) 741-4419
Art Swann* – Phone (615) 741-5481    
John Tidwell* – Phone (615) 741-7098
  

Senate Environment Committee 

Committee Officers: 

Senator Steve Southerland, Chair – Phone (615) 741-3851
Senator Jack Johnson, Vice-Chair – Phone (615) 741-2495
Senator Jim Summerville, Secretary – Phone (615) 741-4499 

Members: 

Senator Mike Bell – Phone (615) 741-1946
Senator Mike Faulk – Phone (615) 741-2061
Senator Kerry Roberts – Phone (615) 741-1999    
Senator Roy Herron – Phone (615) 741-4576
Senator Beverly Marrero – Phone (615) 741-9128
Senator Eric Stewart – Phone (615) 741-6694 

On this, the final day of LEAF’s 40 Days of Prayer for the Mountains, we wish to express our deep appreciation to all the pastors and communities of faith that contributed prayers and offered their support in numerous ways. 

Today, LEAF supporters from around the state will gather to worship in Nashville at Christ Church Cathedral.  We hope that those of you who cannot join us in body, will join us in spirit to pray for the continued awakening of Tennessee’s faith communities to their critical role in preserving and protecting God’s good earth.
Rev. Charles Maynard, District Superintendent of the Maryville District, Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church, Maryville, Tennessee, offers this final prayer for creation…

O Creator of Mountain and Valley
           Field and Forest
                   Desert and Sea;

We celebrate the beauty and wonder of Your creation. Slow us, O Lord, that we may experience and enjoy Your work in its fullest at a speed slower than our own hectic, everyday lives.

Gracious God, we are thankful for the generations who have shared breathtaking moments in Tennessee’s mountains as they have view
            Brilliant Sunrises,
                    Panoramic Vistas,
                              Blooming Wildflowers,
                                        Dragonfly and Deer,
                                                Starlight and Firefly.

We are grateful, O Lord, for laughter
           At picnic areas, trails, parks, and overlooks as families – large and small enjoy majestic mountain wonders.

O God of the Ages, help us remember Your hand in creating these magnificent mountains, plateaus, valleys, ridges, and rivers of this our state.

With these memories help us renew our own commitment to You so future generations – our children, and grandchildren and their grandchildren – may find Tennessee’s mountains a source of renewal and revitalization.

God of all creation, bless us this day with Memory – Resolution – and Hope in this special corner of Your creation.

In Your Holy name, we pray.

Amen.

LEAF (Lindquist Environmental Appalachian Fellowship) will hold a prayer service in downtown Nashville on the evening of January 10, 2012,  to mark the end of the 40 Days of Prayer for the Mountains initiative.  This music-filled, interdenominational service will celebrate the awakening of Tennessee congregations to the Scriptural call to care for the earth and will also serve as a powerful witness to our legislators as they begin the 2012 legislative session.  Christ Episcopal Church Cathedral at 900 Broadway will host the event that will begin at 6:30 p.m.

After spending 40 Days together as an online-community, this gathering offers us a wonderful opportunity to fellowship in person. Spread the word and let’s fill the pews!

For further information, e-mail Pat Hudson at phudson@tnleaf.org or call the Cathedral office at 615-255-7729.

Today, Rev. Amanda Bell Madson and members of Sand Branch United Methodist Church, Knoxville, Tennessee, are praying for creation…

Almighty and Wonderful Creator,

You are here, sitting beneath all the beauty of summer green.

Only in the clearing from frost and cold can we see and believe it.

You are present, deeply rooted and thriving in the coming winter chill.

Only as we look out upon your creation can we behold You in the evergreen.

You are here, filling all creation with life even as the colors of fall disappear into earth.

Only then do we realize your creative power, as we dig our hands into the damp, darkness to discover creatures doing Your handy work.

You give us PEACE, and the bear and the groundhog hibernate.

Only when we relax into your arms can we rest and settle into creation.

Help us to find you there. 

Amen.

Today, members of St. James Episcopal Church, Knoxville, Tennessee, are praying for creation…

Teach us, O Lord, to listen to the Earth, our mother.

Grant us the wisdom and will to preserve all your creation, restoring to wholeness everywhere that we have carelessly left our mark.

Especially, Lord, we pray for the Appalachian mountains. Guide us in your will to defend their sanctity. For just as Abraham, Moses, Elijah and all your saints and prophets met you on the holiness of the mountaintop, we do also name our mountains “holy,” claiming our right to defend them from all who seek their harm and destruction.

And yet, we pray also for those people, that they may find meaningful employment without destroying your creation.

Lord, in your mercy

Hear our prayer.

Amen.

Today, Ben Lowe and members of the Evangelical Environmental Network (www.creationcare.org) are praying for creation….

Almighty and ever-loving God

LORD of all that was, that is, and that is to come

The praise of all creation, both human and non-human, belongs to you

For you come before all things, you create all things, you give all things life, and you reconcile all things back to yourself through the cross

In this moment we repent from the ways in which our lifestyles unjustly damage your creation and hurt your people

We pray particularly for the one in six babies born in America today with unsafe levels of mercury in their blood.

Jesus, you showed such love and attention to little children during your life on earth

Please be with them now in their suffering and protect them from harm

We pray for a day when such mercury poisoning and other toxic pollution from our burning of coal for electricity will cease

We pray for courage and favor to fight faithfully for laws that uphold the sanctity of life; that reduce such pollution and protect the unborn from mercury poisoning

And in this way we pray that your kingdom will continue to come here on earth as it is in heaven

LORD, in your mercy, hear our prayer. In Jesus name we pray,

Amen.