Pete Seeger on the Hudson | Lament with the Earth |

Friends,

I'm a little late on Earth Day (April 22) but wanted to promote this upcoming Lament with the Earth on April 29.

Foot healing progresses well, with a delightful shower this afternoon.

-Liz

Creation Care

The first "protest" I remember attending was earth day in 1970. I don't actually remember it was 1970, I looked up the date of the first event. But it fits, I'd have been 9 years old. My dad said we were going to clean up the earth and we walked along some nearby highway picking up trash and planting wild flowers. I wonder if we drove to get there? In later years we went to Clearwater Festivals on the Hudson River near where Pete Seeger lived.

Pete Seeger's work to clean up the Hudson is a story of great success, but the overall story of our environment is mostly bad news. In the mess of these times, it rarely even makes the news. The idea of keeping temperature rise below 3º celsius seems almost comical in the face of war, violent immigration enforcement, and the attacks on our trans neighbors.

And yet, what are we doing if we are not stewarding the earth God has given us? Where do we think we will live, and how will live comfortably? I worry about food and housing and energy needs in a time when climate changes are unpredictable and extreme but the most serious threat is to our water.

I have a science fiction story in my head where we have huge city sized pans out to collect the little rain that falls, so that we can use it before it is absorbed in the dry earth. Clean water is essential to life. Baptismal waters are foundational for our faith.

Once we consider creation as an essential part of our Christian theology, it is hard to see how we ever thought differently. It is obvious in the creation story that God makes humans stewards of the earth, and it is obvious that stewards do not use up the resources available to them, they instead make sure resources are preserved.

We are approaching a time when preventing catastrophe is not a likely option. Our efforts perhaps should be more toward fixing the problems we create, and toward reducing the impact of the climate crisis. At the same time, it is hard to have the energy to work on this if we cannot image, cannot hope for a better outcome.

Creation care is the work of celebrating science and limiting the use of some technologies, of spending wisely while making it possible for the poorest to continue their lives, of giving up somethings without certainty that it will make enough of a difference. It is living a theology of abundance, while holding back on excess. It is scientific advancement balanced with our spiritual connection to the earth. Creation care is the work of maintaining hope without pretending everything is fine.

So what do we do about climate change as Christian Churches? We take action. We pray for change, and then act to make the prayers come true. We connect to the earth, to the creatures of the earth, to the air, and to the water.

Some Episcopal Churches have added a liturgical season of Creationtide to the church year, sliced out of Ordinary Time and running til Advent. It starts September 6 for this year and the liturgical color is orange. This is a time to explore our theological foundations for creation care.

In the wild's of the Northern Michigan, Wild Church is taking root. Gathering people who feel God's presence in the earth, Wild Church meets outside, engages in hiking and care of trails. And they focus on how to save this beautiful world we have been given.

In the United Church of Christ, congregations can identify themselves as "green" by meeting specific criteria at five levels of actions.

All congregations can do the basics--reduce our water use, find a way to reduce fossil fuel usage, use compostable resources, reusable mugs. We can lobby for good care of water in our community, our state, and our nation. We certainly can pick up our trash, and care for the land we settled upon.

What is your church doing for creation? Reply to this email to let me know what's happening.

The Hudson River does run clear. An article in the Guardian claims that is Pete Seeger's largest success. Here is his song My Dirty Stream (2:49).

When Bangor Seminary closed they created the BTS Center which focuses on a theology of Creation. They are having a "Lament with the Earth" on April 29th in the evening.

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