This series has been good for me, but it makes worship seem a little odd. Especially today. This is not like anything I’ve done before, but I think it’s what I’m supposed to be doing right now.
I ended up using quite a few visuals, as you’ll realize when you see [CLICK] appearing all through what I wrote. I offered quite a few practical suggestions, which for many people were very familiar, and might have felt a little bit like suggesting using a knife to spread your butter on your bread. 🙂 Anyway, I think I was able to lay out a clear foundation for why following Jesus needs to include caring for the earth. Here’s what I shared.
On another note, I’ve been asked to do the online journal at Barclay Press for the next two weeks. I’ll cross post here…if nothing else, this always gets me blogging. 🙂
Gregg, thank you for your message on Sunday! I think it’s far past time for “the church” to stop ignoring this issue. I’ve long considered myself an environmentalist. The biggest reason is that God created this awesome place for us to live and I can’t stand the thought of trashing it. I would be heartbroken if I made something precious for someone and then they destroyed it.
I’ve known church people to purposefully, defiantly reject environmentalism (even simple things like basic paper recycling) because it was a “left-wing agenda” item. It’s time to get over it.
How are we, the church, to seem relevant in our world today when we refuse to acknowledge this issue that’s so important to us all (and already acknowledged by most everyone else). I think the head-in-the-sand mentality makes us appear backward and out of touch. (actually, I think it does make us backward and out of touch)
So… when are we going to get recycle boxes in the sanctuary (and classrooms!) to collect those worship folders?? 🙂
Thanks, Liz! We’ll get recycle boxes very soon…they are long overdue. For what its worth, we have a volunteer who comes through the sanctuary and collects everything that’s left in the pews. All of that gets recycled through our office system. So you’re better off leaving it in the pew right now than putting it in the garbage can. (Although I hope our volunteer doesn’t read this…I just gave him more work!) 🙂
Amen Liz! Whenever I read Genesis and how we are to be stewards of the earth, I remember standing in a copper stip mine in Utah as a little girl and realizing that the *gigantic hole* I was standing in used to be a mountain. And, I don’t think “raping the earth” is too harsh. In some places, that’s exactly what’s happening.
Thanks for mentioning the green hospital Gregg. I’m very proud of that. And, you can park your Prius in the green parking spaces any time you want.