Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Nathan Bourne and Carole Renselaer
What does it mean to be the church right now?
To be the church means to be the Body of Christ, Christ’s hands and feet in the world. We often think about being the church in relationship to other humans--caring for the least, the last, and the lost. That is good and necessary, especially at a time like this, when there is much suffering and need in the world. But our role as the church doesn’t stop at the edges of human need. We are also part of a larger creation--the earth and all the creatures that inhabit it. We are stewards of that creation, God’s caretakers, placed in the garden to tend and nurture it. To be the Body of Christ is to acknowledge our place in that larger whole and to take seriously all the ways we are connected to and dependent on the rest of creation. In the words of the ecologist Aldo Leopold, to be human is to be a “plain member and citizen” of a whole earth community. Today is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, and it’s an opportunity to reflect on the ways we can be the Church by treasuring the gift of God’s creation and caring for our planet. I invite you to read this reflection written by Carole Renselaer on behalf of the Diocesan Earth Care Commission and sign up to get our weekly emails. I also invite you to go outside, to pay attention to the world around you, to revel in the beauty of a spring blissfully unaware of COVID-19, and encounter God reaching out in love through all of creation.
Happy Earth Day,
Nathan Bourne
An Earth Day Reflection
From Carole Renselaer
Almighty God, in giving us dominion over things on earth,
you made us fellow workers in your creation: Give us the
wisdom and reverence so to use the resources of nature,
That no one may suffer from our abuse of them,
and that generations yet to come may continue to praise
you for your bounty; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
~BCP, p 827, A Prayer for the Conservation of Natural Resources
April 22, 2020
Earth’s Day 50th Anniversary
As we celebrate Earth Day’s 50th Anniversary, the Earth Care Commission invites you to think about how you are living and what changes you can make to reduce your impact on the earth. Click here to sign up to receive our weekly emails during the Easter season, where you will find many wonderful prayers and ideas.
Please take time on April 22nd at 8pm to watch on PBS the show Climate Change-the Facts, narrated by Sir David Attenborough known for TV shows such as Blue Planet and Zoo Quest. (the trailer can be found here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p076w7g5.)
The coronavirus (also part of creation) has created so many challenges for all of us (for some more than others). Our prayers go out to all those suffering, and that slowly, as people are healed, may we also realize that our precious Earth needs to be healed too.
Please, blessings, be safe and well.
Carole Renselaer,
on behalf of The Earth Care Commission