No, really…it isn’t easy being green
January 22, 2009
In his inaugural address on Tuesday, President Barack Obama warned Americans that the road out of economic crisis, war, and environmental degradation would be an arduous one to travel. As Christians, we who are told to take up our cross daily should understand best the sacrifice and struggle of living justly and compassionately, just as well as we should understand the sacred reward of doing so.
Unfortunately, we often fail at taking up our crosses, and we require God’s forgiveness, grace, and guidance to persevere. Let Tri Robinson’s timely post on the sacrifice of caring for creation bless you with some of that grace and guidance as we are called upon, once again, to persevere.
Green your Day of Service
January 15, 2009
In 1994, Congress declared the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday (Monday, January 19) to be a day of national volunteer service. This year, President-elect Obama has kick-started the day with his own call for Americans to continue in that volunteer service throughout the year.
Whether you serve on your own, with your family, office, or church community this Monday, consider choosing a service opportunity that supports and nurtures God’s creation. For instance, participate in a neighborhood trash clean-up or in clearing invasive brush from local park trails.
To learn more about the National Day of Service, and to find service opportunities in your area, visit http://www.mlkday.gov/ or http://usaservice.org/content/home/.
After your day of service, post a comment about what you got to do, and inspire others to continue in service all year long!
Seeing the Past and the Future along a Texas Highway
January 14, 2009
Over the holidays we loaded the kids in the car and made our way from Texas to a family gathering in New Mexico. It’s been decades since I last made that drive, so I wasn’t expecting the site that greeted us in West Texas. Expecting miles and miles of rugged and mindnumbingly boring terrain, we encountered instead the juxtaposition of the past and the future.
Across the expanses of cotton fields, there rose, side by side, oil wells and wind turbines. Little did I know that Texas is the country’s leading producer of wind energy and that I was driving through the second largest wind farm in the country. What I saw simply were hundreds of turbines spinning steadily while towering over still oil pumpjacks In short, a spectacular sight to give one pause. Read more
Stewardship in the Snow
January 13, 2009
It’s snowing again.
Since moving to Illinois, I’ve had to get used to the snow, and, if I want to keep my sanity, even develop a love for it. I love how it pacifies things: how everything gets still and quiet and slow under the snow, so that even the slightest movement from a bird or squirrel stands out from the rest of the world in stark and startling contrast. When it snows in my neighborhood, people stand in their driveways listening to it whisper, and kids play ice hockey on the frozen pond down the street. A camaraderie develops between neighbors as we shovel out our houses and finally have something to talk about: the snow.
All that shoveling-out-our-houses has made me wonder, however, if we’re counteracting God’s beautiful miracle of snow with actions that are destructive to Creation. I’m talking about de-icing. That final step in the snow-removal process. Pouring little white granules on my driveway and front steps makes me wonder, what is it? How does it work? Where does it go? What else does it destroy besides ice?
I found a few answers about salt and other de-icing compounds in these two articles. The bottom line? What we use to keep our walk and driveways ice-free can harm plants and animals, and eventually run off and exacerbate pollution or sedimentation in local waterways. Our best response to snowy days is to keep up with good old-fashioned shoveling (preferably with actual shovels, to keep from polluting the air with emissions from snow blowers or vehicular plows)–protecting God’s earth with the muscles and the energy he gave us.
“Glory be to God: for Creation!”
January 12, 2009
I recently learned that in Ethiopia, Christians sing a prayer of praise to God that worships him for the whole chronology of his mighty works. So, naturally, the call-and-response song begins with what God began with: Creation.
“Glory be to God: for Creation!” Read more
