Writing
Write down your creation care resolutions for 2022. (Photo by energepic.com from Pexels)
New Year's resolutions notoriously end up broken.
But we are people in covenant with God. Caring for God's creation is part of our covenant. Yes, we can and do fail to uphold our part, but—Good News!—God is faithful and extends to us the grace of beginning again. The New Year signals another grace-filled beginning.
The challenge is great, sometimes overwhelming, but God's Holy Spirit guides and sustains us. Thanks be to God!
Creation Justice ident
Look back at the past year. What actions did you take for the environment? Make a list, personally, with your family, or with a friend and celebrate all that you have done. Challenge yourself to add new actions in the coming year. What have you heard about or seen that you can incorporate into your faith commitment to care for God’s creation and to work for justice?
Start the new year with a new mindset. Along with everyone else, you’ve been pushed into seeing yourself as a “consumer”—that is, one who uses things up and tosses them out. You can make a significant change in yourself and ultimately for the good of the earth by changing the way you think. Explore being a minimalist as a practical and faithful way of being.
You may not think of Martin Luther King, Jr. in relationship to the environment, but corporate and governmental practices that despoil the land or water affect people of color to a far greater degree than richer and whiter communities. King stood against racism, including environmental racism. Caring for creation also means working for justice. Honor his legacy with action on behalf of people of color and indigenous tribes.
According to Project Drawdown, the #3 effective solution for dealing with the climate crisis is to minimize food waste. Some food-waste issues are systemic, but many come down to things individuals and families can do. Plan meals, buy local, buy less, buy in-season, buy organic, store appropriately, use the freezer, reduce the intake of beef and other meat, grow veggies, eat leftovers, make soup and smoothies, compost peelings and ends, share with others. Eat happily, knowing you are helping us all.
Take stock of your energy usage. Contact your utilities to see if they will do an energy audit of your home. Usually, those are free and helpful. Alternatively, you can examine your electric and gas bills, comparing several years of data if possible. Then use the data on an online calculator, such as Energy Use Calculator.com, the carbon footprint calculator from The Nature Conservancy or from Carbon FootPrint.com.
Put your land or your rooftop to work. Contact a community solar provider to see if what you have to offer is a good candidate for them to lease. Community solar programs need space. If you have it, you can benefit financially from the lease and know that others will benefit from your choice to help the economy move to renewables.
Recycle old denim into new insulation. Cotton’s Blue Jeans Go Green repurposes any denim apparel and puts it to good use. Since 2019, the program has diverted 87.5 tons of waste from landfills and processed more than 72,000 denim items in 2021 alone. Shipping is free. Visit their website.
It’s everywhere! It’s everywhere! Plastic pollution threatens so much of our lives and especially our oceans. It’s time to advocate for systemic change. Check out the bill that is before Congress now: Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act. Write to your Senators and Representatives. For more incentive, visit breakfreefromplastic.org.
Every day 27,000 trees lose their lives to make toilet tissue. Some companies clear-cut virgin forests for their products, which diminishes the forests’ natural systems for sequestering carbon and helping all of us breathe. Switch to a sustainable TP alternative—bamboo, which can be harvested every three months. If you care, find a way to help here.
Reuse Christmas and other greeting cards on gifts to be mailed instead of tying bows that will be crushed. Cut out the designs you like and reuse them for gift tags or add them to sturdy backing for new ornaments or collages. Be creative with the creativity of others.
John Wesley's Covenant Prayer
I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.
The United Methodist Creation Justice Movement is providing these Tips
as a tool to equip church members, families, and individuals to respond to God's call to care for creation and do justice with our neighbors.
For more about the UM Creation Justice Movement, go to umcreationjustice.org.