Creation Justice Tips
“God so loved the world…” Most often Christians hear John 3:16 in relationship to personal salvation. But this Christmas look again at what God loves enough to send God’s own Son—the world. God’s own creation! All of creation, not just humans. If God so loved the world, then we also need to. Choose at least one aspect of creation and love it through your actions and advocacy.
With COVID more of us will be doing our Christmas shopping online. Turn your shopping green by exploring companies that are environmentally focused, that give back a percentage of profits to environmental organizations, and that have ethical practices, as well as great products that won’t quickly end up in a landfill. If you want some ideas, visit westendumc.org/green-giving-guide.
Shipping boxes easily recycle because cardboard is clean, easy to reprocess, and every ton of it that's reclaimed saves 17 trees. Simply break the boxes down flat so that they don’t take up so much room in the recycling trucks that they require extra trips, use up more energy, and eat up the good you hoped for by recycling in the first place.
Buy children’s gifts with sustainability in mind. Will the toy actually sustain the child’s interest? Is playing with it 90% kid and 10% toy—or 90% toy and only 10% kid? Is it made of sustainable materials? Will it be something that can eventually be passed along to another child?
Invest in a young person’s future. Purchase stock in renewable energy (solar or wind, for example) and give it to your teenager or young adult. Take the opportunity to talk about the hopes you have for their future that they live securely in a sustainable world. Throughout the year, as the stock reports come, the two of you will have opportunity to talk about what you value both in terms of money management and care for the Earth.
Give Fair Trade presents this Christmas. Buying Fair Trade provides the creators—farmers, laborers, and artisans—fair prices and stable incomes, reduces poverty, betters working conditions, and promotes environmentally sustainable practices. It’s a just and good deal for all! If you like coffee, explore the Velasquez Family Coffee website (vfamilycoffee.com). There is a United Methodist connection there!
Stuff that stocking sustainably. Add a shampoo bar, a silicone reusable stretch lid or a beeswax wrap for leftovers, a bracelet made of plastic recovered from an ocean, or a packet of seeds for native plants, wildflowers, or heirloom tomatoes, for example. Little gifts like these come with big benefits for Earth and an opportunity to introduce someone else to creation care.
Use and reuse gift bags rather than wrapping paper. While it might be fun to rip and tear into a wrapped present, the fancy paper itself is most likely to be laminated with plastic, foil, glitter, or other non-paper materials that contaminate a recycle bin. The short fibers in tissue paper make it not recyclable too. So, go for the bags!
Reuse shiny Christmas bows and ribbons. They do not recycle because they are a composite of plastic and paper and a no-no in the recycling bin. Ribbons are notorious for snagging recycling machinery. So, reuse. Make a game of tossing the bows into a large paper bag to save for another season. When the bow or ribbon is truly dead, you’ll need to trash it.
Add a new box of crayons to your young children’s stocking. After the big day is over, ask the children to gather all their old crayons. Work with the little ones to safely melt the nubs and turn them into a special 12-Days of Christmas candle. Light it each of the 12 days, perhaps at supper or bedtime prayers, and talk about celebrating the true gifts that God has given us. Make reusing the 12-Days candle a part of your tradition. Browse the internet and YouTube videos for how to make the candle from crayons.
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.
Crys Zinkiewicz
Crys Zinkiewicz (Facebook photo)
Crys Zinkiewicz is a former United Methodist Publishing House editor and a 2019 graduate of the Earthkeepers program of UMC Mission. This article is republished with permission from the UMC Creation Justice newsletter. Subscribe to UMC Creation Justice Tips.