November Tips
My neighborhood is called Cherokee Park. Of course, no Cherokees live here. They were all forcibly removed on the Trail of Tears years ago. Shoving Cherokees and other native peoples to the margins, the rest of us lost sight of them as neighbors—and we also lost their wisdom of living in tune with the natural world.
As we enter the season of Thanksgiving, based on the story of first peoples helping newcomers survive, let us honor the gifts of our Indigenous siblings today and support their sacred efforts to restore harmony with nature.
Tips for November 2022
Creation Justice ident
Our United Methodist Social Principles “affirm the traditional wisdom found within Indigenous communities, particularly the emphasis that native and first peoples have placed on living in harmony and balance with the earth and other animals as well as the need to protect the air, land and water.” Find out whose land you live on and research the culture and environmental practices of your Indigenous neighbors.
Learn from the wealth of knowledge Indigenous people have, including methods of managing agro-ecological systems and forests, their tradition of stewardship, and their reverence for the natural world. Explore why they are speaking out more about creation justice; delve into the legacy of harm from animal-agriculture. Consider where faith calls you to action.
Pipelines carrying oil and gas are notorious for the damage they can cause (more than 8,000 incidences since 1986). New pipelines perpetuate dependence upon fossil fuels. Indigenous people are often on the frontlines protesting and drawing attention to the danger. Learn about the proposed replacement for Line 5 that runs through the Great Lakes and through tribal communities. Speak up during this public comment period.
Only 15% of all discarded electronic devices is recycled. Lead, mercury, cadmium, nickel, beryllium, and zinc from e-waste can leech into soil or into the water supply, harming plant and human life. Browse for “electronics recycling” or “e-waste disposal” to find options nearby. Or as a church, when you find a company, arrange an e-waste recycle drop-off event and promote it to congregation and community. Here’s one example.
Read the labels when buying clothes. Avoid harmful chemicals and harm to the earth. Organic cotton bypasses the pesticides and excessive use of water that are part of traditional cotton. Look for Oeko-tex 100 and GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard), certifications that assure harmful chemicals were not used and sustainability practices are forefront. Check out this score card of the chemical management policies of major clothing brands.
Drought is increasingly affecting all of us. Treat water as sacred. Avoid wasting it. Take shorter showers, turn off the flow of water until you are ready to rinse, or switch to a low-flow shower head. Little things you can do factor into dealing with the big changes of climate change.
Replace liquid soaps with bars. That switch avoids petroleum as an ingredient, nixes single-use plastic, lowers emissions from transportation, reduces energy in manufacturing, and still does the job of cleaning. Browse “bar soap brands” or “shampoo bars,” or shop EarthHero.com.
If you love a bargain, consider this “two-for”: Plant trees and preserve biodiversity. Trees by themselves, because they capture carbon dioxide, help address climate change. Planting trees also contributes to protecting endangered species, restoring habitats for flora and fauna, and improving soil stability in degraded areas, allowing nature to recover. Support the efforts of One Tree Planted.
Take a step toward sustainability at Thanksgiving dinner. Use cloth napkins and save a tree. Paper napkins can be composted. (They were once alive as trees.) Use your leftovers. Compost your food waste. If you don’t have access to a backyard composter or a compost service, check out the new compost machines. Be conscious of what the earth needs and what you can do—and give thanks.
Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday are part of our culture of relentless advertising and overconsumption, which ultimately fills our landfills. Be thoughtful about what you buy and from whom. Discern wants versus needs. Look for environmentally focused companies with ethical practices. Consider packaging, durability, and sustainability in the products you choose.
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.