September Creation Care
Photo: David Selbert (Pexels)
Quiet times in nature often grace us with stunning reminders of the magnificence of God's creation. To encounter such is a moment of awe and worship. Our United Methodist Social Principles remind us, "We affirm that all creation belongs to God.... Human beings, nonhuman animals, plants, and other sentient and nonsentient beings participate in the community of creation, and their flourishing depends upon the care of all God's creation."
Creation Justice ident
Often a bit cooler, September is a good time to get outdoors. Find a trail to explore. Walk early morning or at dusk to see what critters might be about also. Find a high place with a view. Soak up the beauty and fresh air. Arrange for a slow boat of some type for a lazy trip on the water with an eye toward seeing the inhabitants. After dark find a place where the stars are bright. Allow God’s creation to bless you.
Trees produce oxygen, clean and cool the air, and absorb carbon dioxide, lessening the effects of burning fossil fuels. Assess your space at home and at church for new trees. The earth needs us to plant more! Tree planting season is optimum September through March.
Make your toothbrush kinder to the environment. Choose a bamboo toothbrush to avoid adding to the landfill plastic, which will never degrade. Or support a business that creates new toothbrushes (and razors) from plastic collected from coastlines and waterways to keep it from polluting the ocean (Preserve Ocean Plastic Initiative).
How much food waste do you create in one week? Use a bucket with a lid and fill it with food scraps you would ordinarily dump in the garbage or down the disposal. At the end of your challenge week weigh or eyeball the pile and imagine 52 weeks’ worth of that amount in one year. Explore alternatives available to you to avoid adding to the landfill and creating methane.
It’s lunchtime! Do you hop in your car and head to an eatery? Lunchtime traffic is the third “rush hour”! Could you walk somewhere, brown bag your food, or take four colleagues in one car? Lighten your stress. Lighten the load of carbon emissions that stress the earth.
The best way to deal with plastic packaging waste is to avoid it. For example, rather than buying individual servings of yogurt for lunches, purchase the largest size you can and at home parcel out portions into reusable containers. Consider not only dollar savings but also look for savings that help the earth.
One quarter-pound beef burger requires enough water to fill 10 bathtubs. Simply swapping one a month for a veggie burger would add up to 5,400 gallons of water saved. Producing turkey burgers is also less costly to our water supply. What you eat matters to the planet.
Energy justice focuses on assuring that everyone—everyone—has safe, affordable, and sustainable energy. To understand the scope of the injustice and to join other United Methodists in righting the wrong, explore Just Energy 4 All, which is sponsored by United Women in Faith. You can advocate for energy justice.
Who on your list of local, state, and national candidates are clearly champions for creation justice? What’s been their track record? What are their promises? If that information is not readily available, send an email and ask candidates where they stand. To make significant change in the current trajectory toward an uninhabitable planet, positive action at all levels of government is critical.
Explore the possibilities of adding solar panels to your church. One church member donated the cost of the installation as his pledge. Another church offset costs with grants, another by inviting members to “buy” a panel. While some churches’ panels produce only a portion of their energy needs; others produce enough to pass along to the grid. Solar on the roof is a witness to all.