Due to the present circumstances we offer here a few Earth Day resources that are normally distributed at the church.
All creation is the Lord’s, and we are responsible for the ways in which we use and abuse it. Water, air, soil, minerals, energy resources, plants, animal life, and space are to be valued and conserved because they are God’s creation and not solely because they are useful to human beings. God has granted us stewardship of creation. We should meet these stewardship duties through acts of loving care and respect.
– UMC Book of Discipline Social Principles, ¶ 160. I. THE NATURAL WORLD
Earth Day is 50 years old this year. The emphasis of Earth Day 2020 is on climate change.
Every day, but especially during April, focus on appreciation of the Earth and reflect upon
our behavior and how it affects our planet. Plant trees; avoid using pesticides; dispose of
hazardous materials properly; save water. God’s gifts to our planet are the millions of species that we know, and many more that remain to be discovered.
We are God’s stewards. . .
Nearby events to help resolve climate change:
- Individual events have been canceled, but look for Household Hazardous Waste Collections once the Corona Virus restrictions are lifted.
- In October (and April), National Prescription Drug Take Back Day for unused medications (prescription and over the counter) and used SHARPS. Info available later.
All creation is the Lord’s. . .
We are God’s stewards. . .
- No other state in the U.S. can match what California offers in terms of natural beauty, miles of coastline and idyllic weather. It’s easy to see why we love living in California. But the California we love is threatened. Climate change is already contributing to increased air pollution, deforestation, ocean acidification, more wildfires, droughts, heat waves and sea-level rise, which threaten our health, our livelihoods and our future. Scientists and other experts agree that we need to reduce carbon pollution if we are to avoid the worst effects of climate change, and there’s no time to waste. We have to find ways to work together to make real substantive changes to protect what we have today and preserve our natural resources for future generations. – Energy Upgrade California, 2020
- How long does it take to decompose? Products we use daily last anywhere from three weeks to, perhaps, a million years. Okay, who knows for sure? But it may be close. Check out these statistics, and be cautious about their use and disposal. Banana peel, 3-4 weeks; orange peel, 6 months; cardboard, 2 months; newspaper, 6 weeks; cigarette butts, 10-12 years; tinned steel can, 50 years; aluminum can, 200-500 years; Styrofoam cups, 50 years; disposable diapers, 550 years; plastic bags, 20-1,000 years; plastic bottles, 450 years; monofilament fishing line, 600 years; glass, 1-2 million years. The above statistics refer to disintegration time when items are exposed to sunlight. In landfills, time is extended by years. – breathela.org
- If all human activity of releasing greenhouse gases stopped today, it would take hundreds of years for the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to drop back to pre-industrial levels.
- In California, much of the state’s energy still comes from our dependence on fossil fuels like natural gas and oil. When fossil fuels are burned, carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases are released into the air. These greenhouse gases, such as methane, are also released during fossil fuel extraction and transportation. Carbon dioxide isn’t harmful at natural levels, but too much can act like a layer of plastic wrap around the Earth that lets in heat from the sun but doesn’t let it escape. The atmosphere acts like a greenhouse, which is why these emissions are called greenhouse gases. – Energy Upgrade California, 2020
All creation is the Lord’s. . .
We are God’s stewards. . .
Why recycle?
On Midway Island, which is halfway between California and Japan surrounded by thousands of miles of Pacific Ocean lies the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” (The North Pacific Gyre). The decomposed carcass of an albatross chick’s flesh had fallen away to reveal a rib cage filled with plastic bottle caps, disposable cigarette lighters, even a toothbrush. Thousands of albatross mothers mistake tiny plastic pieces for food floating on the surface of the ocean.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of marine debris (our litter) in the North Pacific Ocean. The microplastics of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch can simply make the water look like a cloudy soup – a soup that also includes items such as fishing gear and shoes, computer monitors and LEGOs, and fishing nets. Oceanographers and ecologists recently discovered that about 70% of marine debris actually sinks to the bottom of the ocean. Debris in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch comes from land-based activities in North America and Asia. Trash from the coast of North America takes about six years to reach the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, while trash from Japan and other Asian countries takes about a year.
– Plastic Free, Beth Terry
All creation is the Lord’s. . .
We are God’s stewards. . .
Just for kids! Some fun ways for young ones and their family to enjoy God’s beautiful creation:
- Star picnic – stay up late on a summer night. Enjoy snacks while sitting on a big blanket, and see how many constellations you can find.
- Butterfly book – see how many kinds of butterflies you can find in an afternoon. Look up their names, and draw and color them in a notebook.
- Nature rubbings – take some paper and crayons outside. Put your paper against a tree and color over the bumpy bark. Try coloring over different leaves.
- Cloud stories – lie down outside and look for shapes in the fluffy clouds. Make up stories about them. (from Pockets, June 2011)
- Great interactive website resource for young caretakers of God’s creation: Recycle City (simple ways to save the environment) —
www.epa.gov/recyclecity/. (from Pockets, June 2011)
All creation is the Lord’s. . .
We are God’s stewards. . .
Meditate on these:
- I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. — The Apostles’ Creed
- Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great. You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills. By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation; they sing among the branches. From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all. – Psalm 104:1a, 10, 12-13, 24a,b
- Fifty or 60 years from now many of us won’t be here, but our grandkids or their grandkids are at risk for losing the privilege and pleasure of enjoying God’s earthly gifts – the joy of swimming in safe oceans, chasing butterflies, and catching frogs for show and tell. Sadly, future childhoods may be more about forest fires, drought and consequences of an ever-weakening ozone layer. In their future, young students may write term papers about what wasn’t done by previous generations to protect the world they inherited. – Jessica Stonecypher, Abbess of the Wesleyan Order of Saint Francis, in United Methodist Communications, April 2015
- More reflections about creation can be found in The United Methodist Hymnal. Read (not sing) and meditate on the texts found in the following hymn numbers: 144, 145, and 147-152
Prayer for a Changing World
“God, give us the grace to help heal this world and to reverse the effects of climate change. The seas are weeping and the land is in grief. But we are called to be signs of hope in this world, to be co-creators with God of a global community where the earth is respected and cherished. We ask our Creator to give us discernment and to guide us as we become active members of the human family, working with our sisters and brothers to change the destructive trends that are causing global warming. We have been given a great gift, the richness of Creation, and as we celebrate the Earth on this day, we pledge to protect this gift of God. Hear us, Creator, and be with us every day as we seek to restore and preserve your Creation. Amen.” – From the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, excerpted from their “Litany for a Changing World”