Earth Day is celebrated every year on April 22. It is a time to take stock of our lives: Are we acting as good stewards of God’s creation? What more can we do, with God’s help?
A resolution at General Convention in 2022 committed The Episcopal Church to a goal of net carbon neutrality in its operations by 2030, and encouraged parishes and dioceses to do the same, “through reducing emissions from travel, energy use, increasing energy efficiency in buildings, and purchasing offsets from investigated, responsible and ethical partners.”
The phrase “net carbon neutrality” may be unfamiliar. It means eliminating or offsetting all of our emissions from fossil fuel use – to stop contributing to climate change. Please consider forming a team to discern the next steps for your parish.
Here are some resources for discernment and engagement on that journey:
Read: Living in an Icon, by Robert Gottfried & Frederick W. Krueger, shows how contemplation of God’s Creation inspires and empowers us to be better stewards. Braiding Sweetgrass, by the Native American biologist Robin Wall Kimmerer, will help you see the beauty of ecology and how every act is potentially sacred. Finding the Mother Tree, by forester and scientist Suzanne Simard, will help you understand how trees communicate and how much about Creation we human beings are just now beginning to perceive.
Watch: Katharine Hayhoe, a climate scientist and gifted communicator, explains in a TED talk why it is so important to wean ourselves off fossil fuels as soon as possible, moving to clean energy, and how important it is to talk about why climate change matters to us as human beings and as Christians. Look up Prof. Hayhoe’s books and articles to learn more!
Learn: Did you know the Diocese has a web page devoted to creation care? We also have a monthly newsletter on ways to engage and events to attend – just send an email to sign up. Richard Rohr’s Center for Action and Contemplation offers daily messages that include healthy doses of why Creation Care matters. A “zine” from Sojourners presents Creation Care information in a fun format that’s easy to read, with important discussion questions that let you and your group dig deeper. Katharine Hayhoe’s weekly newsletter also includes the good news along with the not so good.
Partner: Join with others in taking action. Interfaith Power & Light will help you reduce and clean up your energy use – become one of their Cool Congregations! (EPA’s ENERGY STAR for Congregations website is amazingly helpful.) Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake can help with tree planting and water runoff.
Do: Get your energy from the sun and save money – either from panels on your roof or community solar. Replace your gas stove with an electric cooktop, or just add and use an induction burner. Get fresh food from a community-supported agriculture source like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Clagett Farm. Drive less and walk more! Don’t forget to plant and care for native trees in our area!
And pray every day, not just on Earth Day, that God will do miraculous work in helping us care for the world we live in – the world we will leave to our children and grandchildren.
