“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it.” Psalm 24:1

Happy Eastertide, Friends!

You may have noticed that Easter Day was followed by Earth Day on Monday, April 22nd. This is the closest proximity between Easter and Earth Day since the very first Earth Day was inaugurated in 1970. What a wonderful convergence of celebrating both God’s Creation and Resurrection of Creation through Christ! The renewal, hope and rebirth we are promised in Easter is something that our planet is in desperate need of right now. When God created the world, he gave us the sacred responsibility to be the caretakers of the nature (Gen 1:26), to “till and keep” the garden that is our earth and its resources for future generations (Gen 2:15). Tragically, we have done an abysmal job that has culminated in our current existential crisis of climate change that imperils every dimension of our lives and that of our planet. How can we as Christians bring Easter to the Earth that is suffering from our wanton, reckless abuse, exploitation, consumption, and neglect of its waters, seas, skies, and living creatures?

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and the Episcopal Church’s Task Force on Creation Care launched the Pledge to Care for Creation arising from the call to live as the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement in the Way of Love. The Pledge is a promise to protect and renew this good Earth and all who call it home. It is based on a desire to grow loving, liberating and life-giving relationship with God’s Creation through committing to specific actions, trusting we can do more as the Body of Christ than any person could alone. Here are the three-prongs of the Creation Care Pledge:

• LOVING: We will share our stories of love and concern for the Earth and link with others who care about protecting the sacred web of life.
• LIBERATING: We will stand with those most vulnerable to the harmful effects of environmental degradation and climate change – women, children, poor people and communities of color, refugees, migrants.
• LIFE-GIVING: We will change our habits and choices in order to live more simply, humbly and gently on the Earth.

For each of these categories, we are asked to make specific, actionable commitments. What would it look like if we at Epiphany came together to make a Pledge to Care for Creation? One action we can all get on board with improving our recycling program. You may have noticed that the staff removed the blue recycling bins in February. This was because we were repeatedly contaminating our recycling with food waste (e.g. greasy pizza boxes, used paper plates, and half-full cans of soda). This Sunday, we will re-introduce the recycling bins with improved signage to help us do a better job of distinguishing trash from recycling. See the Fairfax County Recycling Guidelines for more information.

Yet our country’s serious recycling crisis precipitated when China stopped buying the bulk of U.S. recyclables earlier this year means that we must do so much more. The real solution is for us to significantly reduce our waste by consuming less, especially single use plastic products, at church, home, and work. At Epiphany, could we all make a pledge to bring our own travel mugs and reusable water bottles to church on Sunday for coffee hour and meetings? What if we traveled with our own set of utensils and a cloth napkin or hand towel? What if we started composting our food scraps onsite to create a soil amendment for our church landscaping? Imagine what it would look like if we became a zero-waste parish! And this could just be the beginning. We could also start tracking our carbon footprint and improve Epiphany’s energy efficiency. More ideas can be found here.
This Sunday, I will be preaching on why and how we are compelled by the Risen Christ to care for our creation. Afterward, during youth group (aka EYC or Sunday Circle), we are going to discuss our environmental crisis and make individual Pledges to Care for Creation. As Easter people renewed and reborn for mission to love and serve all of God’s creation, we are called to bring about the redemption of the world around us, especially the natural world that has no voice. I urge you all to prayerfully consider making a Pledge to Care for Creationon behalf of yourself and your family and to also discern what we can do as the Body of Christ at Epiphany to be faithful stewards of the good earth entrusted to us. I welcome your prayers, thoughts, and feedback on this important topic. I’m including a prayer below for your daily devotion if you are so moved.

Easter blessings,

Gwynn

Creation Care Prayer: Creator God, in the beginning you made all things and wove them together in interdependence and community. You have called us to tend and care for your creation and all the life within it. Give us wisdom, courage, reverence, strength, and delight in the ministry of Creation Care. Guide us to make right decisions, not only for ourselves but for the whole ecosystem. And show us the way to form more loving, liberating, life-giving relationship with you, with our neighbors and with the earth you made and love. All this we ask in the name of Jesus and in the power of the Spirit. Amen.