Caring for God’s good creation

By THE REV. ELIZABETH COLTON, Pastor, St. Paul Congregational United Church of Christ
The Oskaloosa Herald

OSKALOOSA April 21, 2008 10:58 am

— April 22 is Earth Day, a time to honor and care for our planet, its creatures and its resources. Many faith traditions have set aside specific days or developed special worship resources to help congregations focus on our care for the earth as a spiritual practice. This year in the United Church of Christ, for example, we will celebrate “Integrity of Creation Sunday” on April 20.
As people of faith, we are called to be stewards of God’s good creation: to preserve our natural resources and to use them responsibly, to value and respect all living things, and to ensure that all who dwell on this earth may do so without threat to their health or safety.
More and more we are coming to understand that “global warming” or “climate change” is at least in part the result of humankind’s ignorance of, or lack of concern for, the effects of our increasingly industrialized society’s impact on the environment. We have seen, for instance, how greenhouse gas emissions, toxic waste dumps, and the overuse of fertilizers have adversely affected not only the earth’s environment, but also our children’s health. Indiscriminate deforestation has negatively impacted our atmosphere and our delicate ecological equilibrium. More and more species — all of which are God’s beloved creatures — are threatened with extinction.
As a result of our lack of care for our earth, God’s sacred creation cries out for restoration; surely God weeps. For we have forgotten that the life force of creation exists in a balanced, interrelated web, that there is a profound relationship among all living beings, the natural elements and all the matter of the universe. Since all parts of creation show forth the image of God, each part of creation is sacred and good, and so deserves not only care, but also appreciation and celebration. Because all of creation praises God, we too praise God by caring for creation.
Caring for God’s good creation on an individual level involves more conscious attention to energy conservation efforts such as recycling, switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs, remembering to take reusable cloth bags on our shopping trips, insisting on energy-efficient appliances, improving the insulation of our homes, decreasing water usage, and learning about organic and sustainable agriculture. Although doing these things may at first seem to require more effort on our part, it may help to think of them as spiritual practices that show forth God’s praise, and as ways of doing God’s work in the world, as we are all called to do.
As congregations we can work to learn more about interrelated local and global ecological and social issues on a larger scale and use our prophetic voice to call attention to areas of greatest need. We can advocate for improved environmental oversight and responsible governmental regulation. We can set an example for our own members and for our community by becoming “green congregations” through recycling efforts and energy conservation in our buildings.
Caring for God’s good creation also means that we advocate for those whose lives have been most negatively affected by our lack of concern for the environment. Commercial hazardous waste sites are often located in the neighborhoods of racial minorities and the poor, affecting their health and their quality of life. Global warming and its accompanying climate changes have devastating effects on poor and vulnerable communities as rising seas swamp island nations, and floods and storms threaten coastlines, displacing entire villages of indigenous people. These people have suffered the most, yet benefited the least from our irresponsible environmental behavior. They are among “the least of these” whom Jesus calls us to serve. Let us become caring stewards of God’s good creation.