This April 22 marks the 45th anniversary of Earth Day. Why not celebrate the occasion with a special Earth Sunday or Creation Sunday worship on the April 19 or April 26? You can make it a celebration of the natural environment, or possibly a blessing of the seeds, farms, orchards, gardens and fields. Why not preach on how we must take better care of God’s good earth. Here are some places to get ideas and resources.
Palm/Passion Sunday provides plenty of opportunities to lift up themes of creation and creation care, says the reflection from lutheransrestoringcreation.org, which offers a weekly commentary to bring preaching “down to earth.”
Greening your church provides a wonderful opportunity to make qualitative shifts in your church life. You can adopt practices that save money; explore new perspectives on faith, worship and spirituality that will renew and energize your members; engage Christian education students of all ages; and involve new people in your ministry! (Photo by Michael Coghlan, used by Creative Commons License)
“When you dig to the bottom of it,” climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe says, “the problem many people have with climate change is not with the science. The problem is that people believe climate change is not consistent with their ideological values, political values, or faith values.” Read more of Hayhoe’s perspectives in this article. (Photo: […]
“A Christian who does not protect Creation, who does not let it grow, is a Christian who does not care about the work of God,” Pope Francis declared in a homily. Human sinfulness has led to environmental degradation, and he called for Christians to care. (Photo by Semilla Luz, used by Creative Commons license)
With simple steps that are easy to implement, you can make your office more energy efficient and cut down on waste. How many can you achieve by next week? From LutheransRestoringCreation.org. (Photo by Zhao!, used by Creative Commons license)
Blessed Earth and Dr. Matthew Sleeth offer a twelve-part study series with two films “Hope for Creation” and “Hope for Humanity” designed to help disciples dig deeply into issues of creation care. Check it out here. (Photo: Michael 1952, Creative Commons)
Creation care doesn’t have to be difficult. Here are five simple ways you can do a better job of caring for the earth. A little bit of effort goes a long way! (Photo Steve Snodgrass, Creative Commons)
Join the hymn, yes, but also minister to God’s creation as priests, reminds Tom Mundahl in his Lectionary reflection for Dec. 28 on LutheransRestoringCreation.org. “The coming of God in Christ at Christmas changes everything.” (Photo by The Bees, used by Creative Commons license)
Climate scientist and evangelical Christian Katherine Hayhoe discusses climate change, why our faith demands action, and the reasons why we must move beyond politics and ideological arguments in this recent interview with Ann Neumann in Guernica. (Photo: John LeGear, Creative Commons)
