September- Reconciliation
“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation.”
2 Corinthians 5:18-19
September”s ACTION is Reconciliation. Commit to one Action each week this month. Contact zerowastechurch@gmail.com for more information.
Let’s ACT together this year to restore the fullness of God’s earth.
All living things are members of God’s creation, and all are “good”. Living things on Earth are interrelated and interdependent. Humans were not created to “subdue” the planet, but to protect and grow ecosystems. Just like other life, humans provide a “service”. When human actions lead to disruption of ecological balances, we are instructed by God to reconcile our trespasses. Upholding the ancient values that protect God’s people and the whole of creation must become a core function of the church.
During the last 11 months on this website, we have proposed personal actions that individuals and communities can take to address the ecological imbalances we have caused. In this 12th and final month of the 2018 edition of Restoring God’s Earth: A Year of Personal Action, we focus primarily on actions that individuals and faith communities can undertake in their worship and institutional lives.
Much of our inspiration for this ministry comes from 1) our belief that Jesus did not come only for personal salvation but also to save all of creation, and 2) we are reconciled by God to serve as partners in protecting and restoring our planet home.
Week 1
Acknowledge the urgency of the planetary crisis.
Commit to the use of clean, renewable sources of energy.
Start a community garden.
Week 2
Lift up prayers in personal and public worship for environmental justice.
Commit to energy conservation.
Uproot the political, social, and economic causes of environmental destruction.
Plant native trees in your yard and at church
Week 3
Repent of any acts of greed, overconsumption and waste.
Increase efforts to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
Incorporate caring for the whole earth community into the mission of your church.
Week 4
Start an environmental stewardship committee at your church.
Connect church life with the world outside.
From your utility request an energy audit for your home and church.
Bonus Action!
Update worship resources to include creation care.
Read and study the Green Bible.
Resources
Articles:
Griscom, B.W., Natural climate solutions, PNAS, 114, 11645-11650, (2017).
Steffen, W, et al, Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet, sciencemag.org/content/early/recent 15 January 2015/Page1/10.1126/science.1259855.
Natural Climate Solutions, Nature Conservancy, http://naturalclimatesolutions.org/.
Williams, J, Drawdown’s top ten climate change solutions, https://makewealthhistory.org/2018/06/05/drawdowns-top-ten-climate-change-solutions/
50 ideas for shrinking your carbon footprint, Your personal reduce and offset approach, https://climatecare.org/50-ideas-for-shrinking-your-carbon-footprint/.
Web Resources:
Catanoso, J., https://news.mongabay.com/2017/12/consensus-grows-climate-smart-agriculture-key-to-paris-agreement-goals/.
https://www.episcopalchurch.org/posts/publicaffairs/presiding-bishop-presidents-action-and-paris-climate-accord.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/towardzerowasteraleigh/
George Clifford, Ethical Musings, http://blog.ethicalmusings.com/search?updated-max=2018-07-29T08:00:00-04:00&max-results=4.
Video:
Solving Climate Change: A Blueprint, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs5lV1ELpu0
Books:
Antal, J, Climate Church, Climate World, How People of Faith Must Work for Change, Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, Maryland, 2018.
Cappel, J & Johnson, SM, A Life of Grace for the Whole World, Church Publishing Inc, Atlanta, GA, 2017.
Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming. Penguin Books, 2017.
Gershon, D, Low Carbon Diet, A 30 Day Program to Lose 5000 Pounds, Empowerment Institute, Woodstock, NY, 2006.
Hansen, J. et. al, Young people’s burden: Requirement of negative CO2 emissions. Earth Syst. Dynam., 8, 577-616, doi:10.5194/esd-8-577-2017.
Jurovics, S.A., Hospitable Planet, Faith, Action, and Climate Change, Morehouse Publishing, New York, 2016.
This is part of our RESTORING GOD’S EARTH, A YEAR OF PERSONAL ACTION program; A monthly guide to help individuals learn the many ways they can help care for God’s creation.