Tomorrow is Earth Day and as Christians we can do our part to express love for the planet which God created in love. While we were away this weekend we walked across the hills of our friends' farm and stopped for a moment to read the words of Genesis which describe Gods' work of creation, each day punctuated with the words "it was good." The story of Genesis chapter one reminds us that before the creation of humans God valued other creatures and the earth itself.
What might we do tomorrow? Using the clothesline instead of the dryer is easy enough. Minimizing our incidental car driving even though some of us are required to commute. Speaking with our children about simple acts of conservation that will make a difference. Walking through the neighbourhood and collecting some of the accumulated winter trash. Making sure we use the compost bucket or backyard composter. Asking ourselves how we will minimize our carbon footprint in the year ahead and "sealing the deal" with a prayer of thanksgiving and commitment.
A few weeks ago Earth Hour was a huge success in the GTA, with hundreds of thousands of households participating. We can choose to be Adams (literally earth person) and Eve's for not just an hour, but 24/7.
I would love to hear what you are going to do.
What might we do tomorrow? Using the clothesline instead of the dryer is easy enough. Minimizing our incidental car driving even though some of us are required to commute. Speaking with our children about simple acts of conservation that will make a difference. Walking through the neighbourhood and collecting some of the accumulated winter trash. Making sure we use the compost bucket or backyard composter. Asking ourselves how we will minimize our carbon footprint in the year ahead and "sealing the deal" with a prayer of thanksgiving and commitment.
A few weeks ago Earth Hour was a huge success in the GTA, with hundreds of thousands of households participating. We can choose to be Adams (literally earth person) and Eve's for not just an hour, but 24/7.
I would love to hear what you are going to do.
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At Earth Day celebrations with the Guiding movement on Saturday the girls all pledged to do something. Some will turn out lights, others will pick up garbage and others pledged to try and get their parents to use cloth bags. All went home with a spider plant which helps to filter the air.
Our plan is to plant more of these types of plants and to use our bicycles more.
At school all month we have been encouraging boomerang lunches (everything you bring to school goes home with you)Students have also been encouraged to have litterless lunches. We have cut down on our garbage by nearly 50%! That's significant. Happy Earth Day!
It is heartwarming that the school system and traditional movements such as Guiding are taking the lead in teaching children a new way of thinking and acting. Thanks Nancy.
As a church community yesterday during worship, we talked about how we can change our way of thinking about our natural world. We live in culture which mostly keep us separate from the natural world. Most of us have no idea where our food comes from or our other resources and whether our extraction of these resources are causing the suffering of other people or of the earth.
As a church community we also made promises. My promise this year is to plant a vegetable garden. I will start out small, but it is a task that I have never done before, and I have lots of experienced people around that are willing to help.
There are lots of things we already do, and although they are inconvenient, we know that it helps. I also think it is good for our kids to see that we are trying.
It's a challenge to live earth-friendly sometimes, but we do our best and hope that we are teaching important lessons to our children.
Thanks Deb, A garden of any kind is such a hopeful act and a vegetable garden just makes sense, if you have the room. The Christian life is full of promises, so that was a great idea to get your congregation to make their own covenants for earth care. Now if Saskatchewan could get beyond those pesky snowstorms!
Our girls now love weekend dinners by candlelight. They flip off every light in the house, and collect the candles. A fun way to eat together and help the earth. We committed as a family to lighten the laundry. No more lazily putting stuff in the hamper rather than back in the closet. What a huge difference. (Mom's energy is conserved too)and I run the wash at night, during non peak hours.
Hi Laura.I was reading that wearing jeans three times, washing in cold water, and using the line adds up to a considerable energy saving. A little more challenging if one's child is playing in the mud.
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