Holy Week and Easter tend to dart around the calendar from year to year, thanks to the lunar connection, although in 2011 Easter is just about as late as it can be (April 25th is the latest possible date.) So this year Earth Day, which has the fixed date of April 22nd, and Good Friday coincide for the first time ever. Some have suggested that this is fitting because as an innocent Jesus was crucified by Roman authorities, we humans are torturing the planet to death. http://www.ctsnet.edu/files/documents/GoodFridayGoodEarthDay.pdf It is also meaningful in that a year ago this week an oil well in the Gulf of Mexico ruptured and began spewing crude, becoming North America's worst environmental disaster. For years many congregations including ours have celebrated Earth Sunday, usually the Sunday closest to Earth Day. This year we will wait until May 1st since pre-empting Easter didn't seem like a wise choice.
I do hope that there can be a note of resurrection in our Earth Sunday acknowledgement. Yes, we make a mess of our earthly home, but we have the choice as people of faith to make a difference in the care of creation. I share again the painting by aboriginal artist Blake Debassige who lives on Manitoulin Island. This painting called The Tree of Life is a crucifix but the cross is a tree festooned with living creatures. It hangs in the chapel at the Anishnabe Spiritual Centre and while living in Northern Ontario I sat in that space on a number of occasions and quietly contemplated the image.
There is a concern that interest in Earth Day is fading, even as the assault on the ecosystems of the planet continues. Do you still care about Earth Day and Earth Sunday? Are you uncomfortable with the connection between Good Friday and Earth Day or welcome it?
2 comments:
As with most large scale issues of this nature, it's only top of mind to the collective consciousness if the media places it there for a sustained period of time.
In this respect, our mainstream media really does the public a great disservice. Getting our global, environmental house in order should take top priority over concentrating on things like the Royal wedding, or Lindsay Lohan's next court date.
This from reader Anne, who is a United Church minister:
Hi David
Thanks for your blog pic re EDay and GFri.I am doing a service that combines both.
We also do a walk from one point to the other after service as we move from the location of the GFri. service to the location of the sunrise service(which rotates annually btw)
As we walk we stop twice to listen to scripture, think, and pray.
Every year I do something different and try to make it as concrete as possible.
This year I will be focusing on trees and the trees we will pass. We get a dead stick to start and at the end everyone will get a tree plug to plant at home.
To finish up I have a great book called "Some my best friends are trees" and we will sing Isaiah 55 "and the trees of the field will clap their hands as we go out in joy."
I am looking forward to it.
Happy Easter to you and Ruth.
Anne
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