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Apr 06, 2011

Observing Earth Day 2011

With Earth Day 2011 on April 22 nearly here, resources are available for observing and recognizing this annual event.

 

“This year Earth Day falls within Holy Week, specifically on Good Friday, a profound co-incidence,” noted Mike Schut, Episcopal Church Economic and Environmental Affairs Officer. “To fully honor Earth Day, we need to reclaim the theology that knows Earth is ‘very good,’ is holy. When we fully recognize that, our actions just may begin to create a more sustainable, compassionate economy and way of life.”

 

He added, “And on Good Friday, the day we mark the crucifixion of Christ, God in the flesh, might we suggest that when Earth is degraded, when species go extinct, that another part of God's body experiences yet another sort of crucifixion -- that another way of seeing and experiencing God is diminished?”

 

Earth Day resources are available here: www.episcopalchurch.org/earthday      

 

Among the resources are:

 

National Council of Churches' Earth Day Sunday Resource: The 2011 edition is titled “Where Two or More are Gathered: Eco-Justice as Community.”

http://nccecojustice.org/resources/index.php#earthdaysundayresources 

 

Earth Ministry’s Worship Aids: homilies, hymns, prayers, litanies, sample worship services, etc.

http://earthministry.org/resources/worship-aids 

 

The Episcopal Ecological Network’s Liturgical Resources: sample creation season services, litanies, liturgies, service bulletins and related materials.

http://eenonline.org/reflect/liturgy.htm

 

Earth Day Network: educational resources for all ages, including lesson plans for "green schools" projects.

http://www.earthday.org/education

 

GreenFaith's Resource Center: resources related to worship, education and spiritual practices.

http://greenfaith.org/resource-center/spirit

 

One Year Anniversary of the Gulf Oil Spill: The Deepwater Horizon disaster erupted onto the national scene on April 20, 2010. The following resources connect Earth Day with the spill.

http://afterthespill.com/faith-work-on-the-oil-spill/

http://urj.org/webinars/archive

http://uuministryforearth.org/2011-ED-GulfCoastSupplement

 

For more info contact Schut at

 

The Episcopal Church welcomes all who worship Jesus Christ in 109 dioceses and three regional areas in 16 nations.  The Episcopal Church is a member province of the worldwide Anglican Communion. 

 

MORE RESOURCES

Timothy Goldman’s “Meeting God in a Faith Garden,” the story of the transformation of one parishioner’s labor of love into St.Timothy’s Faith & Grace Garden, an intergenerational community ministry, supplying fresh produce to local food pantries and the area food bank.

 

Mayordomía Ambiental” offered in Spanish, Mario Rodríguez’s reflection on the theological imperitives calling us to save our planet from the abuses and excesses of the human race.

 

Fletcher Harper’s "Greening Our Faith – Putting Belief into Action" is a menu of opportunities designed to help congregational leaders take the first steps towards developing an ongoing environmental ministry.

 

“Faith in Action,” the story of how Messiah-St. Bartholomew’s Development Center partnered with Chicago municipal and advocacy agencies to expand its services to include a community garden program.

 

Other resources related to congregational engagement in Caring for Creation include recent Vital Posts blogs by Anne Ditzler, “Transition Towns…and Churches,” Miguel Escobar “Blessing (and welcoming) the bikes,” and me “Earth Hour 2011: Turn Out the Lights.”

 

During April we’ve scheduled two VP Talks related to mission and sustainability. On Thursday, April 14 at 1:00 pm ET, Tracey Lind, dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Cleveland and Richard Horton, chair of Trinity’s Green Team offer, “Creating a Sustainable Community.”  They’ll share how they see sustainability as a tool for evangelism and church growth as well as an economic engine for the rebuilding of a city and region, and the faith community’s role in that rebuilding.