Global Warming and God's Covenant with Creation

At Christ Church, one of our parish commitments for Lent both in 2008 and 2009 has been to look for ways that we can be better stewards of the environment. In my sermon on the First Sunday in Lent (March 1) I focused on Lent has a season in which we seek to renew the covenant God created not only with humanity but also with all living creatures. This covenant with all of creation is made clear in Genesis 9:8-17. Notice how many times in a few verses God refers to creatures other than humans.

God said to Noah and to his sons with him, "As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth."

So, how do we renew this covenant and our interdependence with God's creation? At Christ Church we are collecting ideas for what individuals and families have done, continue to do, or will do to take better care of our planet. Understanding our stewardship for creation as a way of re-establishing our covenant with God helps us to understand that reducing our carbon footprint is not simply a social action to reduce global warming. It is also a faithful action of partnership with our Creator to bring wholeness to our home. Simple steps such as changing to compact fluorescent light bulbs, lowering your thermostat to save energy use in winter, walking instead of driving, reducing use of plastic bags, and increasing the amount you recycle become acts of love for creation.

Here's something else you can do. I just signed up to participate in Earth Hour on March 28. Earth Hour began in 2007 when 2.2 million homes and businesses in Sydney, Australia turned off their lights for one hour. In 2008, the movement went global with 50 million homes and businesses in the world turning off their lights for one hour. This year, the goal is for 1 billion people to participate. Earth Hour this year will be on March 28 from 8:30-9:30 PM (in whatever time zone you are in, I believe).

Why not add your name to the list and participate? Go to www.earthhour.org for more information. It's a simple action, really, and it won't make a great deal of practical difference for global warming. But symbolically it is a way we can act globally to make a difference. This is one way we can stretch our community boundaries in order to work interdependently for a common good.

So, what are you doing to reduce your carbon footprint, to renew the divine covenant with God and all of creation? Or what action will you take for Lent and beyond? Leave a comment and share your ideas and actions. The more ideas we share the more we can learn from each other and the bigger difference we can make.

Addressing Fear

As a church, how do we address the fears of our children and youth? This question comes to mind because of two items to which I was exposed this morning.

The first was an interview on Good Morning America with Thomas Friedman, author of The World is Flat. He was promoting his new book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution -- And How it Can Renew America. I've not read the book yet, so I can only speak to the interview (to see the interview, go to http://abcnews.go.com/gma).

Looking at the convergence of increasing world population, a growing middle class in the developing world using more and more energy resources, and global warming, one of his primary points is that "we need to change leaders, not light bulbs." He is critical of both Obama and McCain in the interview, believing neither goes far enough in pushing us toward new and renewable forms of energy. His answer: innovation in the marketplace.

The second news item this morning was in the Op/Ed section of today's Boston Globe. In an opinion piece written by guest columnist Allegra Goodman, we hear a very different and personal perspective on global warming. She writes about her twelve-year old son's "fatalism" about global warming. Thinking about the upcoming election he said to his mother, "It doesn't really matter as much for you, because you'll be dead...but I'm going to have to live through global warming, and I'm afraid by the time I can vote, it will be too late." Goodman also mentions a conversation with a friend who tells her that "her son can't sleep because he is so anxious about global warming." (Read the full column, at ://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/09/08/the_dark_dreams_of_global_warming/).

Her concern in the column is addressing her son's fear and anxiety. "What's a parent to do?" An excellent question and one that does not have an immediate answer. Having two teenage children, I can certainly empathize with her anxiety about her son's fear.

Expanding her question a bit: What's the church to do?

When I was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s we worried about the nuclear destruction. I was born in the midst of the Cuban missile crisis. I lived through the build up of nuclear arms and the increased "sophistication" of these weapons. Living outside of Washington, D.C., I remember sitting in a high school history class when the teacher said, "If we heard right now that missiles are on their way, there would be nothing for us to do but to go outside, sit in a circle, sing songs, and wait. We would not be able to get away."

What was my church's response to all of this? I don't remember one. The only image I have is of signs in the church leading to the basement that read, "Fallout Shelter." As if the basement of the church was going to save us.

Perhaps the leaders of the church had no response. Perhaps the response was simply, "Trust in Jesus. If we all die, at least we'll go to heaven."

That response does not seem particularly adequate to me. It certainly doesn't address the very present and real anxiety about the future of our planet and of the ultimate survival of both the diverse creatures who live here and of the human race. How might the church address the fear and anxiety of a twelve-year old boy whose world view is fatalistic and pessimistic?

Do we preach about heaven? Do we go to the Bible and read the stories of Jesus walking on the water in the midst of the storm and telling the disciples not to be afraid (see Mark 6:47-51)? Do we say, "Trust Jesus and all will be well"?

I don't deny the foundational truth here. I do trust Jesus and I do trust that, in God's time, all will be well. But to leave it at that feels as if we are addressing the fear and anxiety of children with platitudes instead of hope and with simplistic escapism instead of faithful seeking.

In the face of the fatalism produced by global warming, what's the church to do? It certainly isn't to focus on internal church rules and institutional survival. My only answer today is that we must make people of faith a part of the broader conversation. We cannot allow this to be addressed only by Thomas Friedman, political candidates, and environmentalists. If we take seriously the idea that God created us to be stewards of creation, then we must accept the responsibility of engaging the reality of global warming and living in a way today that sustains our home for the future.

Children living in fear need more than scientific, business, and political answers. They need what a spiritual perspective can provide: faith, hope, and possibility. They need action. They need engagement and participation. They need adults to wrestle with reality faithfully. Whether it's a change in leadership or a change in light bulbs, people of faith need to begin living as good stewards today.