I clipped an article months ago, from the May/June 2021 issue of Presbyterians Today, and have it before me this morning. In “Race, Faith and Climate Change” Neddy Astudillo, a Venezuelan-American eco-theologian, Presbyterian pastor and GreenFaith organizer in Florida writes:
“The Gospel tells us that “God so loved the world” (John 3:16).
God loves the world, not just one people. Our impact in the world – ethically and spiritually - is calling us to free the waters of justice (Amos 5:24), so that Creation can hear Christ’s good news from the children of God (Romans 8:19, Mark 16:15) … If Covid-19 has taught us anything, it is how inter-related our world is and how much our lives depend on the well-being of others. As a person of faith, called to love my neighbors as myself, I feel compelled to reject – and grow suspicious of – any dreams and views of the good life that are built at the expense of others …
I always give thanks for new thoughts shared by others that find a place in my heart and mind and life. My first thoughts about “earth care” came from “My Weekly Reader” in the 1950s, when “conservation” was the key word. Growing up in the mountains of Kentucky, there was always a concern for the dangers of strip mining and the need to reclaim and restore after years of mining. In the 90s, “recycling” was the key word. I remember going to the Sunrise Theatre to watch “An Inconvenient Truth in 2006, but learned just this morning about “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power,” that came out in 2017.
Neddy Astudillo shares a website (livingthechange.net) that offers more information on how to live climate-friendly lives. It’s time that we start “living the change” and this website will help us to do just that. I plan to spend time exploring that website and growing my understanding of how to make “climate friendly living choices.”
“Climate-friendly living choices are before us – rooted in gratitude for life and for Earth itself, our spiritual paths guide us to care for creation or nature, live simply, avoid waste, and love our neighbors, especially the most vulnerable … Working to restore our relationships with each other and the environment is a calling of our faith, not a threat to our privilege. For us Presbyterians, it can be a blessing at this time in history to avert the suffering of future generations. If scientists are right, we have less that ten years to stop climate change. Now is the time for a sustained, united actions guided by the teachings of our faith to usher in an equitable and peaceful life for all people on Earth. “
Giving thanks for fresh new thoughts that help all of us to live more faithfully … and for those streams of mercy, never ceasing.
Elizabeth
May Maya Angelou’s wonderful poem encourage each of us as we step into this new year.
CONTINUE: a poem
by Mya Angelou
My wish for you
Is that you continue
Continue
To be who and how you are
To astonish a mean world
With your acts of kindness
Continue
To allow humor to lighten the burden
Of your tender heart
Continue
In a society dark with cruelty
To let the people hear the grandeur
Of God in the peals of your laughter
Continue
To let your eloquence
Elevate the people to heights
They had only imagined
Continue
To remind the people that
Each is as good as the other
And that no one is beneath
Nor above you
Continue
To remember your own young years
And look with favor upon the lost
And the least and the lonely
Continue
To put the mantel of your protection
Around the bodies of
The young and defenseless
Continue
To take the hand of the despised
And diseased and walk proudly with them
In the high street
Some might see you and
Be encouraged to do likewise
Continue
To plant a public kiss of concern
On the cheek of the sick
And the aged and infirm
And count that as a
Natural action to be expected
Continue
To let gratitude be the pillow
Upon which you kneel to
Say your nightly prayer
And let faith be the bridge
You build to overcome evil
And welcome good
Continue
To ignore no vision which comes to enlarge your range
And increase your spirit
Continue to dare to love deeply
And risk everything For the good thing
Continue
To float
Happily in the seas of infinite substance
Which set aside riches for you
Before you had a name
Continue
And by doing so
You and your work
will be able to continue
Eternally.
Let us continue in all the ways Maya Angelou encourages, and together, work to make life better for all. Happy New Year!
Elizabeth
Sometimes prayers speak to our hearts in times when sermon seem to miss the mark. May these words find a home in our hearts this day after Christmas Day.
Prayer for the First Sunday of Christmas
O God, whose love blesses and unites us in this time and place, we come before you with hearts gladdened by this holy season- its lights, its colors, its music, and its message of peace and good will to all. To us a child is born, to us a son is given, and we give you thanks and praise.
In the birth of Jesus, you have given our weary and struggling world a reason to rejoice; in the cry of an infant, you have given hope to all who cry; by the light of a star you have helped us find our way again.
We thank you that in Jesus, you have made yourself known to us, and have called us to join you in the continuing creation of a world where the words of the prophet are fulfilled: where lion and lamb lie down together, and justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Create in us, O God, hearts devoted to shaping such a world. Bless those for whom such a world seems only a distant dream – the poor and imprisoned; those who are ill or lonely or grieving; those suffering beyond our notice on the fringes of this life. Hasten the coming of that day, when the good news of great joy will be a reality in all of creation.
In the light of Christmas, we are all one family- adopted children of God who created us. Lord, show us how to live and share the good news we proclaim. Grant that those whose lives we touch may hear in our words, and see in our actions, that truly we love you, and that you are merciful and gracious and abounding in steadfast love.
Help us to deal with our differences in loving ways, that welcome and include, so that all may find a place at the table and a sense of belonging as brothers and sisters in the family of God.
Come to each of us where we are, and how we are, and at our points of deepest need, be Emmanuel, God-with-us. Do the work of Christmas in each of our lives. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.
God in love and mercy has come to be God-with-us in Jesus Christ – not a Christmas present, but the gift of Christmas presence – Emmanuel, God-with -us, forever more.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
“May God’s love always bless you,
God’s joy always fill you;
God’s presence always keep you
close to all that is good!” (an Irish Blessing)
Elizabeth