A message from Revd Dawn Stamper:
As Kermit the frog once sang, ‘It ain’t easy being green’.
Being green has been on our minds at St Mary’s Kennington recently as we work towards the next level of our A Rocha Eco Church award. While I was looking at what we need to do to improve our green credentials, it struck me that while like many people I do my utmost to abide by the three ‘R’s – reduce, reuse and recycle – there is much I do out of habit rather than any great depth of understanding.
I wasn’t aware for example, that oceans are known as the ‘lungs of the Earth’ because of the high percentage of oxygen they provide and the amount of carbon dioxide they absorb from the atmosphere making them integral to the health of our planet. And yet it is reported that each year approximately 8 million metric tons of plastic is thrown into our oceans and around 4 billion plastic microfibres litter the deep sea.
As I write this flooding and landslides in Northern India and fires in Europe are causing devastation. The European Environment Agency expect such events to increase in frequency because of climate change.
More than ever, we need to be aware of our own contribution to this crisis. Everyone who professes a hope in Jesus Christ, by, for and in whom all things were created, should view care for the earth and its creatures essential to following Christ.
While the outlook for our planet might look bleak, the biblical promise of the future inspires us to live and work in particular ways in the present - 1 Corinthians 15:58 reminds us that our efforts are never wasted in God’s economy and according to Colossians 1:17, ‘all things hold together’ in Christ.
Think what a difference we will make when we act together, based on an understanding that creation is God’s and not ours and like all stewards we may be called one day to give an account of how we have used what’s in our care.
How big is your environmental footprint? Take the easy questionnaire at https://footprint.wwf.org.uk
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