Prayer for Easter 4A

Holy are you and blessed is your name, Creator of heaven and earth. You have blessed the world with abundant life. You bring life out of death. You shepherd your wayward people and call us home. We praise and give thanks to you. As we worship this day, remind us that all we have comes from you. Instill in us a deep and honest desire to live in communion with one another and with all of your creation. And fill us with your Holy Spirit, that we might go into the world one body bound by one gospel and serving the one God. We pray in the name of Jesus the risen Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Gorillas and More Gorillas

It's been a while since I've made a proper posting...and it will be a little while longer before I am able to sit down and write about topics directly related to progressive Christianity, or, as I would prefer to call what I'm interested in, deep Christianity.

For now, let me highlight an article that is receiving wide attention. According to a recent census, the number of lowland gorillas appears to be almost twice the population size that scientists have been estimating.

This is excellent news, but it also raises concerns for the continued protection of and care for these animals. We now run the risk of people feeling more free to kill (I would say murder) them for bush meat. It is also possible that the strong laws protecting these animals may come under threat. Let us hope not. This is one of those rare times when we have learned, without caveat, some good ecological news. So, I'll just try and receive it as such.

People have asked me why I post about gorillas (usually the mountain gorillas of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Rwanda) on a progressive Christian website. I will admit the decision to post articles here is a bit arbitrary. However, the plight of the gorilla, especially the mountain gorilla, is a living example of the interrelatedness of life, the power of politics, and the consequences of actions taken every day taken by everyday people. I find this deeply connected to my faith and my understanding of God.

Life is radically interrelated. It is folly for me to believe that my search for cheap goods doesn't connect to slave labor, deforestation, or oppressive politics. It is important for me, for you, for all of us to realize that as the world's most active consumers, we have a power to affect the rest of the world in ways never known in the history of the world. This becomes, to use a Christian term, a question of stewardship. The plight of the gorilla raises for me real life questions of stewardship: Do I need a new cell phone that uses Coltan when my old one works just fine? When I buy patio furniture, where does that cheap wood come from? How much packaging should the West be exporting to Africa where they have even fewer options for disposing of plastic? What are we going to do about clean drinking water, waste water management, and the politics of water? Can't we make more progress on alternative fuels so people simply trying to subsist don't cut down trees for charcoal, thus destroying the habitat of gorillas?

The mountain gorilla serves as a symbol for me of how I am called to live as a follower of Christ. It reminds me of the covenant between God and humankind and our commission to tend all of creation. I could just as easily see a wolf, a sea turtle, a Western pond turtle, a sea lion, a whale, or a polar bear. These are all fighting for survival amid the press of human consumption.

I am glad to hear this news about the lowland gorilla and I hope for good things to come for the mountain gorilla. It would help me believe that humans can be good stewards of God's precious creation.

For more on the article, go here.

artificial v real christmas trees - ahhh, the choice

"Get the biggest aluminum tree you can find, Charlie Brown, maybe painted pink." - Lucy Van Pelt

With Thanksgiving this week and the Christ the King Sunday this Sunday, we have moved from "I-hate-that-stores-decorate-for-Christmas-before-Halloween" to "It's-time-to-start-thinking-about-Christmas". It's true. Despite our efforts to hold the commercialism of Christmas at bay, December 2 is around the corner bringing with it the "advent of Advent" and the slinging of Christmas decorations about our houses and churches. Thus comes the annual question of environmentalists and Christians with conscience regarding the tree, "Real or artificial?"

I have asked this question myself. Should I buy a farmed tree and participate in the carbon suck of the tree farm industry or purchase a tree that can be used year after year despite the "tacky" factor involved in the fake tree? After quite a bit of research, I've come down on the issue: I'm getting a real one..and if you get one, so should you.

Online magazine Grist's advice columnist Umbra Fisk aka "Ask Umbra" has written two articles on the issue and has helped to persuade me to the real tree. In an article written in 2004, she tackles the issue of real v articial. During her research, she discovered that articial trees are primarily made in and then transported from China. Almost all artificial trees are made of PVC, which is a petroleum product. And, sometimes lead is used to stabilize PVC. So, run away from the idea of an artificial tree. Northwest Cable News' Wilson Chow spoke with the a representative from Strategic Energy Group and found the same thing. If you get a tree, get a real one.

Some people buy live trees with the goal of planting them after the holiday season. This, in theory, is a great idea. However, if you are like me, you live in a city where planting a tree is not an easy thing to do. Furthermore, it's important when planting a tree to take into account the terrain, the climate, and care of the tree. For most of us a live tree doesn't make practical sense.

Buying a real tree has its complications, that's for sure. If you can, buy local and look for an organic farm. The fewer miles travelled and the fewer pesticides used in farming the tree help reduce the environmental impact of your purchase. If you find a tree outlet that supports a nonprofit organization, that sells locally farmed trees, and that uses organic methods in their farming, tell everyone you know to buy from them! The only way to impact the tree farming industry is to support the farmers who make the move to organic farming. For more about the possibilities for organic trees, see "Ask Umbra's" latest column.


UPDATE: If you're in the Seattle area, Puget Sound Fresh lists the following tree farms as "Claimed Ecologically Sound:"
Fall City Farms - Fall City - King County - 425-222-4553
Cedar Falls Tree Farm - North Bend - King County - 425-888-3216
Stocker Farms - Snohomish - Snohomish - 360-568-7391

If you're looking for organic, Garden Treasures in Arlington, Washington says they carry them.

Looking for a tree and you live outside of Washington State? Here you go!

the ipcc releases new global warming warming

'(AP) -- The Earth is hurtling toward a warmer climate at a quickening pace, a Nobel-winning U.N. scientific panel said in a landmark report released Saturday, warning of inevitable human suffering and the threat of extinction for some species.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said climate change imperils "the most precious treasures of our planet" and called on the United States and China - the world's two biggest polluters - to do more to fight it.

As early as 2020, 75 million to 250 million people in Africa will suffer water shortages, residents of Asia's megacities will be at great risk of river and coastal flooding, Europeans can expect extensive species loss, and North Americans will experience..."

Read the whole article here.

Environmental stewardship requires us to make drastic, committed, and sustained changes to how we live. As many congregations complete their stewardship campaigns, how many of us are incorporating stewardship for the earth as primary in our budgeting processes? How are we reflecting care for God's creation at the level of the local congregation? Simple but tough questions.

al gore and the ipcc win nobel peace prize

Al Gore and the IPCC are sharing the Nobel Peace Prize for highlighting the importance of global warming.

Will Christians hear what the rest of the world is? Will we take seriously our particular call to stewardship and make significant and real changes in our individual lives while concurrently demanding policy change at institutional and governmental levels?

MNSBC's coverage of this news article has some interactive learning options for people to explore.

solar power, politics, and funding

There is an article in the New York Times today about the struggle that solar power faces in securing necessary funds to advance technological advances needed for it to become a major energy source.

Some people have commented to me that this blog seems more environmentally focused than religiously focused. It is my deep conviction that as a Christian it is part of my call and obligation to be a faithful steward of God's good creation. Further, it is also my belief that our dwindling resources and flailing environment are symptoms of a spiritual problem. We use too much, consume too much, demand too much. Do we do so because we are trying to fill a spiritual void? Have we lost sight that we and all of the earth belongs to God and not to humankind?

This article brings to relief the challenges that exist in moving Americans beyond the reliance on any single supplier of energy. It also shows how the power of the dollar influences this process. Currently, the funding for technological advances in solar power are outpaced by nuclear, biofuel, and coal by substantial amounts, up to three times the amount. How do we want to make stewardship choices...by the power of the lobby?