Inspired by the Summer 2007 issue of Creation Care magazine, our family has set a goal of significantly lowering our electric bill. We started with a family meeting, where we agreed that we need to reduce our use of electricity to be better stewards of our financial resources and of God’s creation. We came up with the following ideas:
1. Use the heater less - this one will be toughest for me as I am constantly cold and I find it very easy to just turn on the heater every time I go into a room, I’m working on wearing a sweater and using lap blankets more
2. Add more compact fluorescent light bulbs - about half the light bulbs in our house are still incandescent so we will purchase several more “twisties” and work toward 100% fluorescent
3. Turn off the heated dry on the dishwasher - this will require some towel drying but it will save a lot of electricity
4. Taking shorter showers - or using less water for a bath
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11-14-2007 |
7 Comments »“Great scientists are people of imagination. So are people of great faith. We dare to imagine a world in which science and religion cooperate, minimizing our differences about how Creation got started, to work together to reverse its degradation. We will not allow it to be progressively destroyed by human folly.”
- Rev. Richard Cizik, Urgent Call To Action
06-25-2007 |
No Comments »“O Lord, what a variety of things you have made!
In wisdom you have made them all.
The earth is full of your creatures.”- Psalm 104:24
Yesterday morning as I was reading the beautiful creation hymn Psalm 104, I was reminded of an organization I recently learned about that might be of interest to our readers. The Noah Alliance is a coalition of Jewish and Christians activists who have come together in support of the Endangered Species Act. They focus on their shared faith traditions and on protecting biodiversity and preserving threatened habitats.
It was especially encouraging to see that evangelicals are active in this alliance. For so long, the evangelical community has seemed indifferent, or even hostile to, environmental concerns. But the tide seems to be shifting as more and more evangelicals recognize that creation care is a biblical mandate. As Rich Cizik of the National Association of Evangelicals often says, “God is not going to ask us how he created the earth. He will ask us what we did with the earth he created.”
05-25-2007 |
2 Comments »“We hope this provides a place for refuge from the polarization of society for people of all faiths, and all spectrums of their faiths. The earth is in crisis. Those who will suffer the most will be the most vulnerable. Our heartstrings are pulled at and our spirit crushed or lifted with every soul. We are all part of creation.”
- Dan Borroff of Faith Forward
The Interfaith Creation Festival will be held in Seattle on May 31-June 3 and is being hosted by a coalition of Muslim, Jewish and Christian groups who are all committed to the practice of creation care. This gathering will feature keynote speakers from a variety of faith traditions and celebrate creation through poetry, music and storytelling. Participants will learn about theological foundations, sustainability and innovations and be equipped to make a difference through environmental advocacy and activism.
Recently I spoke with Dan Borroff, one of the organizers, about the vision for this new event…
Dan explained that the idea began a few years ago with some people from St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle. They envisioned an ecumenical gathering to address issues of environmental concern, including the threat of climate change. They wanted to help promote a faith-based environmental movement based on an awareness of the theology of creation within the Christian tradition.
After observing some of the fruitful interfaith alliances that had taken place in Seattle in the past, they recognized the need to broaden the coalition to include Jewish and Muslim faith communities, building on the shared belief in the responsibility of humankind to steward and care for the earth. The festival is also open to anyone with a spiritual connection to and concern for the earth, regardless of whether they belong to a religious tradition.
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04-22-2007 |
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