By Rev. Adam Benson
During Lent, we often take up or give up something as a way of preparing ourselves and journeying with Christ to Jerusalem. Hear me out… What if we, as congregations in the Corridor district, committed to giving up something that is not only good for us but also good for the creation? What if, instead of fasting from dessert, chocolate, or coffee (I gave up coffee one year, and I told God I’d never do that again), we committed to a technology fast, or a fast from things that are harmful to the environment? What if, one day per week, we fasted from driving our car? Most of us need our cars, but do we really need them every day of the week? Too far too soon? Well, then, maybe consider turning off our heating and AC for 8 hours per day, or if that feels too hard to start with, turning it off for 8 hours per day, one day per week. Or, what if we limited our light usage to 2-3 hours per day? Fasting from some things to better care for creation may not only help us reduce our carbon footprint but also may be good for our health. Consider giving up bottled water for example. Researchers from Columbia University and Rutgers University recently found roughly 240,000 detectable plastic fragments in a typical liter of bottled water. According to the United Nations, humans produce more than 440 million tons of plastic each year, and unfortunately about 80% of plastic ends up in landfills or the environment.[1] Don’t feel like giving up using your car? Well, what if you fasted from purchasing foods and drinks contained in plastic? Or, maybe consider giving up purchasing food from fast-food places that give food out in Styrofoam containers? There are a number of ways we might consider fasting from technology, fossil fuels, or ways we contain and sell our food and drink that would help us lower our carbon footprint and help us care for the creation. This year, for Lent, the Corridor Creation Care Team is challenging congregations in this district to fast from something that’s not only good for you but also good for God’s creation. Will you and your congregation join us?
I was watching a video, “Engaging with a World on Fire,” this morning by Brian McClaren, newly appointed director of the Center for Action and Contemplation, who said, “all too often our religious communities are remaining on the sidelines as guilty bystanders selling people an evacuation plan rather than helping them participate in a transformation plan.” The Center for Action and Contemplation (as the name suggests) advocates for a form of engaged Christian faith, where our spiritual practices don’t make us complacent but inspire us to be engaged in God’s work of transforming the world. As we have experienced in our lives of faith, God extends that transformation to us through grace, and at some point, we hear that call to get involved with God in this project of reclaiming and redeeming what rightfully belongs to God. Sort of like God saying to us, “so, how did you experience the transformation I brought about in your life? What do you say to getting involved with Me and helping Me keep this project going, and what do you say we just keep this going until the whole creation is transformed?” God’s transforming work extends to the entire creation, and we (frail and flawed human beings) are just the kinds of people God equips and calls on to join God in this project of God redeeming and reclaiming what rightfully belongs to God.
Rev. Adam Benson is the pastor of Parkwood UMC and a member of the Corridor District Creation Care Team.
[1] Doubek, James. “Researches Find a Massive Amount of Plastic Particles in Bottled Water,” https://www.npr.org/2024/01/10/1223730333/bottled-water-plastic-microplastic-nanoplastic-study
To learn more about how you and your church can engage in caring for God’s good creation, check out these resources:
- Attend this Zoom Bible study hosted by Fletcher’s Chapel UMC based on “Climate Justice: A Call to Hope and Action,” edited by Rev. Pat Watkins. Sessions start on Wednesday, April 10, at 4:45 pm. For more information and the Zoom link, contact Rev. Suzanne Cobb at scobb@nccumc.org.
- Subscribe to Creation Care Tips from the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement, posted monthly at umcreationjustice.org/tips.
- Read and discuss books by leading authors at the monthly Creation Care Book Discussion Group, led by Rev. Tracy Sexton. The group meets by Zoom on the 4th Monday of the month at 10:30 am. The book for Feb. 26 is Organic Wesley: A Christian Perspective on Food, Farming, and Faith by William C. Guerrant, Jr.
- Join the Corridor District Creation Care Team. We meet the 3rd Thursday of each month at 7 pm by Zoom. Contact co-chairs Mr. Thomas Givens (tgivens@ieee.org) or Rev. Jane Almon (jalmon@nccumc.org) for more information.