Close to Home: Our role as caretakers of holy groundClose to Home: Our role as caretakers of holy ground
After Jesus’ death, while the disciples were together, Jesus stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” At first startled and frightened, the disciples were still disbelieving and wondering when Jesus asked them: “Have you anything here to eat?” He wanted to share a meal with them.
Food nourishes bodies, spirits and relationships. Sharing food with others nurtures your relationship. Having a sense of community connection, along with food, air and water are all essentials for life. That is why our church is building a community garden.
We are made of the earth, sustained by it, and we go back to the earth. But in the meantime, we eat a lot. Have you ever heard someone say, “I feel like I ate a ton!” Actually, they are correct. According to the Department of Agriculture, the average American eats one ton of food in just one year.
Current calculations show that 25 percent of our water consumption is wasted on food Americans throw away each year. The average American throws away 20 pounds of food a month. As this waste decomposes in landfills, it increases carbon emissions and methane gas in our atmosphere. We must find a better balance between our needs and our use of resources.
On Earth Day last week, we were called to face up to the condition of our fragile and abused planetary home.
In his book, “The Bridge at the Edge of the World,” Gus Speth, dean of Yale’s School of Forestry, warns, “Half the world’s tropical and temperate forests are now gone. The rate of deforestation in the tropics continues at about an acre a second … An estimated 90 percent of the large predator fish are gone … Species are disappearing at rates about a thousand times faster than normal … Our planet has not seen such a mass extinction in 65 million years.”
It is clear we are standing at the edge of a precipice. Environmental scientists have lost their optimism and are calling for urgent action. So let me ask. Is this who we are? Was God’s purpose for the human species to destroy the earth? I don’t think so.
We are caretakers of God’s holy ground, and our caretaking is to be shaped by intelligence, love and generosity.
All our actions affect others on the planet. Our individual choices matter, but we need every institution, every industry, every business, every industrial utility, every hospital and every school to be looking ahead at what we are leaving behind for our children and grandchildren - not only in this country but in all the world.
What does the condition of the environment have to do with religion? Throughout scripture we are asked to love one another and serve the poor. We cannot sit in church and profess a love of God while allowing what God called “good” to be destroyed through waste, greed and pollution.
Our world in crisis is a call to action and an opportunity. We have the chance to do what few generations have done: come together with a shared purpose as a unified force with a renewed vision of our purpose on earth.
Do you have something to eat today? Thank God if you do. Don’t waste it, and share it with others if possible. May our new garden help connect us, in a new sustainable way, to those in our church community and region through the nourishment of food and compassion and care of God’s holy ground.
The Rev. Cindy Alloway is pastor of Presbyterian Church of the Roses in Santa Rosa. This is adapted from her sermon on April 19.
After Jesus’ death, while the disciples were together, Jesus stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” At first startled and frightened, the disciples were still disbelieving and wondering when Jesus asked them: “Have you anything here to eat?” He wanted to share a meal with them.
Food nourishes bodies, spirits and relationships. Sharing food with others nurtures your relationship. Having a sense of community connection, along with food, air and water are all essentials for life. That is why our church is building a community garden.
We are made of the earth, sustained by it, and we go back to the earth. But in the meantime, we eat a lot. Have you ever heard someone say, “I feel like I ate a ton!” Actually, they are correct. According to the Department of Agriculture, the average American eats one ton of food in just one year.
Current calculations show that the 50 million tons of food Americans throw away each year wastes 25 percent of our water consumption. The average American throws away 20 pounds of food a month. As this waste decomposes in landfills, it increases carbon emissions and methane gas into our atmosphere. We must find a better balance between our needs and our use of resources.
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: