The Oasis - April 22, 2020

April 22, 2020

Rev. Estelle and Pastor Dan would like to thank Linda Drew of First Parish Church’s Mission Board for writing this week’s Oasis message. We hope that this Earth Day is a chance for you to experience gratitude for God’s wondrous creation, as we all continue to discern the role God wants for us in caring for our precious and fragile planet.

50th Anniversary of Earth Day
4/22/2020
Creation Care Committee turns ONE!

In observance of the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day and during the weeks of an historic pandemic, be sure to take a moment to give thanks for the world and the beauty around us.  Consider all of the guidance we need to help our world heal in so many ways.  Celebrate where we’ve come from and how we can strongly continue our work.  

Prayer:  Loving God, in giving us dominion over things on earth, you made us fellow workers in your creation:  Give us wisdom and reverence so to use the resources of nature, that no one may suffer from our abuse of them, and that generations yet to come may continue to praise you for your bounty.  In your glorious name, we pray.
Amen.

   It was a little more than a year ago that our Creation Care Committee was ‘born’.  It has been a wonderful year of strong support from our congregation and our community.  It has been a year of learning together; acting together; thinking together and planning together.  Our goal, even through these uncommon times, continues to be to care for God’s creation.

    Sincerest thanks to committee members/ strong supporters—Gail Gilchrest, Brian Wood, Susan/John Covino, James Kences, Richard Leigh, Tricia Gosselin, Jan Henderson, Nan Roberts, Gail Berneike, Allen Norris, Dianne Goodwin, Heidi Oliver, Martha King, Susan/David Saxton, Carol Sparling, Jan Jonas, Per Jonas, Philip Drew, Don Bernier, Victoria Simon, Greg Norris, and Rev. Estelle and Pastor Dan for their enthusiasm and willingness to encourage us from the pulpit.
  
     We hope that you can find some time today (or starting today!) to give thanks and to ask for guidance as we motor through these times.  Perhaps you would consider learning (or continuing!) to compost; eat a plant rich diet; switch to LED lights; use smart thermostats; use water more efficiently.  This might be a perfect time to include your children in this process.
  
    As I close, I would like to reference an article in the April 9, 2020 Boston Globe by Jeremy Eichler, “ In Our Empty Public Spaces, Listening to the Great Diminuendo.”

    Referencing the quietness of our world as we shelter in place: “ Listening for nature is like a scientific experiment.  It is a kind of an ethical imperative that reinforces an awareness of the interconnections that are critical if we are to survive as a planet.

    From all this, we learn that nature bats last.  Viruses don’t understand borders or walls.  Neither does climate.  Every action we take, every decision we make, is a piece of the fabric that links to all the other parts of a larger system.  The further we draw away from the natural experience- the more we tune it out or tune it off- the more pathological we become as a culture.”

    Again, thank you, First Parish, for coming along with us on a journey to Zero Waste and a lifelong decision to recognize your interconnectedness to all of nature.
Onward!
Linda Drew

Please contact Linda - p.l.drew79@me.com if you are interested in being a part of or supporting the work of the Creation Care Committee.

For further information:
Sierra Club Ready for 100% www.sierraclub.org/ready-for-100
York Ready for 100% www.yorkreadyfor100.org
Waste Dive www.wastedive.com
Children & Nature Network www.childrenandnature.org
Curbed www.curbed.com