 Sunday, July 9, 2008 By |
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And God
said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered
together unto one place, and let the dry land appear; and
it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and
the gathering together of the waters called the Seas; and
God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:9,10, KJV)
Last week, thanks to an invitation from Congressman James
E. Clyburn (D-SC), Chair of the House Democratic Caucus
and Chair of the Democratic Faith Working Group (and our
own Yelberton Watkins, his Chief of Staff), a few Shiloh
youth and I (along with Archie Prioleau) had the
opportunity to visit The Hill and view The Great
Warming, a dramatic film about climate change that
sweeps around the world to reveal how a changing climate
is affecting the lives of people everywhere. The
film was narrated by Alanis Morissette and Keanu Reeves
and has been called "the best film about global
warming every shot.
Over the course of the last couple of weeks our area and
much of the country has received an unusual amount of
rain. What appears to be strange is that we have
experienced two extremes either it is very hot or
we are in the midst of heavy downpours. This does
not compare to the disasters that have hit various parts
of our planet. The film pointed out to us that
"we are living at the dawn of a new age - an era of
changing climate, erratic weather, and social calamities
that could change our way of life forever".
Some environmentalists have pointed out to us that
we need not be surprised it is still a result of our lack
of good stewardship as habitants of God's green earth.
In the book of Genesis, God creates the heavens and the
earth, God's face moves upon the face of the waters, God
makes the firmament and divides the waters, God names the
dry land Earth and exclaims, "That's good!"
So what is going on now that has everything
seemingly out of order, we have failed to be good
stewards. Our evil towards each other (check out
the many wars going on) has slowly but surely manifested
itself in our care for planet earth.
The following are just a few of the effects of global
warming: more heat waves and extended periods of
unusually warm weather; emergence of new diseases, spread
of existing diseases, and greatly increased incidence of
respiratory ailments, especially among children; more
intense storms, downpours, heavy snowfalls and flooding;
more droughts; and forest fires; and unpredictable
patterns of rainfall and temperatures.
The National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA
states that "global warming is real; the science is
sound; and the effects are likely to be severe".
They go on to remind us that "as people of
faith, we understand our responsibilities to protect the
sacred gifts given by God and to heal a world torn by
brokenness and human strife. Air pollution and
global warming, like all human-induced environmental
degradation, is a sign of brokenness."
We can and must become better caretakers. We have a
responsibility to correct whatever we have done to mess
up God's creation. This Fall, Archie Prioleau and I
hope to engage the youth of Shiloh in activities that
will call greater attention to the issue of global
warming for those in the faith community. We
believe that if we can start with those who call
themselves Children of God; those commanded to "love
your neighbor as yourself", then perhaps we can help
make a difference. I hope others will join in our
effort. Old habits are hard to break, but not
impossible. With God all things are possible.
Readings
for Sunday, July 10, 2008: 2 Samuel 6:1-19; Psalm 24;
Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:14-29
***
OUR PURPOSE
Building the Village by Caring
Concept: Our pastor, the Reverend Wallace Charles Smith, envisions a holistic Ministry of Building by Caring, which includes a 3-tier approach - Care for Ourselves (spiritually), Care for Our Relations (family, friends and members), and Care for Our Community (outreach). In building our capacity to care we will also create an atmosphere that will increase our church's membership, winning more souls to Christ; they will know we are Christians by our love;.
