Environmental Stewardship

Leave it to me to make a big deal out of something and then take off for the mountains! Over the last few weeks I've been sharing about environmental stewardship at St. Andrew's. The first session was on what we could do as individuals and the next section was about how churches could participate in improving the physical world we live in.

It is certainly true that most people alive today would not even recognize the world that our Christian ancestors inhabited. I would give just about anything to see the vast forests that once covered our land with 250 foot tall pines and oak trees that were 30 feet in diameter. I would love to visit an unspoiled Florida, with no tract housing, no air conditioners humming through the night and fireflies lighting up every bit of swampy ground.

I suppose this is not to be... so what can we do? A lot, really! It begins with reducing our environmental footprint, by being efficient, recycling and re-using. Next we can take active steps to become more sustainable in the products we purchase and the way that we grow our food and use the land. If we can focus on the environment as a blessing, as a true gift from God and seek to better understand his will for us, then we might have a chance. I pray for the renewed health and well being of all my neighbors, especially the ones on the wing, in the water and running about on four legs.