Speaking of evil and oppression also reminds me of all the ways our choices, as individuals and as humanity in general, continue to harm the creation. Many may not want to accept but the events of our world are an evidence to the reality. Andrew Freedman writes in Axios that, “scientists expect even more menacing weather disasters in '22, after a year of extreme climate, from the Pacific Northwest heat wave to the Texas cold snap.”
In light of this, Center for Earth Ethics plans to hold an online event, “Climate Revival!” on Thursday, January 20, 2022 to launch a year of “Resilient Creation & Restored Communities: Voting for Climate Justice in 2022” Click here to register for the January 20th event. This just might be the ‘evil’ that your heart might be ready to respond to. In fact we all need to be intentional on working on towards this revival. Some say we may missed our opportunity to reverse the affects of climate change, but we certainly should do all we can to not make it worse.
Beloveds, if we desire to be a ‘relevant’ church than we need to pay attention to justice issues like climate change and racial justice. Studies and statistics tell us that the Gen Z population (folks born in the late 1990’s) do not believe most religious institutions are doing enough towards creating a just world. They believe religious institutions, and religious leaders (pastors), either do not engage fully, or are not sincere in their efforts towards justice for LGBTQIA+ or other justice matters. I think we want to be a church who is sincere in our efforts and are continuously working towards being better at all we do. If you have suggestions for us to do better and to be better, please share them with me.
Also remember we are collecting new and gently used items for babies and children: diapers, wipes, onesies, PJ’s, socks etc. at church, for Refugee ONE, and “Cradles to Crayons.” You can drop your donations at church or access Cradles to Crayons Amazon wishlist here.
