by Dorrie Sieburg
It is a beautiful October Sunday, one of many we have had this fall. My family and I have recently decided to get out at least one of the days during the weekend to enjoy the beauty of our area. This particular Sunday we have decided to canoe on Beaver Lake. The sky above us is that amazing uninterrupted blue and the water below glitters like jewels. We glide through the water and marvel at the myriad of colors the trees have become and smile contentedly as the sun warms our faces. The children delight in pulling perfect lily pads out of the water with a stick and gaze in awe as we sidle quietly to some turtles sunning on a log. For an hour and a half we are perfectly content and happy to be with one another in nature.
My family and I have had many other similar experiences over these past few months as we have wandered in the woods and have ridden our bikes along the river. And after each outing I am always left with the same feeling—a feeling of being so blessed to be able to experience such beauty and to share it with the people I love most. It is in these moments that I feel closest to God.
I recently had the privilege to attend the Lansing Lee Conference at Kanuga. This year’s conference was on sustainability and the keynote speaker was the Reverend Cannon Sally Bingham, founder of The Regeneration Project and Interfaith Power and Light, an organization that takes a religious response to global warming through educating and motivating people of all faiths to be better stewards of God’s creation. I have followed Sally through her work with IPL and have tried to be involved with our local chapter, but meeting her personally and hearing her speak about sustainability and how it is a matter of faith, was one of the most influencing experiences I have had.
I have always drawn a connection between my spirituality and care for the environment. Since being a member of All Souls and being a part of the Earth Day committee, I have felt an even deeper connection, but Sally’s message that “the way we treat each other and the way we treat nature is a reflection of the way we love God” really rang true. After all, it is in our baptismal covenant. We accept the duty of being stewards of the earth when we take our baptismal vows. But we have become too dependent on too many bad habits that degrade the environment rather than sustain it. Sally believes this degradation is a direct insult to God. We have interpreted the word dominion to mean domination rather than its true meaning—compassion, communion, care.
I struggle with this on a daily basis. Do I take the time to wash out that plastic sandwich bag so I can reuse it, or do I just toss it in the garbage and get another one? Do I take the extra twenty minutes to walk to the store for that one item I need, or do I just hop in my car and drive? Most of the time, when I am confronted with these dilemmas, I often choose the latter because it feels like such a sacrifice to give up the convenience of my car or the throw-away bags. But Sally opened my eyes to a new way of thinking. She believes we need to replace this idea that it is sacrifice with the concept that it is simply change. And there is joy in that, if you stop to recognize it. Instead of bemoaning the fact that I have to walk thirty feet from my kitchen to my compost bin in my yard, rather than just throwing my food waste in the garbage, I can take pride in that I am making rich soil that will enhance my garden. Instead of fretting over the time I am losing where I could be accomplishing countless other mundane tasks, I can relish in the beauty of the day God has given us as I walk to the store.
As Christians, we make sacrifices in our spiritual lives all the time. We give up chocolate for Lent or even our personal wealth as we tithe. And why do we do this? We do this to be in closer communion with God, to be a part of a community, to be a part of something bigger. For me, making sustainable choices on a daily basis, even though I am being pulled in so many different directions, is a way I can be in better relationship with God.
I recognize that it is impossible to make those choices all the time. I am still a long ways off from making the changes I would like, but just changing my perspective—it’s not sacrifice, but change, and there is joy in that—has made it a little bit easier. So the next time I am out hiking in the woods with my family, taking in the overwhelming beauty of God’s creation, I hope I can keep that blessed feeling with me for the rest of the week and use it as a reminder as to why it is important to accept those changes.
If you would like more information about Sally Bingham and Interfaith Power and light, you can visit their website at www.interfaithpowerandlight.org. If you would like more information about the Care of Creation Committee at All Souls, please contact Dorrie Sieburg (dorriesieburg@gmail.com) or Vicki Hesse (vickihesse@yahoo.com).