April 2021 Creation Corner Column
Earth Day, Faith Climate Action Week, Stewardship Week, Arbor Day, Creation and Climate Care Zine, Inter-Faith Environmental Conversations
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April 22, 2021 is Earth Day
CreationJustice.org upholds an Earth Day Sunday theme of "A New Heaven and a New Earth" as it focuses on health, environmental racism, and eco-justice. Educational materials available as free downloads. "Creation Justice Ministries: Justice for God's Planet and God's People" has many denomination partners and free materials can be downloaded from their web site, including "52 Ways to Care for Creation.".
EarthDay.org is the official secular site theme of "Restore Our Earth" with campaigns of The Canopy Project, Food and the Environment, the Great Global CleanUp, climate literacy, and Earth Challenge. With many partners advancing its theme goals, an earth day tool kit, and partnering possibilities, their web site provides a link to the Biden administration's hosting an Earth Day global climate summit.
Faith Climate Action Week (.org) is April 16-25, with a theme "Sacred Ground: Cultivating Connections Between our Faith, our Food, and the Climate. An organizer's kit is available that includes sample sermons, talks, and resources for worship services. It is brought to us by the Interfaith Power and Light national effort that has a PA affiliate based in Lewisburg. paipl.org .
Soil and Water Stewardship Week and Sunday, April 25-May 2, is sponsored by local affiliates of the National Association of Conservation Districts. Since 1955 the NACD Stewardship Week has encouraged individual responsibility for the caring of natural resource conservation, between the last Sunday in April and the first Sunday in May. "Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities" is the theme this year, and at the NACD marketplace can be found free downloadable materials such as student booklets, an educator guide, placemat/activity guide, poster, bookmark, church leader guide, litany and program insert.
April 30 is Arbor Day and as it begins a year-long celebration up to its 150th anniversary, this year it advises "6 Ways to Celebrate Arbor Day in a Time of Social Distancing." Arbor Day Foundation.
Creation and Climate Care Zine is a free 17-page downloadable resource available from Sojourners, at sojo.net/zine. Its 12 chapters are well-illustrated with simplified narratives. The first two chapters begin with Bible verses:
1. Creation Care. Gen 2:15, Lev 25:23-24, John 3:16, Job 12:7-10.
2. Creation Care & Place-Rootedness. Gen 2;15, Mark 2:30-31
3. Climate Science.
4. Frontline Testimonies.
5. Ways to Care for Creation.
6. Communicating Faith & Climate (A Quick How-To Guide).
7. What Is Climate Justice?
8. Climate Justice & Women
9. Climate Justice & Race
10. Climate Justice & Migration
11. Climate Justice & Peace
12. Climate Action Resources include several at sojo.net, footprintcalculator.org, global weirding series with Katharine Hayhoe, Blessed Tomorrow, Climate Justice Alliance, Christian Climate Action, and also see the Paris Agreement, Laudato Si, Jemez Principles, Principles of Environmental Justice.
A Conversation with Inter-Faith Leaders where they share how their beliefs inform their environmental advocacy and action includes participants from various religions: Buddhism, Christian (Baptist and Episcopal), Islam and Judaism, can be found at ucsusa.org/conversation-faith-climate-justice. The sponsor is the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Faith is Green program has leaders from multiple faiths joining in a conversation on the theology of why faith communities care for the environment. Participants include the Evangelical Environmental Network, a professor of Moral Theology at the Catholic University of America, a U.S. Muslim environmental leader, the president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, and a representative from the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. See earthx.org/event/faith-is-green .
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Other Resources
Re: Climate change, a web site for adults is climate.nasa.gov .
One for children is climatekids.nasa.gov .
Climate Church, Climate World: How People of Faith Must Work for Change. Rev. Jim Antal.
Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We're in without Going Crazy. Joanna Macy and Chris Johnson.
DVD series: ProFuture Faith: The Prodigal Species Comes Home. Rev. Michael Dowd.
Journey of the Universe book and film celebrates its 10th anniversary. A collaborative effort of Brian Swimme, Mary Evelyn Tucker, John Grim, et al, it combines scientific knowledge with the humanistic wisdom traditions of the West, China, India and indigenous traditions. The creators credit inspiration from the late Thomas Berry, "geologian" and cultural historian, whose efforts included a call to humanity to save nature to save itself. More information from the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology.
The Pulse of the Planet celebrates its 30th anniversary as a radio program from National Public Radio (NPR).
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Three environmentalists raised up by TIME magazine in their "The Next 100 Most Influential People" special issue of March 1/ March 8, 2021:
Vanessa Nakate, 24, climate justice champion in Uganda, Green Schools Project.
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, 40, climate optimist, marine biologist, All We Can Save Project.
Julian Brave NoiseCat, 27, policy adviser; climate journalist and advocate; one of many in what is called the Standing Rock generation; works for the Data for Progress think tank.
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Upcoming Events
World Environment Day is June 5 and begins the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Decade on Ecological Restoration. The Sunday nearest June 5 is celebrated as the Environmental Sabbath (June 6).
The 8th Parliament of World Religions will take place October 17-18, 2021. The theme is "Opening Our Hearts to the World: Compassion in Action."
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Mike Ochs finds common ground between religion and politics in his concern for the environment.
Politically he self-published the first "Greens Bibliography" of the English-language literature on the international Green Party movement (1989), the project for his Master of Liberal Arts in International Studies degree at Lock Haven (PA) University. He also helped plant the seeds for the Green Party of PA at that time, and remains a cyber-activist with it.
For a monthly newsletter of the ecumenical United Churches of Lycoming County (PA), he has written the "Creation Corner Column" since 1997. It became a blog in 2011 at
He received a B.A. degree from Gettysburg College in 1965.
