Care for Creation
February 4, 2024
February 14 is Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday?
This year’s calendar presents a challenge – how do we express love for one another with sweet and fragrant mementos like flowers and candy while at the same time beginning Lent with Ash Wednesday prayer, fasting and almsgiving -- all while continuing our commitment to caring for one another in creation?
As for me, I’ve decided to observe Valentine’s Eve with my family and friends on Mardi Gras and I’ll put that candy away and start in with Lenten observances on Wednesday.
To continue being faithful to creation care practices, here are a couple suggestions for both Valentine’s and Lent.
For your expressions of Valentine love, look for local chocolates, some even support differently-abled people (e.g. Cameron’s Chocolates), or fair-trade chocolate where small producers are ensured access to wide markets. For flowers, ask your favorite florist if they use locally sourced blooms, so you’re not paying for a plane ride that spews more carbon into the air. Many do, and the more we ask, the more the market will respond to demand.
For Lent, an organization I’ve used for a few years to help me develop a creation-conscious Lenten practice is Greener Lent (https://greenerlent.org ). This is a program that invites us to go further than the required Lenten abstinence and consider a sacrificial increase in giving up meat, especially beef and lamb.
Greener Lent shows us the difference changing our eating choices can make by reporting the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Group results are posted on the Greener Lent site; for example, last year’s 536 participants saved the equivalent of 3,854 gallons of gas by eating less meat. Seeing this tangible result encourages me to be mindful about eating choices.
If you’re looking for a meaningful way to observe Lent that recognizes the interconnectedness of everything and honors our duty to care for one another in creation, visit the Greener Lent site and see if it is right for you.
“Everything is connected. Concern for the environment thus needs to be joined to a sincere love for our fellow human beings and an unwavering commitment to resolving the problems of society.” (LS 91)
February 4, 2024
February 14 is Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday?
This year’s calendar presents a challenge – how do we express love for one another with sweet and fragrant mementos like flowers and candy while at the same time beginning Lent with Ash Wednesday prayer, fasting and almsgiving -- all while continuing our commitment to caring for one another in creation?
As for me, I’ve decided to observe Valentine’s Eve with my family and friends on Mardi Gras and I’ll put that candy away and start in with Lenten observances on Wednesday.
To continue being faithful to creation care practices, here are a couple suggestions for both Valentine’s and Lent.
For your expressions of Valentine love, look for local chocolates, some even support differently-abled people (e.g. Cameron’s Chocolates), or fair-trade chocolate where small producers are ensured access to wide markets. For flowers, ask your favorite florist if they use locally sourced blooms, so you’re not paying for a plane ride that spews more carbon into the air. Many do, and the more we ask, the more the market will respond to demand.
For Lent, an organization I’ve used for a few years to help me develop a creation-conscious Lenten practice is Greener Lent (https://greenerlent.org ). This is a program that invites us to go further than the required Lenten abstinence and consider a sacrificial increase in giving up meat, especially beef and lamb.
Greener Lent shows us the difference changing our eating choices can make by reporting the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Group results are posted on the Greener Lent site; for example, last year’s 536 participants saved the equivalent of 3,854 gallons of gas by eating less meat. Seeing this tangible result encourages me to be mindful about eating choices.
If you’re looking for a meaningful way to observe Lent that recognizes the interconnectedness of everything and honors our duty to care for one another in creation, visit the Greener Lent site and see if it is right for you.
“Everything is connected. Concern for the environment thus needs to be joined to a sincere love for our fellow human beings and an unwavering commitment to resolving the problems of society.” (LS 91)