Sky Sunday

Sky is readily associated with space, a domain that some powerful humans in recent years have had an urge to conquer! Far more important than exploring space, however, is preserving our atmosphere, the air we breathe.

Air is our breath! Air is also the life-giving breath from God.  In the Old Testament the Hebrew term ruach  is used to refer to air, to wind, to breath and to spirit of God.  Air is sacred, God’s own breath in us. Polluting the air is a desecration of our planet.

An average person breathes over 15,000 litres of air each day. At the same time we are inhaling life-sustaining oxygen, we are also breathing in the by products of our lifestyles choices—the fumes of cars, the waste of industrial production and air-borne chemicals. It is time to be part of the campaign to purify the air we share with all creatures on this planet.

The World Health Organisation estimates that 2 million children die each year from respiratory ailments, making air pollution the second leading cause of disease for children under four.  Air pollution creates disease and destroys lives around the globe, yet few countries have taken the reduction of air pollution seriously.  Carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases are threatening to undermine all of Earth’s ecosystems, including our own agricultural systems.

Local communities can join the campaign to eliminate all fossil fuels and develop clean fuels.  The options are there.  The problem is the economic and political influence of big corporations. Current measures to reduce pollution run against the dynamics of the present vision of an affluent society which is grounded in ever-expanding production and consumption.

We need to promote a campaign to ‘make affluence history!’

Local congregations, however, can form Earth care teams that urge people to reduce fossil fuels, develop alternative sources of energy, conserve energy in public and private place, and introduce ‘green’ energy options.  City pollution can be reduced by avoiding consumer products which include, or are packaged in, plastic, polystyrene, or bleached paper. Find your nearest food cooperative and go shopping with your own containers—live more simply and the air will be cleaner.

For suitable guidelines and information you are invited to contact www.webofcreaton.org, www.protectingcreation.org, and the Eco-justice Working Group, National Council of Churches of Christ (110 Maryland Ave, Washington DC, 20002) whose brochure on AIR for Earth Day Sunday 2004 is especially helpful. This brochure lists other resources useful in congregations.

Another excellent resource is Solidarity with Victims of Climate Change. Reflections on the World Council of Churches’ Response to Climate Change produced by the World Council of Churches in 2000.

Earth-Care – Sky Sunday

Sky is readily associated with space, a domain that some powerful humans in recent years have had an urge to conquer! Far more important than exploring space, however, is preserving our atmosphere, the air we breathe.

Air is our breath! Air is also the life-giving breath from God.  In the Old Testament the Hebrew term ruach  is used to refer to air, to wind, to breath and to spirit of God.  Air is sacred, God’s own breath in us. Polluting the air is a desecration of our planet.

An average person breathes over 15,000 litres of air each day. At the same time we are inhaling life-sustaining oxygen, we are also breathing in the by products of our lifestyles choices—the fumes of cars, the waste of industrial production and air-borne chemicals. It is time to be part of the campaign to purify the air we share with all creatures on this planet.

The World Health Organisation estimates that 2 million children die each year from respiratory ailments, making air pollution the second leading cause of disease for children under four.  Air pollution creates disease and destroys lives around the globe, yet few countries have taken the reduction of air pollution seriously.  Carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases are threatening to undermine all of Earth’s ecosystems, including our own agricultural systems.

Local communities can join the campaign to eliminate all fossil fuels and develop clean fuels.  The options are there.  The problem is the economic and political influence of big corporations. Current measures to reduce pollution run against the dynamics of the present vision of an affluent society which is grounded in ever-expanding production and consumption.

We need to promote a campaign to ‘make affluence history!’

Local congregations, however, can form Earth care teams that urge people to reduce fossil fuels, develop alternative sources of energy, conserve energy in public and private place, and introduce ‘green’ energy options.  City pollution can be reduced by avoiding consumer products which include, or are packaged in, plastic, polystyrene, or bleached paper. Find your nearest food cooperative and go shopping with your own containers—live more simply and the air will be cleaner.

For suitable guidelines and information you are invited to contact www.webofcreaton.org, www.protectingcreation.org, and the Eco-justice Working Group, National Council of Churches of Christ (110 Maryland Ave, Washington DC, 20002) whose brochure on AIR for Earth Day Sunday 2004 is especially helpful. This brochure lists other resources useful in congregations.

Another excellent resource is Solidarity with Victims of Climate Change. Reflections on the World Council of Churches’ Response to Climate Change produced by the World Council of Churches in 2000.