The Weekly View - August 27, 2021
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In This Issue
- Weekly Message from Rev. Joanne Whitt
- Weekly Facebook Video
- This Sunday's Guest Minister, Rev. Dr. Douglas Olds
- Announcements & Upcoming Events
- Outreach Opportunities
message from rev. whitt
Dear St. Luke family,
What’s the most serious problem facing our world today? I happen to believe it’s climate change. Don’t get me wrong; the world has plenty of other problems: the pandemic, poverty, hunger, racism, divisive politics, the refugee crisis, wildfire, militarism … and more. But these problems pale in comparison to climate change, and of course in some cases, are being made worse by it. For me, climate change is a theological issue; in fact, it’s a theological crisis. I ran across an editorial underscoring that faith support for action in the face of climate change is crucial:
“[Faith groups] give the climate debate a moral tone and energize worshippers to make individual choices out of respect for the earth, not out of political fidelity. Nearly all the world’s religions espouse doctrines that affirm the sanctity of the planet and admonish adherents to act accordingly. Religions give humanity to the victims of drought and flooding, treating them not as numbers on a spreadsheet but as humans with divine worth.” [1]
This coming Sunday while I’m on vacation, the Rev. Dr. Douglas Olds will be our guest preacher. Doug has spent years studying faith and the environment, and specifically, faith and climate change. His sermon from Isaiah 25:1-10 is entitled, “Quieting the Roaring Heat.”
What can we do to help protect God’s good creation so that it might continue to sustain life? Doug might have some ideas. As Chef Anne Marie Bonneau put it, “We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.” Individually, it can seem as though our efforts are a spit in the bucket. But together and with God’s help, we can move mountains. In particular, we can make our voices heard by those in power: “The earth is the Lord’s, and all that is in it. The world, and those who live in it” (Psalm 24:1).
I’ll be gone Sunday through Tuesday, and back in the office on Wednesday. Don’t forget to invite friends and family to the October 2 gala fundraiser dinner, and have a lovely weekend!
Grace and peace,
Joanne Whitt
Interim Pastor