Why our carbon footprint is also a spiritual issue
Genesis 2:18-24
January 26, 2008
Ypsilanti First United Methodist Church

Rev. Melanie Lee Carey

The Bible is a book about relationships; the relationship between God and creation, heavenly beings and human beings, human beings and other human beings and humanity and nature.  All of these relationships are discussed in our scripture reading today from Genesis 2.  And when you think about it, the essence of the gospel is relationship, for it is the love of God made flesh which makes possible the fulfillment of all other relationships.

From the beginning God’s plan was to set us all into relationships with each other and somehow, over the centuries we have found ways to severe the sinews that have traditionally bound us together as a community and as a planet.  Instead of valuing our relationships with one another and our relationship with creation—we have instead come to value individual accomplishments and achievements and in doing so, we have devalued and in many cases forgotten the relationships that God intended from the start.

This breaking of relationships has led us to a point where we no longer see the connection with others—we often fail to see the humanity in our neighbors near and far.  In addition we fail to sense the connection of ourselves with our planet and all of creation.  Therefore, as we throw away so much of our stuff, as we use more water than we need, as we call for more and more electronic devices, we fail to see the connection with our behavior and the destruction of our world.

The truth is told in Genesis--We are all responsible for each other.  Humanity and creation.  We are responsible for one another.   There is a famous story from the Talmud, a record of the Rabbi’s discussions about Jewish holy law and customs.  And in this story in the Talmud there are two men in a rowboat heading toward land. One man suddenly starts to bore a hole in the bottom of the craft. When challenged, he retorts angrily, "This is none of your business. I am boring the hole under my seat! "

Despite the fact that in the beginning God set us up in relationship with each other and all of creation, despite this fact, we act like the man in the boat—thinking that our drilling a hole under our own seat won’t affect anyone else—but the truth is our behavior has the possibility of sinking the ship. 

For this reason, climate change and our carbon footprint is a spiritual issue.  For this reason more churches, synagogues and mosques are joining in on the call for change in order to save our planet and ourselves. 

In 2006, 86 evangelical Christians decided to back a major initiative to fight global warming. Called the Evangelical Climate Initiative, in their accompanying statement, the signers said, "millions of people could die in this century because of climate change, most of them our poorest global neighbors." Among the signers are the presidents of 39 evangelical colleges, leaders of aid groups and churches (e.g., Salvation Army), and pastors of megachurches, including Rick Warren, author of the best selling book "The Purpose-Driven Life."  This group has developed television commercials to get their message out and in one of the television spots that links images of drought, starvation and Hurricane Katrina to global warming, the Rev. Joel Hunter, pastor of a mega church in Longwood, Fla., says: "As Christians, our faith in Jesus Christ compels us to love our neighbors and to be stewards of God's creation. The good news is that with God's help, we can stop global warming, for our kids, our world and for the Lord." i

The truth is that our carbon footprint is a spiritual issue and one we need to take as seriously as our understanding of scripture and our own faith journey.  From the beginning God designed us to be in relationship with one another and with creation.  It is up to us now to recognize the relationships and to foster them for the salvation of us all.

This is why in the middle of winter we are asking you to think seriously about global warming and its effects on our planet, on our children and our children’s children.  Today in challenge class we have a special speaker to talk with us about this important and spiritual subject.  And when we talk about global warming and climate change it is easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer scope of the problem.  As Al Gore said in his Oscar winning movie “An Inconvenient Truth,”  “People go from denial to despair without pausing at the intermediate step of actually doing something.” ii

With any relationship, small gestures can have a big impact.  That is why I want to encourage us to consider the small things that we can each do to improve our relationships with creation.
I mentioned some things in the children’s message, but here are a few more.  And what is even better, these suggestions will actually save you money as well as help to save our planet!

1. Replace three frequently used light bulbs in your house with compact florescent light bulbs and you can save 300 pounds of carbon dioxide and $60 a year—
2. Inflate your tires properly—so many of us drive our cars around on under inflated tires—it is very inefficient.  If you inflate your tires properly and check them once a month you can save 250 pounds of carbon dioxide and $840 a year in reduced fuel costs. 
3. Take shorter showers—most hot water in our homes is used for showers.  Shorten your shower by two minutes and you can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide and $99 a year.
4. Turn off your computer when you are not using it; doing so saves nearly 1000 kilowatt hours of electricity a year.
5. Bring your own mug.  Every year Americans throw away 25 billion polystyrene cups and 25 billion individual water bottles, most of which end up in landfills.  Instead buy a reusable to-go mug and bottle that you can refill with filtered tap water.  You will save money and the planet.

These ideas and others are found on stopglobalwarming.org

Another idea for us to consider as a congregation is joining a group called The Michigan Interfaith Power and Light organization.  Ada Kidd, wife of one of our former senior pastors, is a founding member and on the board of directors.  Michigan Interfaith Power & Light (MiIPL) is a coalition of over 100 congregations across the State of Michigan whose mission is to involve communities of faith as stewards of God’s creation by promoting and implementing energy conservation, energy efficiency, renewable energy and related sustainable practices.

Through MiIPL membership, congregations are now saving up to $20,000 a year and 40% on their utility bills! And congregational membership includes: An Energy assessment of your facility, the sale of ENERGY STAR® lights and appliances at discounted prices and Energy education for congregants.  Membership is just $100 a year, and something for our congregation to seriously consider.

Our carbon footprint is a spiritual issue because God intended us to be in relationship with one another, with God and with all of creation. The question is what can we do to restore and build the relationship that God intended from the very beginning?

The story is told that one day Rabbi Ohoana was on a journey and he noticed a man planting a carob tree. He asked him: “how long will it take for this tree to bear fruit?” “Seventy years”, the man replied. He then asked him: “are you sure you will be alive in seventy years?” The man replied, “I found the world ready with previously planted carob trees. As my forefathers planted them for me, I will plant them for my children.”    Today we stop to consider what is growing in the orchard of our lives. What have we planted that generations beyond ourselves can reap? Today we stop to consider the impact of our lives on future generations knowing that in time we too will be ancestors. Today we stand back and survey our land. Today we tend to the soil of our lives. Today we plant so that generations to come can reap. iii

As we consider our carbon footprint as a spiritual issue, let us also remember that relationship that God intended from the beginning—a relationship of humanity with God, a relationship of humanity with other humans and a relationship of humanity with all of creation.  And let us do what we must to restore this relationship so that God can indeed look around and say—“It is good.”  Amen.