Jenny’s letter 29th September
Dear Friends,
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run…
So begins that most famous of poems by the poet John Keats.
We officially began Autumn this week, though as has been the case for some years now, nature is very confused. I think, for the majority of us, it is evident that mankind’s stewardship of the planet is not all it could be. In my garden, the simultaneous flourishing of roses and holly in September, is a clear indication that the natural
world is muddled. In Bedforshire (and other parts of the UK) and in many parts of Europe, it is the extreme flooding that shows the urgency of the situation we are in.
We have been hearing and teaching and thinking a great deal over the past weeks, about what being a Christian actually looks like. How our faith in Jesus might translate into our daily living. As Christians, we believe that God made us stewards of creation. The planet is not just for our pleasure and leisure but under our care on behalf of creator God. (see Genesis Chapter 2).
The fifth of five signs or marks of mission set by the Anglican Communion is, ‘To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.’
How are you doing that in your own household? How are we as a church ensuring that we do that? Is it visible to you all? We have a brand of toilet roll that is made from recycled paper. We try not to use too many paper cups and the ones we do can be recycled. We have stopped printing rotas and as many newsletters as we used to. With a few exceptions, PCC minutes are now digital. What else could/should we be doing? If you see things and opportunities do more let me or the Wardens know.
Some of you might argue that these things are tiny and have no impact on a world where countries such as China are allegedly setting up more coal power stations than most of the rest of the world put together. (I have read, but cannot confirm, that they are also setting up more water and wind power stations at a speed that no one else can match.)
The thing is, it IS about our impact on the environment in which we live, but more especially about our willingness and ability to look after, to ‘steward’ what actually belongs to God. When we make a conscious decision to conserve or care for this earth, we are making the first steps to recognise that all that we have around us belongs to God.
What we have is not a right but a gift entrusted to us for the time we are alive. You will know what it feels like when you have someone else’s pet or property to look after. The responsibility, the desire to care for whatever it is and the relief at the return. The earth is not mine or yours, it belongs to God.
It is easier to see the connection back to God when we think of nature. ‘We plough the fields and scatter, the good seed on the land, for it is fed and watered by God’s almighty hand’ is easy on our mind. Harder then, to thank God for the plastic that carries water to our taps, the materials in the buildings around us, the paper that we write or print on.
Having said that, in 1964, Richard Jones wrote a hymn, the first verse of which goes thus: ‘God of concrete, God of steel, God of piston and of wheel, God of pylon, God of steam, God of girder and of beam, God of atom, God of mine, All the world of pow’r is Thine!’
We sang it a few times when I was a child, but it was not well received. And yet it speaks truth and our detachment from that truth makes it harder for us to see God’s generous blessings.
Does God bless everyone? If so, why do some people starve? Why don’t all God’s children have the best? I am reminded of Exodus 16 when God, having taken his people out of Egypt into the dessert, promises to provide food for them. So concerned with having plenty, some of God’s people took more than they needed and consequently some people starved.
It took them 40 years to learn, among many other lessons, that the Lord would provide enough for each one, as long as people shared resources and were thoughtful towards others. We are invited to be part of God’s mission and we are often the means of his grace. Do we have enough or more than enough so that we could share with others?
I would love to have someone in the congregation who would take on an environmental brief at St Barnabas. There is the opportunity to get a bronze, silver or gold parish badge and a chance to get a Green Flag award for the churchyard. Anyone? There would be some help from the diocese (a new member of staff has been appointed)and you would have my encouragement to take that agenda forward.
May God bless you this week,
