Gathering Voices: Faithful Conversations from The Thoughtful Christian

But the LORD was Not in the Wind

 A Gathering Voices Post by Lara Blackwood Pickrel

Though the movie didn't always receive the greatest of reviews, there is a scene in the 2006 film The Nativity Story that moved me to tears in the theater and has stuck with me ever since.  At the beginning of the film (minutes 7:45-8:45), young Mary delivers some goat cheese to her neighbor, Ruth.  When Mary walks into the dwelling, Ruth is surrounded by several children of the village - and she is telling them the story of Elijah's encounter with God found in 1 Kings 19:11-13:

Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.  So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”    (New King James Version)

This is a story the children know in their bones.  It has been told to them from their infancy, provided to them as nourishment along with their mothers' milk.  As Ruth recites it, they fill in the blanks - a chorus swelling with "But the LORD was not in the wind" and "But the LORD was not in the earthquake" before softly settling into "And after the fire, a still small voice." 

There is something incredibly precious about children who not only know to look for God, but also know in their bones how to recognize God.  I think that is what moves me to tears every time I watch the scene.

Generally, I only think about this movie when we near Christmas - but it also pops into my heart every time an earthquake rattles or a storm lashes its way into the news.  Last night, as I lay in bed praying for people in the path of storms barreling through the South, I caught a flash of it.  And, knowing that there will be voices who declare these storms an act of God, I longed for our children to be a generation who knows 1 Kings 19:11-13 in their bones. 

My prayer this morning (in addition to prayers for the injured, the dead, the devastated) is this:  Oh God, may we teach and guide our children to become a people who help rebuild lives and bury our dead with these words upon their lips:  "But the LORD was not in the wind."  Amen.

Additional Resources from www.TheThoughtfulChristian.com

• Opening to God: Childlike Prayers for Adults, by Marilyn McCord Adams
• A Children's Guide to Worship, by Ruth L. Boling and Lauren J. Muzzy
• "Mary, Mother of Jesus," by J. Ellsworth Kalas (Adult Study)
• "Different Ways to Pray: A Two-Day Retreat for Youth," by Nancy Ferguson

Live Blogging the Royal Wedding: Why Do I Care About This?

By Jana Riess

3:37 a.m.  Aaaaugh! Insomnia again. Well, at least there's something interesting to watch on TV. Forget about my plans to TiVo the royal wedding and see it tonight. Now I will be watching with millions of other people! It's, like, a religious experience!

4:02 a.m. Barbara Walters just informed me that there 775 rooms in Buckingham Palace, and 78 bathrooms.

4:03 a.m. Diane Sawyer looks a lot more chippper this morning than she was last night when she covered the tornado rampage across the South. It must be head-whippingly schizophrenic to be a news anchor.

4:03: Well, that didn't take long. We're only three minutes in and we have a first reference: Kate will never be a commoner again! According to the NPR royal wedding drinking game, everyone takes a drink, probably the first of hundreds. Mine will be herbal tea. I have to teach today.

4:05: That didn't take long either: Headline is "Mum would be so proud." She would have been 50 in July. Diana, of course. Everybody take another drink.

4:14: Let the red carpet fashion critique begin. Whoo hoo, is that a hat on your head or are you just happy to be on TV? According to the British commentator, you have to be "really, really posh" to get away with hats like that.

4:17: Here's a woman who got the posh memo . . . David Beckham and a beautifully pregnant Posh Spice!

4:18: Kate's local butcher, yoga instructor, and pub owner have all been invited from Bucklebury. See, the royal family does love commoners. Aaaaaaaaw.

4:22: How much would it cost to air a commercial during the royal wedding?

4:26: Barbara speculates about Kate's hair. Will she do an upsweep? A tiara? Why am I still watching this?

4:27. Robin says that Diana was barely 20 years old when she got married. But wasn't she just 19? No matter; it's time for another drink.

4:28: Did we mention that Kate is a commoner and her parents only just met the queen for the first time? If this keeps up I'll be up to my second cup of tea.

4:33: More commercials already? Well, time to reflect on royal weddings. I do feel nostalgic, even though I didn't want to be awake just now. In 1981 a friend stayed over at my house and we woke up at some ungodly hour to watch Princess Diana get married. I loved it all.So now it's tradition. I need some more tea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five Myths about Friendship in the Facebook Age

A Gathering Voices post by Lynne M. Baab

The Washington Post has a wonderful “five myths” series: Five Myths about Gas Prices, Five Myths about Planned Parenthood, etc. So I decided to write a similar post based on what I learned in dozens of interviews of people age 12 to 85 for my new book, Friending: Real Relationships in a Virtual Age.

Myth: The biggest friendship challenges of our time come from the many impersonal ways to communicate.

I heard three major friendship challenges expressed over and over in interviews: mobility, busyness and new ways to communicate. Many people see the new ways to communicate as helpful aids in the light of all the mobility and busyness, even while being concerned about them.

Myth: Younger people don’t value face-to-face contact with their friends. 
Almost everyone I interviewed, across the span of ages, affirmed that they prefer to see their friends face-to-face. Most people said they view electronic communication as a way to stay in touch with friends, so that in face-to-face encounters, they can begin from a point of connection rather than having to catch up on all the details of life.

Myth: Younger people are oblivious to the way they are impacted by the new communication technologies.

Teenagers and young adults talked to me about going on Facebook fasts and leaving online gaming communities. They talked about their longing that their relationships not be impersonal and technology-driven, and about not wanting to be mindless consumers of information about people. They talked about all the things they do to try to be faithful to their friends. The careful thinking about healthy relationships I heard was inspiring and uplifting.

Myth: Facebook always nurtures impersonal friendships.

Teenagers talked about staying in constant contact with their friends on Facebook as a way to show love. People of all ages talked about reconnecting with old friends through Facebook, being able to pray for friends because of news posted on Facebook and being able to give and receive support through Facebook. Others talked about their frustrations with Facebook, saying that it’s too easy to be superficial in your relationships if you rely on Facebook too much. I heard about a wide variety of friendship experiences from people who use Facebook, and some of those patterns seemed quite healthy.

Myth: Your age will determine the forms of communication you are comfortable with.

I did hear generational patterns in the way people talked about communication with friends, but I was also surprised by the variation within generations. For example, consider two people in their mid-thirties. One of them told me that she loves to write and receive long emails from friends. The other thirty-something won’t read more than the first three sentences of an email. People ranging in age from teenagers to sixties use Facebook and texting enthusiastically, and other people across that same age range told me they hate Facebook and texting (yes, including teenagers!). One real challenge with friendships today is that in any circle of friends at any age, there will be wide variation in the forms of communication people use. I think this is one of the biggest friendship challenges of our time that is not being discussed very much.

Additional Resources from www.TheThoughtfulChristian.com

• "Tech Etiquette," by Anna Kendig (Youth Study)
• "Smartphone Etiquette," by Sue Washburn (Parent Study)

Beyond boxes: imagining how to move well

A Gathering Voices post by Adam Copeland

Oh, moving. Cardboard boxes. Back strains. Getting the furniture arranged just right. In a few short weeks, I’ll be doing it again. In the past five years I’ve lived in four different places (Decatur, Ga; Ayr, Scotland; Grand Forks, N.D., and now Moorhead, Minn. -- and that's not even counting time at the manse in Hallock, Minn.). As a young adult, I’m not particularly unusual. Statistics show slightly different numbers, but on average young adults move around every three years or so.

That’s a lot of boxes, and back strains, and arranging furniture. But it also makes me think: how does one move well? I mean, beyond the fancy ways to load boxes on the truck and managing to hang pictures on the wall within the first month of arriving in a new place. How does one move well in terms of integrating into a new community, getting to know one’s neighbors, and working for justice in a new place?

I don’t know. But I’ve been thinking about moving, dreaming about moving even. And here’s a little list I’ve concocted. I’m not saying I’d have the gumption to carryout all the list. But, as I consider how to move well, here’s a few ideas beyond the boxes.

Top ten things to do after moving to a new place:

1. bake your new neighbors cookies and have a conversation when you deliver them
2. attend worship at the closest church to your new place, whatever the denomination
3. go to the nearest coffee shop, find a regular customer, and buy that person a cup of coffee and/or go to the nearest bar and do the same 
4. host an ice cream social at your new place, deliver invitations to all your neighbors
5. spend an entire Saturday in your front yard (or apartment courtyard) -- do yard work (without headphones), read a book, play with a puppy, whatever you do be visible and available for conversation
6. attend a school board meeting and/or city council meeting
7. seek out your local elected representatives and schedule an appointment to simply meet them and get to know one another 
8. subscribe to the local newspaper and read it, every day, for at least a month
9. get a library card, use it once a month, and spend a day at the library
10. within the first six months, volunteer with three different local non-profits

In Christianity, caring for one’s neighbor is at the heart of the faith. But I’m the first to admit that caring for folks at the local homeless shelter is much more comfortable for me than actually befriending the neighbors next door with the obnoxious yard signs, or smiling at cheapskate who steals the local coffee shop’s wireless Internet connection without even buying coffee or leaving his car. While I’m all for a broad interpretation of what Jesus meant when he said “love your neighbor as yourself,” I think his words most definitely must apply to one’s literal neighbors too. 

Our culture makes it very easy to treat one’s house as one’s castle, to not venture beyond one's garage unless in the car with the windows tightly rolled up. What if we were to measure moving well not by boxes and back aches and furniture, but by neighbors loved? 

image by CBIdesign

Additional Resources from www.TheThoughtfulChristian.com

• "Movin' Out," by Kara Lassen Oliver (Youth Study)
• "What Community Will You Seek?" by Martha Miller (Youth Study)

Babies-R'nt-Us

A Gathering Voices post by Erin Lane

I've never been gaga for babies, their newborn bodies pinked and puffed. It's too soon to know who they really look like, what sort of personality is buried beneath their chub, and when they'll start saying the darndest things.

I know this admonition is a shock to many and a relief to some. Church folks in particular have a hard time believing a virile, young woman like me could feign anything other than adoration at the site of a baptism. One Sunday in college, a chorus of throat squeals and arm squeezes broke out amongst my friends at the sight of gummy babes on stage preparing to be dedicated. 

"Erin, are you seriously not loving this?" Jacki asked.

I shrugged. "I mean, if they were puppies, I'd be right there with you."

When my husband and I became engaged five years ago, we sternly told our marrying pastor, "No talk of babies. No talk of being fruitful. No multiplication." We agreed to be married a few years before really posing the question of if and when we were ready to be sleepless, selfless, and salty parents. It's been posed, and we're still happily obsessing over our dog, slapping each other in public to show her picture on the smart phone and excusing her nutty behavior with the refrain that she's just a shy, codependent little runt through no fault of our own. 

I'm not alone in a new generation of men and women who have chosen to remain childless, called by this month's issue of Details magazine the No-Baby Boom. At a cost of $350,000 to raise a kid from birth through public university, for some couples it's partly a matter of money. Others want to have more nights to themselves for bubbly and bubble baths with their spouses. And some, like my husband and me, are still just a bit unsure we can commit to something longer than a 15-yr mortgage.

Christianity has always been quite radical in the possibilities it affords childless individuals. When the elevation of the nuclear family served only the state's interest in ancient Rome, Jesus encouraged the development of the spiritual family. One can imagine his words would be read today as anti-family values. But Christians who choose not to have children do not have to be anti-family. Regardless of our own biological decisions, we are all called to mother and father the kin of Christ in the communal project of parenthood.

Close friends of ours welcomed their first baby during Holy Week. My husband and I drove to the hospital with high anticipation. We held this baby, this admittedly beautiful baby. We brought his parents a DVD of Flight of the Conchords to get them through the next couple of nights with a sense of humor. And we started a food schedule to ensure they had meals through their first week home.

As we walked back to the car, high off the smell of baby powder, I turned to my husband and said, "So, you want one of those yet?" He looked at me with a grin and said, "Nope. I'm good for now."

And it is true. We are good, oh so good with the idea of raising this baby, although not our baby, as a little red and blue blooded member of Christ's body.

Additional Resources from www.TheThoughtfulChristian.com

• "Part of the Family? Caring for a Pet," by Megan Pillow Davis (Adult Study)
• "Pets: Our Best Friends," by Megan Pillow Davis (Youth Study)
• "Eight Is Enough?! Questions Raised by Reproductive Technologies," by Kate Ott (Adult Study)

No Hurry: The Countercultural Message of Zac Brown

A Gathering Voices post by Greg Garrett

The Zac Brown Band has exploded into the musical consciousness in a big way in the last two years. Best New Artist at the 2010 Grammys, the Band eluded the usual sophomore slump by following up their double-platinum album The Foundation (which launched five No. 1 country singles and one cut that reached No. 2 on the charts) with the new You Get What You Give, which debuted as a Billboard No. 1 album and shows every sign of at least matching the earlier album’s success.  The Band recently won a 2011 Grammy for their song “As She's Wallking Away” with Alan Jackson, and are now in the midst of an international tour where they’re playing ballparks and football stadiums.

I saw the Zac Brown Band last week and the crowd was both huge and excited. If I’d needed confirmation that Zac Brown is a big deal, I got it. But what makes artists so popular? In cultural studies, we suggest that they are somehow filling a vital need—giving people something they want in a way they’re not getting from other avenues of meaning. And I think Zac Brown has something to offer in terms of spiritual good health, particularly when you step away from the obvious country hits.

The Zac Brown Band shows a different side on a number of songs about stepping out of the rat race and seeking a simpler and less complex life. Some of them have been hits for the band—“Toes,” about sitting in the sand with a cold beer and how “life is good today,” and “Where the Boat Leaves From,” about how the blue ocean washes away all your big problems. These songs are very much in a Jimmy Buffett mode, so it’s not surprising to see Jimmy appear on the new album’s “Knee Deep,” about how when you lose yourself, you find the key to paradise. 

Other non-island songs, however, also preach this countercultural “no” to the busy and complicated lives that the world tells us we need to live to have a meaningful existence. “Free” follows a couple in a van who travel across the country and wind up sleeping down on the sand. They’re said to be “free as we’ll ever be.” The opening cut on the new album, “Let It Go,” counsels us to keep our hearts above our heads, our eyes wide open, and to

Save your strength for things that you can change

Forgive the ones you can’t

You’ve got to let it go.

 And “No Hurry” counsels some time down by the riverbank:

Let the world go on without me

Wouldn’t have it any other way

‘Cos I ain’t in no hurry today.

Finally, “Quiet Your Mind,” notes how we seem to end up right we’re supposed to be, and that’s got to mean something, right?

The Zac Brown Band has shot to popularity because they’re great musicians and songwriters—and because they’re giving us a message we need to hear. Take a leisurely listen and see what you think.

 
Additional Resources from www.TheThoughtfulChristian.com

• 99 Things to Do between Here and Heaven, by Kathleen Long Bostrom and Peter Graystone
• Finding Calm in the Chaos, by Kathleen Long Bostrom
• "Benedictine Spirituality," by Alexa Smith and Michelle Hwang (Adult Study)

My Easter Resolution: Don’t ever give up. God didn't.

A Gathering Voices Post by David Maxwell

Jesus was just one of many charismatic good preachers stirring people up and giving them hope. He had just the combination of messages that helped many people connect the dots and see their religious institution and its leaders for what they were—collaborators with Roman occupiers.

These religious and political leaders were surely happy to see him gone. But his followers were stunned. How could someone so good and life affirming be taken away? Why did the bad guys always win? If he really was God’s representative as many said, why would God let him be killed?

The rumor of the empty tomb and sightings of a resurrected Jesus spread quickly, opening a small glimmer of hope and puzzlement for everyone. Sometime later, after enough people had seen him and gathered to share their stories of what he had done, it was clear: this man was the real thing. God actually has the last word and not corrupted religious and political leaders. The force for Life is stronger than forces of death. Truth ultimately will prevail.

Easter for me is always a mixed bag. I live in a world where forces of death constantly prevail. Every attempt to do something about global warming, help the poor, improve health care for all, welcome the immigrant, gets shot down by overwhelming forces of death.  Yet, I do believe the tomb was empty. There is still work to be done. God will ultimately prevail.

Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed!

Additional Resources from www.TheThoughtfulChristian.com

Check Out Our Easter Study Pack

 

On a Clear Day

A Gathering Voices Post by Don McKim

It’s Easter time again so churches pull out all the stops. Festivities abound—all the liturgical pageantry is in full view on Easter Sunday. Easter breakfasts, Easter egg hunts, choirs on display—all in the service of worship and praising the “king of kings and Lord of Lords” (Rev. 18:16).

And this is appropriate! Every worship service should be a celebration of what Easter celebrates: the resurrection of Jesus Christ. On Easter Sunday we make sure this is front and center, so there is no mistake that the message of the church is clear: “If Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain” (1 Cor. 15:14). This statement from Paul in 1 Corinthians 15—sometimes called “the spinal cord of the New Testament”—is central. As Jürgen Moltmann put it: “For him and for earliest Christianity as we know it, God’s raising of Christ was the foundation for faith in Christ, and thus the foundation of the church of Christ as well. And it is in fact true that the Christian faith stands or falls with Christ’s resurrection” (The Way of Jesus Christ, 213). Or, as James Dunn says of the resurrection of Christ: “This was the bedrock on which the common faith of the first Christians was built. The resurrection of Christ by God was where and how it all began” (The Theology of Paul the Apostle, 237).

So in the church, we are “resurrection people.” We are those who know that out of the God-forsakenness of the cross, God in Jesus Christ has brought a new reality, new life, a “new world” (2 Cor. 5:16-21).

The resurrection of Christ is the assurance the reign of God, which embraces these realities, has begun. The future vision that “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever” (Rev. 11:15) is on its way to being fulfilled on earth, right now; and in our lives. This is how the future reaches into the present. In his resurrection, Jesus Christ assures us that God’s future is secure. No power or force can overcome the one who has overcome death. With that future assured, our lives in the present are committed to Jesus Christ as Lord. So we are freed to give ourselves totally, in all ways, as Christ’s disciples here and now. We live in holy boldness and peace in this world, as we serve God in Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Christ appears in his resurrection as the “first fruits of those who have died” (1 Cor. 15:20). This means, says Moltmann, that “with Christ the general resurrection of the dead has already begun. The annihilation of death through the coming of eternal life is already in process. New creation is beginning in Christ in the very midst of this world of violence and death” (The Way of Jesus Christ, 221). Our “Christian resurrection hope which is grounded on the remembrance of Christ’s sufferings and resurrection is therefore an unequivocally ‘joyful hope’ for the resurrection and the life of the world to come” (224-225).

We live now with this “joyful hope” because Jesus Christ is raised from the dead. Our present days are filled with vigorous service for Christ since we know the future is assured and the eternal reign of Christ is secured. The title of the old musical captures it: “On a Clear Day You Can See Forever.” Easter morning is our “clear day.” We can see “forever,” here and now, because Christ is risen! And we can live “forever,” in the eternal kingdom grounded in resurrection hope! Hallelujah! (Rev. 19:6).

Additional Resources from www.TheThoughtfulChristian.com

• What's the Least I Can Believe and Still Be a Christian? A Guide to What Matters Most, by Martin Thielen
• A Christology of Peace, by James E. Will
• Check out other Lent and Easter resources!

Halter Tops and the Imago Dei

A Gathering Voices post by Lara Blackwood Pickrel

Yesterday I finally got around to reading an article that has bounced all over facebook the past couple of days.  The article, written by CNN Contributor LZ Granderson, takes a hard look at the clothing being marketed for young girls (padded bras, thongs, halter tops and the like) - as well as the parents who buy those items for their children. 

For a lot of reasons, I think this article should be required reading for parents and anyone else who is involved in the lives of children.  It brings up clothing choices, parent-child relationships (are you my parent, my friend, or both?), societal ideas about what is "sexy", peer-pressure and the power that marketing campaigns have over our choices as consumers.  And, of course, the 5500+ comments that readers have added are sometimes thought-provoking (on either side of the argument) and sometimes just downright upsetting.  Interesting reading, all around.

But what has stuck with me the most since I first read Granderson's piece is what he had to say about self-esteem and body image: 

"In 2007, the American Psychological Association's Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls issued a report linking early sexualization with three of the most common mental-health problems of girls and women: eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression. There's nothing inherently wrong with parents wanting to appease their daughters by buying them the latest fashions. But is getting cool points today worth the harm dressing little girls like prostitutes could cause tomorrow?"

Is it worth the harm?  Though his choice of words may be a bit strong (and lacking respect for the children of God who, for whatever reason, do work in the sex trade), it is absolutely a question worth asking. 

If eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression are the mental health problems that stem from telling girls and young women (not to mention boys, young men and adults of any gender) that their bodies must fit into the very rigid "sexy mold" in order to have value, what are the spiritual health problems that come alongside them?

Guilt, shame, body-loathing, self-hatred, repression, the inability to see our worth beyond the "va-va-va-voom factor":  all these things ultimately twist us up and warp our spiritual sight, often to the point that we can no longer see the image of God in ourselves.  And all these things are inevitable feelings that come with the realization that you can't (or can no longer) fit into the mold. 

I have no children of my own.  But I care for and walk alongside other people's kids every day.  And I yearn for every child I work with to be lit from within with the knowledge that woven inside him or her (body, mind and spirit) is the image of God.

If saying no to that pair of tight track pants with "Juicy" on the butt is what it takes to help that happen, it's a price I'm willing to pay. 

• Do you think children are being "sexualized" in our society?

• Do clothing choices really matter?

• How do you encourage less "sexy" clothing options without shaming the girls in your group who are wearing them?

 
Additional Resources from www.TheThoughtfulChristian.com

• "Eating Disorders in Teens," by Sue Washburn (Parenting Study)
• "Understanding Teenage Depression," by Martha Bettis-Gee (Parenting Study)
• Adolescents in Crisis: A Guidebook for Parents, Teachers, Ministers, and Counselors, by G. Wade Rowatt Jr.

 

Earth Day is Tomorrow! A Final "Eco-Friendly" Post from Rebecca Barnes-Davies

Holy Week, Earth Day, and Choosing Life

Tomorrow is Earth Day! This is great news and a wonderful way to reclaim and embody our ongoing commitment to transform the way we live in God’s Creation.

As we re-commit ourselves to caring for the Earth, we are in the midst of observing Holy Week. Today is Maundy Thursday, tomorrow is Good Friday, and Sunday is Easter. This week we acknowledge both incredible pain and overwhelming joy as part of the human-divine experience. While we know that life ultimately claims victory over death, we take seriously the depth of pain that is part of this Holy Week path.

This mixture of beauty and brokenness is also a part of what our world knows. There are signs of crucifixion and resurrection in the Earth. Tomorrow is a day that is both Good Friday and Earth Day: how will we honor the mixture of pain and joy that is our lived reality? What earth-care actions, advocacy, and lifestyle changes might we choose in order to show the power and victory of life over death?

We recognize that here, in 2011, we live on a planet that is beautiful and bountiful. Conversely, we live on a planet that, in all its glory, is being stretched and scarred by human activities. The diversity of species on Earth is incredibly vast, and still we live in a time of mass extinction of species.

Some portions of the human population can look outside their front window and revel at the majesty of the Earth and at life’s sacramentality. Other portions of the human population have no view, no window, no home. Disproportionate distribution of environmental ills and environmental benefits mean that people around the world hold widely different experiences of the Creation that God called “good.” Meanwhile, the best living to be had for non-human creatures is most likely enjoyed by species as yet undiscovered by humankind.

Gross over-consumption and corporate greed often dominate our economically globalized world (leading us into increased disparities between rich and poor, obese and starving, those with access to everything and those with access to nothing). In addition to these eco-justice tragedies, other major environmental problems abound: pollution of air, land, and water; overpopulation; massive species extinction, environmental racism; and global climate change. The 2010 Living Planet Report of the World Wildlife Federation confirms our suspicions that “humanity’s demands exceed our planet’s capacity to sustain us. That is, we ask for more than what we  have” (http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_Earth/all_publications/living_planet_report/). Rainforests are shrinking, glaciers are melting, and toxic waste is growing. Human violence in warfare expands to human violence against the Earth. This is a hard place to be, a hard place to live—in this Earth we inhabit, a planet that we have made both home and hostile territory.

Somehow we live in this Earth of beauty, brokenness, death, and destruction. We realize God’s presence and grace in the midst of this Earth as we live a Holy Week reality that strips away all pretenses of human perfection and underscores human sin. We look for redemption and we find it, thanks be to God!

In gratitude to God’s faithfulness, we can respond in thanksgiving with our renewed commitments and actions for earth-care. How will we, a people who know beauty and brokenness, choose life? How, in an Earth damaged by human efforts and yet still home to us, will we live? I invite you to celebrate Earth Day by something that resists our human distortion of God’s goodness in Creation, something that begets life for Earth. What will this be for you?

 

We're Celebrating Earth Day

At The Thoughtful Christian we feel that Earth Day should be longer than twenty-four hours. Through April 24, we're celebrating Earth Day with downloadable group studies and retreats, and books at great discounts. 

Each week we will be featuring Rebecca Barnes-Davies's book 50 Ways to Help Save the Earth: How You and Your Church Can Make a Difference. It will be 50% off and each week we'll provide an excerpt so you'll be able to read one of the "50 ways."

We will also have a new theme each week. Click on "Week Four" below to see this week's featured resources.

• Week One: Books for Congregations
• Week Two: Books for Deeper Reflection
• Week Three: Books for Youth & Families
• Week Four: Books for Devotion & Reflection
• Week Five: Books for Taking Action