Week-long Earth Day Challenge
Posted April 12, 2021
Join the St. Martin's community this year as we serve as faithful stewards of God's creation by participating in our Earth Day Challenge. You are invited to post photos of yourselves and your families participating in this challenge -- tag us in the post, @StMartinPhilly on Instagram and Facebook! Scroll down for each day's activity. But first...
Why Should Christians Care about Earth Day?
Earth Day celebrates the beauty of this fragile planet, our island home. We are also charged, each April 22nd, with the ongoing care and advocacy of creation. The intersection of faith and Earth Day makes sense for many Christians. Speaking to an ecumenical assembly in 2008, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said the following:
“Every Sunday in the creed, Christians confess their faith in God who created the world we inhabit. It’s God’s gift. As stewards of that gift, each of us has responsibility, both to God and to generations to come, to ensure that this remains a sustainable world. Placing environmental concerns at the heart of our Christian worship for this fixed time each year demonstrates our shared commitment to this end.”
And from St. Martin's:
St. Martin's third Community Engagement priority is climate change. St. Martin's Climate Action Team is a group of people concerned about global warming and seeking a prayerful and hope- and faith-filled approach to solving this problem. We offer programs, liturgies, and actions with the goal of lessening our collective impact on this beautiful planet. We are affiliated with Pennsylvania Interfaith Power and Light. For more information, please contact Kathy Greely at [email protected] or Jess Ballenger at [email protected].
St. Martin's 2021 Week-long Earth Day Challenge
Thank you to the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina for the inspiration!
Mon., 4/19: Meatless Monday.
Abstain from eating meat today. Enjoy a good vegetarian or vegan meal, instead!
Tues., 4/20: Transportation Tuesday.
Carpool, take public transit, or use an alternative means of getting around today!
Wed., 4/21: Water Wednesday.
Visit episcopalrelief.org to learn about how you can help those without clean water!
Thurs., 4/22: Earth Day Thursday.
Spend time in God's glorious creation today! Vow to practice sustainability and Creation Care.
The Episcopal Church’s Covenant for the Care of Creation is a commitment to practice loving formation, liberating advocacy and life-giving conversation as individuals, congregations, ministries and dioceses. Explore the Covenant here and sign up for the newsletter and opportunities to formally adopt the Covenant in your community.
Fri., 4/23: Trash Day Friday.
Reduce, reuse, recycle...compost, repair, donate, and share! Make less waste.
A prayer for the week
Collect for stewardship of creation (BCP pg. 259)
needs of every living creature: Make us always thankful for
your loving providence; and grant that we, remembering the
account that we must one day give, may be faithful stewards
of your good gifts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with
you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.'
Find additional Creation Care prayers at BuildFaith.org.
The St. Martin's Climate Action Team brings members of our congregation together to understand, act on, and pray about the very real challenge of climate change.
Climate Action Team
Tags: Climate Action Team / Prayer List / Community Engagement
