Embracing Kingdom Hope for a Broken World
Opportunities
Oil Spill Prayer – Update & Prayer Journey
Jun 4th
I want to thank you all for your support and prayers. We are so excited that over 3,000 people have formally committed to pray for the effects of the oil spill through our Oil Spill Prayer initiative in addition to the countless others who are praying as well. These last 45 days have been filled with much tragedy and devastation, but the way that you have stood together to pray and entrust the situation to our Lord has been a bright spot and a great source of encouragement. We believe that our prayers do make a difference because our God is sovereign and listens to our prayers. So, thank you for standing up and making a difference in an impossible situation.
Unfortunately, I have to report that the flow of oil has yet to be stopped. Each effort that has been tried to stop or even slow the leak to date has failed. Furthermore, the estimates of how much oil shoots out every day has more than doubled. The gulf is filled with major plumes of oil. Beaches and marshes have now been infected with oil. Seagulls and sanderlings, Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles and dolphins have been injured and killed as a result. Families are struggling to put food on the table as a result of lost wages. Words can hardly describe the destruction.
*Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/lagohsep/4661384410/in/set-72157624183995944/
The situation is dire, but our God, who is the Redeemer, has revealed Himself in difficult circumstances time and time again. Let us continue to call upon the Lord in this difficult time.
I want to announce to you that we will soon be embarking on a prayer journey across the Gulf Coast. I will be traveling with Ben DeVries, a Creation Hope board member and the director of Not One Sparrow, throughout the affected areas. There we will gather in prayer with those on the ground to pray for this tragic situation. While our primary purpose is to be in prayer, we hope that this will also be a source of encouragement for those who live in the affected areas and that it will create a new level of awareness for those of you around the country and the world. Finally, we pray that it will be an opportunity to share the hope we have as Christians. We must not trivialize this situation, but neither can we ignore that our faith is placed in the Creator and Redeemer. The prayer journey will take place from June 14th – 21st. We will frequently be sharing our adventures with you via the Oil Spill Prayer updates page and the Creation Hope blog. We are really looking forward to how God will use this.
We are excited to know that we are backed by your support and prayers. I hope that in addition to praying for the spill, you will be praying for us during this time. If you happen to be in the area we would love to get together with you for prayer and possibly a meal. If you are not, please pray with us and encourage us from wherever you may be at. Finally, if you would like to further invest in what we are doing, we ask that you consider supporting our trip financially (even if that is simply through a Starbucks gift card). Please contact us if you would like to find out more about how you can be part of this exciting work.
Also consider:
LA Bike Week!
May 17th
This week is Bike Week LA! It is being hosted by Metro (http://www.metro.net/), the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Anyone who lives anywhere near Los Angeles knows that traffic is crazy and very, very slow. This is an effort to get people to use alternate transportation, their bikes.
I love bikes and I’m on one almost everyday. For exercise, transportation, or just fun, bikes are a great way to get around and steward transportation resources. Win/Win! My wife and I intentionally live, shop, and work within a 15 minute bike ride from our home. Do we still drive, yes, but having a biking option was our guiding criteria when we choose our home and our jobs. Inadvertently, we discovered having a biking option cut down on our gas usage (I typically fill my tank once a month) and our sanity (our commutes are very short) which means must less wear and tear on us and God’s creation.
I know not everyone has the opportunity at this moment to be as intentional as we were, but until then, participate in riding your bike as much as possible. Ride your bike this week and fall back in love with the best form of transportation.
Announcing Oil Spill Prayer!
May 11th
We are really excited to announce that Creation Hope is officially launching a new campaign called Oil Spill Prayer. Oil Spill Prayer seeks to unite Christians and churches around the world in prayer about the Gulf Coast Oil Spill.
We have recently posted our own prayer about the crisis. However, with some prompting from you, our readers, we have decided to take this to the next level.
Our goal is to enlist the prayers of individuals, churches, organizations, business, schools, and more in the Gulf, across the US, and around the world. We believe that our God is more than able to make a difference in the face of this awful disaster.
Oil Spill Prayer is a place where you can commit to praying and share your prayers with others. Please join with Christians along the gulf coast and around the world as we pray that God act in the midst of tragedy.
We hope that you will all take a moment, visit the Oil Spill Prayer website, and make a commitment to pray.
You can also connect through the Oil Spill Prayer Facebook page and Twitter account.
Thank you all for your continued support.
Earth Day & Creation Care Sunday
Apr 19th
You may well have heard that this Thursday, April 22, is Earth Day. What you may not have heard is that this week many celebrate Creation Care Sunday as well. So what are these days? Should we participate? How?
Earth Day
Earth Day is an effort by the Earth Day Network to raise awareness and motivate people to change their behaviors in order to help the environment. According to their website, “Earth Day Network was founded on the premise that all people, regardless of race, gender, income, or geography, have a moral right to a healthy, sustainable environment.” It is celebrated every year on April 22. This year marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. When it started 40 years ago 20 million were involved. Now they boast that over 1 billion people worldwide will be involved in Earth Day .
For all intents and purposes this is really a great event. It’s worldwide recognition and impact are undeniable. That said, I believe that our motivation for involvement and the message we send is distinct. I will refer you to my post about Earth Hour last month if you are new to the site or do not remember. I believe that as Christians we are able to participate in events such as Earth Day, while co-opting it to share our special message of hope. So, I encourage you to celebrate Earth Day this Thursday. While we share the call to action, this is not because we believe the earth is doomed. On Thursday, we celebrate the glory of God’s creation as it worships and helps point us to Him AND we rally around redeeming work of Jesus to participate in caring for and restoring His creation.
Creation Care Sunday
Many churches celebrate Creation Care Sunday this week. Although some churches celebrate it the Sunday before Earth Day (aka yesterday), it seems to me that more tend to celebrate it the Sunday after Earth Day. It is a way to intentionally focus on creation care in our services. While we hope that you are working towards regularly involving this into your worship, this is a great way to really focus in on it.
Here are just a few things that some churches do on Creation Care Sunday:
- Intentionally sing hymns or praise songs that highlight God’s creation
- Meet outside for worship
- Have a sermon that directly focuses on creation care
- Center the entire worship service (from the music to the message to the liturgy) on God’s creation
- Use PowerPoint backgrounds composed of images of God’s creation
- Create awareness around some key environmental issue
- Have information in the bulletin or elsewhere about how congregants can better care for creation.
Note that some churches, like this one, also do stuff the week of Creation Care Sunday to care for creation such as a cleanup day, an awareness event, or a nature walk.
Online Simulcast Opportunity
Finally, I just want to bring you attention to one last thing. This year a ministry called Blessed Earth is doing a simulcast on Wednesday night (April 21) called “Hope for Creation.” Their director is Matthew Sleeth, a former ER doctor turned creation care advocate who has authored Serve God, Save the Planet: A Christian Call to Action
What are you doing this week? Will you be involved in any Earth Day events? Is your church doing anything special for Creation Care Sunday? Please be sure to share what you plan on doing or come back next week and let us know about your experiences.
Whether or not you are intentionally involved in any events this week, do not forget the message of hope that Christians have to offer this week. This is not a week for us to retreat but rather to engage and share the good news of Jesus Christ.
Also consider:
Earth Hour 2010
Mar 26th
Earth Hour 2010 takes place tomorrow, Saturday March 27th from 8:30pm-9:30pm local time. The official Earth Hour website describes it this way: “On Earth Hour hundreds of millions of people around the world will come together to call for action on climate change by doing something quite simple—turning off their lights for one hour. The movement symbolizes that by working together, each of us can make a positive impact in this fight, protecting our future and that of future generations.”
Details: from 8:30-9:30pm turn off the lights in your house. Simple as that.
Think you will get bored with no lights? Here are a few options to pass the time (keeping in mind that it is only 1 hour):
- Take a walk
- Gaze at the beauty of the moon and stars (Remember that God created them and they sing His praises)
- Tell stories with your family
- Sit in silence (enjoying the break in all the noise that surrounds our lives so much of the time)
- Talk about why and how you care for God’s creation (maybe explore ways you can better do this)
- Spend time with those you love (note: how much easier it is to focus on others without the distractions)
Have other ideas of how to pass the time? Please share them in the comments below.
Now you might wonder if it’s worth it. What good can come of it? Does it make a difference? Well, when hundreds of millions of people in thousands of cities around the globe come together the impact is enormous. There are certainly energy savings which make a tangible difference. Perhaps more importantly is the impact it makes in generating awareness and changing peoples hearts and minds.
Here is one of the official Earth Hour 2010 videos:
*Update: if the video does not show in your browser, you can view it here on YouTube.
Climate change is an increasingly important issue for people around the world. As Christians, we need to take advantage of opportunities like this both to stand in solidarity with them AND to proclaim our unique message – that God Himself is working to restore His creation. For many Earth Hour may provide a glimpse of hope that people can make a difference. I think that’s great. But tomorrow an even greater message can be found as well – that God can, is, and will make the ultimate difference and we can live with the knowledge of that hope. You can be a part of sharing that profound message.
So, please join me in participating in Earth Hour 2010 not just to make people aware that our planet is broken, but to make people aware that God is working to restore and transform it and that He is calling us to participate with Him in that work.
Also consider:
World Water Day
Mar 22nd
Today, March 22, is World Water Day. According to the official website, Word Water Day serves “as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.” This year’s theme is “Clean Water for a Healthy World.”
For many of us, we don’t even think of water – where it comes from, how we get it, how many people don’t have access to it, etc. But today we pause and reflect on a growing issue around the world – access to clean water. The numbers related to unclean water are staggering. Consider the following information from their website:
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 4 billion cases of diarrhea each year in addition to millions of other cases of illness are associated with lack of access to water that is safe for human consumption. Per year 2,2 million people die as a result of diarrhea most of them are children under the age of five. Human health is severely impacted by water-related diseases (waterborne, water-washed, water-based, and water-related vector-borne infections) as well as by chemical pollution discharged to water.
It is easy to forget, ignore, or turn your back on these issues. Many of us will never suffer from this. Many of us don’t personally know people affected by this. Many of us will never even travel to places plagued by this. But that doesn’t let us off the hook. Now, consider this:
‘I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink… Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ (Matthew 25:35, 40)
As followers of Jesus we are called to care for those in need. The first step to caring is understanding.
Please take 5 minutes to watch this interesting video about water issues for World Water Day:
Please also consider visiting the official website and checking out some of the additional resources below.
Also consider:
Opportunity: Go Green Expo
Jan 19th
This series highlights opportunities to participate in caring for God’s creation or to increase your knowledge and understanding about living green.
Go Green Expo
If you are free this weekend and want to learn more about how to implement practices in your life that respect and care for God’s creation, then consider going to Go Green Expo. The goal of this event is to educate about “environmentally friendly goods & services for use in modern everyday living.” Not only will there be over 300 booths and exhibits but there will also be seminars, speeches, eco films, and more.
It is always a good idea to increase your understanding of eco issues, but what I particularly like about this event is the (at least intended) focus on the practical, everyday things we can do. However, when you peruse the exhibitor list you wonder how practical the exhibit items actually are. Nevertheless, it appears that attending this event would be a valuable experience for anyone interested in learning more about going green. I imagine that it would be encouraging for anyone who attends.
Here are the details:
The Los Angeles Convention Center
1201 South Figueroa Street, South Hall J
Los Angeles, CA 90015
www.lacclink.com
Business-to-Business Expo
Friday, January 22, 2010 • 10am – 5pm
This day is exclusively for retail & wholesale buyers, purchasing managers & agents, government / city procurement officers and decision makers who make corporate purchases on behalf of their organizations, agencies & companies.
Open to Public
Saturday, January 23, 2010 • 10am – 6pm
Sunday, January 24, 2010 • 10am – 5pm
Career Fair: (resumes are required, please bring a dozen)
Saturday, January 23, 2010 • 10am – 6pm
Sunday, January 24, 2010 • 10am – 5pm
Cost:
Business to Business Buyers Only for Friday (B2B Day) – Free
Adults – Weekend pass for Saturday & Sunday – $10
Children under the age of 12 – Free
Senior citizens (65+) – $5
Students: Please bring Valid Student ID for $5 admission
Military families: $5 per person (Valid military ID required)
One final note: try to carpool or take public transportation. I recommend the Metro Blue Line, which drops you off right across the street.
