Earth Day and the Gift of Creation

My parents celebrated the very first Earth Day in 1970 when our family was living in Burlington, Iowa. To commemorate the day, they filled our little red wagon with newspapers to recycle, and somehow that small act landed us in The Hawk Eye newspaper the next day. I was too young to remember all the details, but I grew up deeply shaped by my parents’ concern for creation and their belief that caring for the earth matters.

That value stayed with me as I got older. It was one of the many things that drew me to Rachel, who spent the years after college canvassing for Greenpeace. Before entering seminary, I worked as the communications and marketing manager for a fledgling bioplastics company headquartered here in Kansas. During my time there, I helped promote what became the market’s first compostable, plant-based elastomeric plastic.

These commitments continue in small ways at home. We compost. We wash and reuse our zip-top bags. We recycle as much as we can. None of us does this perfectly, but we try to live with greater awareness of the impact our choices have on the world around us.

Scripture reminds us why this matters. The psalmist declares, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1). From the opening chapters of Genesis, humanity is entrusted with the care of creation. We are called not to exploit the earth as though it belongs to us, but to steward it as a sacred gift entrusted to our care.

How we treat the earth and its creatures reflects something about how we understand our relationship with God. Creation is not disposable. It is beloved by the One who made it.

Earth Day can sometimes feel overwhelming when we consider the scale of environmental challenges facing our world. But faith reminds us that small acts of care matter. Planting a tree. Reducing waste. Conserving resources. Supporting policies and practices that protect our shared home. These choices may seem small, but they are acts of gratitude and stewardship.
May we continue to tread more lightly upon the earth and care faithfully for this precious gift God has entrusted to us.

See you in church!

Grace, Peace, and Love,

Pastor Kevin