“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.”
Genesis 2:15
Dear Redeemer Family:
I’m writing this in July. Although, it is for the August newsletter. August, you know, “the Dog Days of Summer,” the hottest time of the year. Yesterday, I saw a thermometer that only read 103 degrees. I have real worries about what August will be like. You may have noticed that things just keep getting warmer and warmer. And it’s not just here. Right now, Europe is experiencing record heat with 100-degree temperatures. And most homes there don’t have air conditioning. I know. My mother comes from there. I have relatives there.
In June, I attended the Synod Assembly. The theme this year was Climate Change. I learned some interesting things. 70% of people know that it is happening. 60% don’t think that it will affect the United States. Really? Come to Missouri. We are currently in a 5-to-7-year window where we can have an impact to slow, and hopefully reverse, this trend. But, people believe, “I can’t make a difference.” Well, yes, we can. If we don’t, things will worse. There will be more drought. Right now, virtually the whole western half of the US is in drought, most of it severe drought. Forest fires will increase. Crops will fail. Air pollution will increase, to name but a few obvious ones. And things will get worse. Not just here, but worldwide.
There are things which we can do. The church has already converted to all LED lighting. That cuts down on a fair amount of electricity use. We can also do that at home, and should. As much as possible, we can purchase locally produced items. Believe it or not, De Soto has an award-winning Farmers’ Market. It is open on Saturday mornings on Main St. I recommend we use it. I do. All the produce there comes from less than 50 miles away. That cuts down on transportation cost, and fuel usage. We can plant trees. That sounds simple. We have done it at the Church building. I’ve done it at home. My mail carrier has told me that I have one of the coolest yards in town. By that he means “lots of shade.” It is not the neatest yard in town. He looks forward to getting to my house, so he can cool down. We can avoid the use of “one use plastics.” Some countries have actually illegalized them! These include plastic bags and bottles. Every year, enough plastic water bottles are produced to reach to the moon! And plastic is forever. I prefer a reusable bottle anyway! Just fill it up at home, and wash it at night.
This is the tip of the iceberg (which are melting) of the things that we can do. There are many ways in which we can be less wasteful and more conservation minded. We have gotten lazy and wasteful over the years. We were created to be stewards of the earth. It is time that we heed that command. And look above, it is a command.
In Christ,
Pastor Rose