My parents met each other at the dirt track. A dirt oval where cars race, and drivers test their skills as they try to finish first. The day before my birth my parents had been out to watch my oldest brother race go-karts. Car racing was always a part of my young life. Well into my teen years, I frequently spent time at one of the local tracks. In the sixth grade I had joined a school club centered around community service and one of the things we talked about was saving the earth from trash and pollution. Soon, 12-year-old me decided car racing was a terrible thing because all that exhaust was killing the world. I shared my protest at home — unsuccessfully. But it did lead to some good conversations. That’s the first time I can remember having a deep concern for preserving the earth and having a conversation with different points of view.
As an adult I do not spend much time at car races. Although, if I am honest, I do get a hankering to feel that rumble in my chest as they come blasting around the fourth turn every so often. My concern for the environment, for God’s creation, has only grown. I am raising a child who came into this world loving animals and the whole science of their existence. Every single week during worship, she asks us to pray for the endangered animals. As she grows and her understanding expands, she too is concerned about animal habitats and our footprint on the world. This past year she asked for donations to help endangered animals instead of gifts for her birthday. Each week as we pray for the endangered animals, we remember that God has given us the gift of creation and made us stewards of it. My own interpretation of this is that we are called to care for this world and to use its resources wisely and generously. This means we must consider carefully how we use these resources and who profits from that use.
I try earnestly to limit my impact on the world through consumption. I make use of reusable bags. I recycle, reuse and try to limit one-time-use items. I am trying to get my disposable straw use down to zero. I plant and grow a garden to source food much closer to home in the warm months. Yet, I figured out my current vehicle has been to 31 states in the continental United States. Before the pandemic, we spent a lot of time on the road seeing the world. I drove to work every day and I ran frequent errands in my car. I flew to conferences for continuing education. There are a lot of ways I fail at caring for creation — or at the very least contribute to its demise.
Earth care is overwhelming, and we are quick to oversimplify it. If only it were so simple to spare creation the deep wounds it knows. In order to really care for all this beautiful creation, small changes in our lives will help, but we are going to have to make much larger cultural changes to stop the impact of our consumption. Changing culture sounds lofty and idealist, but it is hard and messy work. We followers of Jesus are called to this sort of messy work all the time; at some point in time we become accustomed to it even though it is exhausting. If our culture is going to change its impact on the resources of the world, it must start somewhere.
Church, the beloved community of Jesus followers, seems like an excellent place to start. Not because of a political or environmental agenda, but because we have been entrusted to care for creation, to be good stewards of its resources.
I wonder if we will answer the call.
