Creation Justice

Creation Justice – Environmental Issues and the Church
 
Our St. John’s Creation Stewards is a group of St. John’s members concerned with any issues related to nature, racial justice, income inequality or environmental issues.  For more information or to join, contact Don Atkiss datkiss@comcast.net
 
 
 
St. John’s is happy to participate in the 2024 Lansdale Open Gardens Day garden tours! June 8th, 2024 will be the first garden tour – focusing again on Fabulous Flower Gardens and August 17th, 2024 will be the second – focusing on Natives, Veggies and Non-Traditional gardens. Check out our gardens all summer long!
 
 
 

Dandelions are a key source of early nectar to Pollinators so consider leaving a few to flower if you are mowing 🐝

Dandelion (genus Taraxacum) are flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions native to Eurasia and introduced into North America (where other locally native flora provide early forage too), but the two commonplace species in the wider world, T. officinale and T. erythrospermum, which were introduced from Europe and do now propagate as wildflowers in those regions. Both species are edible in their entirety. The common name dandelion comes from French “dent-de-lion”, meaning “lion’s tooth”. Like other members of the family Asteraceae, they have very small flowers collected together into a composite flower head. Each single flower in a head is called a floret. In part due to their abundance along with being a generalist species, dandelions are one of the most vital early spring nectar sources for a wide host of pollinators that themselves are critical to pollination of later flowering plants.

 

St. John’s Creation Stewards upcoming community events:

Watch for upcoming events to be listed here!

 

Lansdale Open Gardens Days 2024 – Saturday, June 8, 10 am to 4 pm and Saturday, August 17, 10 am to 4 pm!  Join us!

Click here to go to the Lansdale Open Gardens Day Facebook page

 

 

A message from Don Atkiss for St. John’s Creation Justice team:
 
One part of St. John’s Creation Justice initiative is to help alleviate environmental discrimination. Environmental discrimination holds that the communities that are hurt the worst during an environmental crisis are those that are poor. Many countries are still trying to gain back the basic life sustaining needs of food, clean water, housing, adequate health care and jobs from natural disasters.  If we are committed to Creation Justice, we all need to pitch in to help out, if we can. There are many ways to help out community members in need right now:
· Through donations to the St. John’s Emergency Fund
· Through donations to Manna on Main Street
· Through donations to Philabundance, which provides meals in Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs.
· Through many other national and international charities.
At St. John’s, we “Draw The Circle Wide”. We need to make it as wide as we can right now. Thanks so much.
With the grace of God, Don
 
 
 

Link to the United Church of Christ Environmental Justice Ministries webpage: 

https://www.ucc.org/what-we-do/justice-local-church-ministries/justice/faithful-action-ministries/environmental-justice-ministries/

Link to The Pollinator, the UCC Environmental Justice blog:

https://www.ucc.org/category/column/the-pollinator-ucc-environmental-justice-blog/

Environmental Justice from our Conference: the PSEC:

God fashioned human beings to live in harmony with the created world, and act as stewards and caretakers of creation. As early as 1959, the UCC General Synod called for conservation and responsible development of the Earth’s resources for the benefit of all people, and out of consideration for future generations. Today more than ever Christians are called to take seriously environmental science, and work towards preserving our climate, environment, and natural resources. PSEC Justice & Witness ministries:

  1. Recognizes the reality and threat of global warming as outlined by internationally respected scientific bodies, and calls for education and action around the issue of climate change.
  2. Calls for policies that conserve natural resources and energy, specifically investment in sustainable energy technologies.
  3. Stands with the United Church of Christ in calling for divestment from fossil fuel companies.
  4. Calls for a ban on “fracking” (the injection of a chemical-water mixture into the ground to extract oil).
  5. Recognizes the complex socioeconomic dimensions of environmental justice such as race, class, and global inequality.

The Pennsylvania Office of Environmental Justice was established as a point of contact for residents in low income areas and areas with a higher number of minorities. Its primary goal is to increase communities’ environmental awareness and involvement in the DEP permitting process.  Click here to go to their website.

 

 

Prayers from Earth Sunday at St. John’s – April 23, 2023: (from ‘A Liturgy for Earth Day’ by Byron Forester (Creation Care Alliance).  For the complete story of Creation, read Genesis 1:1-2:4a

 

 

Link to an article about greenhouse gasses from the the World Meteorological Organization linked to the UCC website:

https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/more-bad-news-planet-greenhouse-gas-levels-hit-new-highs

 

 

Questions about UCC Environmental Justice on a national level? Please contact the Rev. Brooks Berndt, Minister of Environmental Justice. berndtb@ucc.org