BONIFACE ECO-STEWARDSHIP TEAM (B.E.S.T.)

The recent Gulf oil well explosion has raised many concerns and questions about how we are using the resources of oil and water and recent information makes it clear that we are all tied to the oil industry. 

Some examples: annual consumption of bottled water in the US requires the equivalent of between 32 and 54 million barrels of oil; 100 billion single-use plastic bags, using 12 million barrels of oil, are used in the US each year; the Gulf waters are home to 73% of the shrimp and 59% of the oysters harvested in the US each year and a total of 1.3 billion pounds of seafood valued at over $650 million; ¼ of US domestic natural gas and 1/8 of US oil is extracted from the Gulf. 

SO WHAT CAN WE DO AS RESPONSIBLE CHRISTIANS?

PRAY: Almighty God, in giving us dominion over things on earth, you made us fellow workers in your creation: Give us wisdom and reverence so to use the resources of nature, that no one may suffer from our abuse of them, and that generations yet to come may continue to praise you for your bounty; through Jesus Christ our Lord. (BCP p. 827)

BECOME INFORMED: check on-line resources such as www.nccecojustice.org, www.deepwaterhorizon.noaa.gov, http://www.healthygulf.org, http://www.cleanwaternetwork.org,

www.waterkeeper.org, www.sciencecorps.org/crudeoilhazards.htm

TAKE ACTION: become active in community environmental organizations , (Save Our Seabirds still wants cloths (preferably COTTON) and DAWN BLUE DISHWASHING SOAP. They are open 365 days a year, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Guided tours are on Fri., Sat..& Sun. at 2 p.m. by request..  Telephone # 388-3010. email saveourseabirds@gmail.com); reduce our personal dependence on petroleum based products; support locally produced products and local farmers; personally re-use items normally thrown away (many books are available at the library with suggestions).

PRAY SOME MORE: O merciful Creator, your hand is open wide to satisfy the needs of every living creature: Make us always thankful for your loving providence; and grant that we, remembering the account that we must one day give, may be faithful stewards of your good gifts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. (BCP p.259)

WHY IS THE ENVIRONMENT A RELIGIOUS CONCERN?

(From the National Religious Partnership for the Environment)

“The environment” is only a pale reflection of a much richer word: Creation. Not simply what happened “in the beginning,” but the world that reflects the glory of the Creator here and now…through which we are sustained and enlivened…in which we meet the neighbor whom we are to love as ourselves. Creation is the world in which we daily encounter bread and beauty, majestic mountains and familiar neighborhoods, painful brokenness and solace for the spirit. Creation is where we stand as we hear the divine summons to care for our neighbor and for the earth. 

Creation invests the world with a depth of meaning not fully captured by the terms “environment” or “nature”. Creation means that all things in heaven and earth are related to the One who gives them their being. Creation means that our dealings with everything around us are bound up with our relationship to the Divine. Creation means that we are creatures, too; the healing of the earth and the healing of human persons and human society must go hand-in-hand.

At the core of Jewish and Christian ethics are the commandments to love God and one’s neighbor. Can we love the Creator without celebrating and caring for the creation? Can we love our neighbor without protecting the environment on which that neighbor’s life and health depend?

Stewardship is all that I do with all that I have after I say, "I believe".

• Diocesan of Southwest Florida Greenteam:
  FloridaGreen@YahooGroups.com
• Episcopal Ecological Network Online
• National Council of Churches of Christ Eco-Justice Programs: Justice for God's Planet and God's People