The Creation Care Connection
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Earth Day is April 22 and is annually observed since 1970. It was a day that drew attention to the increasing amounts of air pollution in the U.S. due to the inefficiency of leaded gas-using automobiles. In 1990, Earth Day propelled to be observed globally, which led to the convening of the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Today, Earth Day is a day of action to change human behavior and create global, national, and local policy changes to combat climate change.
Akin to Earth Day, the United Methodist Church celebrates the Festival of God’s Creation, generally the first Sunday to April 22. The Festival of God’s Creation is celebrating God's gracious work in creating the earth and all living things. Over the years, congregations have celebrated God’s creation through worship and various ways of connecting to God’s creation. The UMC provides worship and learning resources that enhances our discipleship as stewards of God’s creation.
Examples of upcoming events to connect to:
Saturday, April 22 –EARTH DAY AT THE PRAYER WALK - 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. Northern Hills United Methodist Church (NHUMC) is proud to invite the community to celebrate Earth Day and explore the Beatitudes Prayer Walk. NHUMC, the first church in the state of Texas to be designated a Sacred Grounds site with the National Wildlife Federation, is partnering with the San Antonio River Authority, Native Plant Society SATX, The Nature Conservancy Texas, and others to host a day of workshops, tours, & presentations including an interactive watershed demo; seed bombs; birdhouses; giveaways; and other events. To celebrate Earth Day on April 22, come join in for a time of fun and learning. For additional information you can also call NHUMC at (210) 654-0881. 3703 North Loop 1604 East, San Antonio.
Sunday, April 23 – Las Misiones District Creation Care Festival – 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. Las Misiones District Creation Care Festival features environmental films, children’s activities, health screenings and a fair where various faith groups will share their own projects (using solar power, creating a prayer walk, preserving natural area, using Low Impact Development and outdoor meeting spaces, and more) and be available to mentor others who are ready to responsibly Care for Earth. Event Schedule 11:00 am Community Devotional & Creation Care Film Showing 12:00 pm Lunch 1:00 pm Children’s Activities & Film Showing 2:00 pm Creation Care Information Tables & Display Activities 4:00 pm Closing Film This event, including lunch, is free and open to the public. Location: Impacto Community Center - 211 N. Park Blvd. San Antonio Texas 78204. Event Coordinator: Rachel Cywinski United Methodist Global Ministries EarthKeeper & Rio Texas Conference Creation Care Ministries volunteer worldvisitor@rocketmail.com. Sponsor: Río Texas Conference Mission, Service, & Justice Ministries - avega@riotexas.org / 2104084512.
With a handful of participants to begin the conversation, the Rio Texas Conference Creation Care ministry formally began through monthly cohort learning gatherings September 2022 thru January 2023. Now the conversation continues as a network, gathering monthly online, seeking to grow and learn about the various congregations are caretakers of God’s creation. Since 2019, several Rio Texas Conference disciples have become EarthKeepers having gone through the General Board of Global Ministries creation care and justice training program.
God declares all creation good and as Christians we are called to be its caretakers. United Methodists are committed keeping our planet green, clean and sustainable for all. The Rio Texas Conference Creation Care ministry seeks to understand how congregations and communities served are being harmed by extreme weather events. When our congregations were threatened by COVID-19, we did whatever was needed to keep our people safe.
How are we responding to the rapidly changing climate? While politicians, activists, economists, and scientist debate the climate crisis, the church remains remarkably silent. And yet we know according to Paul in Romans that “creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God” (Romans 8:19-23). Our first commandment before the fall was to care for creation. Like the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Luke 20:9-16), we were given dominion over creation (Genesis 1:26) to “till it and keep it” (Gen. 2:16). And like the parable, our sin warped that original call to one of exploitation, greed, and gluttony.
The climate has become an outward and visible sign of our sin which creation can no longer bare. The climate crisis is a spiritual crisis, and we will be judged (Revelations 11:18). While in this fractured world we may not agree on the same response, we are called as faithful disciples to respond to the spiritual crisis at the root of the climate crisis.
Our mission field has experienced significant weather challenges and disasters over the years due to various floods, tornadoes, fires, hailstorms, and hurricanes. We have the blessings of a well-organized conference disaster response committee and the continued support of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). As climate change and humanity’s challenge to collectively respond persists, we will continue to experience weather challenges and disasters in our region. So what might be our understanding of the work of caring for God’s creation and responding to weather disasters?
We are seeing the impact of climate change on global migration [a] [b] and community health. This has relevance and bearing on our mission field, 74 counties of south and west Texas and 450 miles of borderlands with Mexico. Certainly, these realities are presented to us through our local church ministry responses to welcome arriving asylum seekers and to the concerns of health and the seeking of wellbeing in the communities we serve.
The Creation Care Connection is manifesting within the Rio Texas Conference through continued networking to discover the various ways congregations and disciples are responding climate change and being caretakers of God’s creation. These congregations and disciples become key voices and artists painting a mosaic of creation care and justice through actions and story.
