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For the past several years I have been learning to appreciate the Christian Calendar as a means of connecting with Christ and Christians around the world. As I see it there is an inherent organic nature to the Liturgical Calendar in that it brings us closer as humans to the seasons of the earth, causing us to fast and feast according to harvests, to pray as the sun rises and as it sets, and to celebrate the coming of Christ, Lord of the Earth. Ash Wednesday reminds us of the earthen soil of which we were born, and gives our carbon bodies a destiny - a reconciliation to the ground. “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” How much more organic can you get??? We are truly God-grown; we spring up from the earth, we produce fruit (physical and spiritual), and then we die, returning to the earth that brought us life. So this Lenten season (which starts February 21st) I am going to begin making peace with the earth. I am prayerfully considering taking a fossil fuels fast over the 40 fasting days in Lent. What does that mean? At this point I’m not sure. It may mean all crude oil, coals, and fossil fuels. Over the past several months I have been strongly affected by movies, websites and conversations regarding our earth’s fragile state. The environment is on the verge of a tipping point toward a global heat wave, and we have no way of predicting just how dangerous this will be to our climate. I wonder: is it possible to live our lives without utter dependency on fossil fuels that emit dangerous greenhouse gases into our atmosphere? I intend to find out.
Our new apartment is now set to run off of 100% wind and solar power. I am close enough to my new job that I can ride my bike or even walk. It’s possible in our town to buy foods that were grown locally and therefore don’t take as much fuel to get here. It’s a start. This is obviously going to take some more sorting out and thinking through. I am also looking for others who want to challenge themselves to “make peace with the earth” during this season of fasting, penance, and prayer. We can share together what we hope will become a sampling of a better life - a life that is Good News not only to others, but to the earth itself! Feel free to pray about this, and email me or leave on comment on my blog if you want to talk more about this. An Inconvenient Truth, Christian Calendar, Culture, Environment, fasting, fossil fuels, From Cradle to Cradle, global warming, Lent Simple LivingAn Inconvenient Truth, Christian Calendar, Culture, Environment, fasting, fossil fuels, From Cradle to Cradle, global warming, Lent, Simple Living
Original content by: http://www2.godgrown.net:8881/2007/01/31/lent-2007-making-peace-with-the-earth/.
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Scott Bartchy is a radical. He believes in a subversive system that embraces those on the fringes of our society and seeks to establish a new way of life that goes against the status quo.