Found in the second creation story, Genesis, chapter two, you find the line, “a river flows from Eden.”[1] This beautiful imagery brings to mind the point of God’s original creation, Eden, flowing outward towards and into all of creation that is and that will come to be. All things, animals, plants, humanity, air, water, all things, are forever connected and find their source in the beginning. The abundant life that makes up the garden of Eden emanates out to create the abundant life throughout the world.
We have lived on (and used) this earth for a long, long time. Everywhere I look, I see signs of Eden. The bird sanctuary delights me with fowl in the air and water. A deer recently spent time in the Memorial Garden (a mini-version of Eden), the rugged landscape of the Pacific Coast continues to be an endless supply of awe, and my own animals for whom I care and nurture remind me that just we are meant to be stewards of creation, not dominators.
And yet, while the beauty of Eden is evident, so are the signs of human abuse. Wild animals are coming closer to domestic dwellings in search of the shrinking availability of water and food. The polar ice cap is melting and bodies of water are warming. Average temperatures throughout the world have increased and weather events such as hurricanes are becoming more extreme. Scientists point to climate change as the culprit, caused by human activity, primarily the burning of fossil fuels that pump carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere[2].
As Christians, we are called to care for creation and to do what we can to preserve its beauty and health. In our baptismal covenant, we promise to respect the dignity of every human being. Our bishop, Marc Andrus, reminds us to modify the sentence to include the earth – we promise to respect the dignity of every human being… and the dignity of the earth.
Respect starts with paying attention. One way to pay attention is to measure elements created by God. On the rooftop of the Education Building sits a weather station, donated for our use and monitored by parishioner Mario Galvez. From this weather station, we are collecting data on precipitation, temperature, and wind speed. This data is then uploaded into a global database, and with thousands of other people, we are helping to crate a picture of God’s creation and the human impact on it.
This is a step in putting some action behind our sentiment that we are responsible for being stewards of the earth. This is an action that marks St. James’ as a place that not only cares about the environment, but is doing something tangible and measurable to make a difference. It is our first step in joining the global citizen science effort through the Globe Program (go to www.globe.gov for more information). As we progress, we will be exploring other ways to be active citizen (and Christian) scientists. This effort is being spearheaded by Mario Galvez, who welcomes questions in person or at citizensciencegroup@gmail.com.
A river flows out of Eden, and through the St. James’ campus. If you’d like to monitor our weather station and collected data, check out the widget on the bottom right hand side of our home page at www.saintj.com, and you will see exactly what the weather is like a the corner of the Education Building. Double-click on the widget and you’ll see the detail. Along with being part of a global effort to help with climate change, you will never have to wonder what the weather is like at church again
~Lori+
[1] Genesis 2:10b, NRSV
[2] See more at: http://www.livescience.com/37057-global-warming-effects.html