The Earth-Honoring Faith committee, honoring the love God has for all creation, is:
- committed to a faith-filled call to action;
- seeks to educate our community;
- advocates for sound climate policy; and
- implements practices necessary for the health of our planet.
The committee is part of a wider Cape Cod effort. The CCCCC was started in 2016 in response to climate disruptions observed on Cape Cod and the world at large. It is constituted by eight economic and institutional sectors—one of which is Faith Communities. As a result of that organizing, Faith Communities Environmental Network (FCEN) was developed to help “educate residents about the causes and impacts of climate change, the Cape and Islands Net Zero Goals and priority action steps for achieving the Goals.”
FCEN meets monthly and shares what the various churches on Cape Cod are doing and what has worked and not worked. Some actions to date include: Earth-honoring studies within churches, educational programs for churches and their wider community, Earth Day programs, placement of solar panels on churches, elimination of plastic products in churches, homes and communities, earth-friendly gardening practices and eating practices, among many others.
Earth-Honoring Faith Forum with Ross Macfarlane
On Thursday, June 8, 2023, the Earth-Honoring Faith Committee hosted A Conversation with Ross Macfarlane, director, Sierra Club: Tilting for Windmills: Learning to Say “Yes” to Climate Solutions. To watch a video recording of this forum, click here. To read the Cape Cod Chronicle article covering this event, click here.
Earth-Honoring Faith Forum
At the October 23, 2022 Sunday Liturgies, Ali Crockett and Noah Fleishman shared their personal stories of what led them to want to be part of the Earth-Honoring Faith Committee. They also recounted E-HF’s past and current initiatives.
A Plastic-Free World
Over the last couple of years, Maury A. Castro confessed to a bit of “Recycling Fatigue.” That’s something the rest of you may recognize as you try to separate the paper from the plastic from the glass and so on as well as frequent trips to the Transfer Station. Inspired by this, Maury decided on a plan to reduce the need for recycling by learning about more sustainable practices. In August of 2022, he gave a hands-on demonstration of the many refillable and reusable products he now uses that reduce the need for recycling where possible. He then sent a grateful audience of parishioners home with a bag of samples.
Earth Day 2022
Nestled in beach chairs by Oyster Pond for the Earth Day liturgy, attendees celebrated through hearing a symphony of compassionate voices and the music of violinist Dan Flonta. The Rev. Brian W. McGurk concluded the emotionally-moving liturgy by sprinkling attendees with holy water from Oyster Pond while the sun shone.
A Lenten Invitation
As Christians we are invited to observe a “holy Lent.” The Book of Common Prayer states: “I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word…” Lent is a challenge and opportunity to change the direction of our lives, deepen our consciousness of God’s grace (which is in us and all around us), and transform the thoughts, words, actions, and rhythms of our lives to accord with the love of Jesus Christ. Repentance means naming the brokenness (sin) in our lives and our world, turning away from it, emptying ourselves of our self-serving, ego-driven wants and desires, and heading in a new, “other-centered” direction. No doubt, this is an arduous journey; yet, the rewards both for our personal growth and transformation, as well as for the good of our neighbors is great. Let’s remember that we are called to protect and nurture all of our neighbors, all the members of the Community of Life—humans, animals, plants, soil, water, and air. Lent is our opportunity to spiritually grow as we steward God’s gift to us. So let’s approach “our fragile earth, our island home”—with wonder, reverence, awe, and gratitude for the beauty and resources it gives to us and those who will follow us. Let’s honor God the Creator by honoring God’s Creation. ~ The Rev. Brian W. McGurk
In keeping with the Rector’s message, here are some suggestions for your Lenten observance. Choose one observance each week during Lent, as we will be, and let us know about your effort.
Big Impact—Personal Activity Electrify your Life
- Walk, instead of drive to a regular in-town spot, or drive with a friend.
- Consider energy usage when traveling away from home to choose more energy efficient transportation.
- Have an energy audit made of your home and replace incandescent light bulbs with LED bulbs.
- Research installing solar at your house or change to sourcing your power through sustainable sources. Note: Eversource provides a sustainable electrical power option.
Food-topia
- Eat less meat/more plant-based foods: vegetables, nuts, beans, grains, etc.
- Compost food waste to reduce greenhouse gasses, at home or at your town’s recycling center.
- Eat locally-sourced food to reduce emissions from large scale production, transportation, and packaging.
- Support our Food Pantry.
The 3 Rs
- Reduce plastic use in and away from your home and consider refilling containers for household products at places like Green Road Refill in Brewster.
- Think before you buy either goods or food: “Do I need this?” “How will this be thrown out: reused? recycled? trash?”
- Trim back on use of paper towels and napkins and shop with your own shopping bags.
- Donate to or shop at a thrift shop like our Uncommon Thrift.
Also
- Read the book Saving Us by Katherine Hayhoe.
- Get on the email list of one of these organizations to learn what they do on Cape Cod:
Bigger Impact—Local Changes
- Educate yourself about environmental issues being taken up (or not) in your town.
- Attend a Select Board meeting and hear what our neighbors and local officials are thinking about those issues and express your opinion.
- Attend a meeting of a climate group (such as the ones mentioned below or others that you hear about). Note: Many of these meetings are held via Zoom.
- Get to know what will likely be warrants in your next town meeting on climate-related topics and talk to friends about why you think certain issues are important.
Biggest Impact—State and Federal Legislation
- Learn about proposed legislation that affects climate at the State and Federal levels. a. Write to your senators and representatives at both the federal and state levels about your concerns regarding proposed legislation.
- Learn about new state regulations that impact climate: www.masssave.com.
Please let us know about your efforts by filling out a card available outside the sanctuary or posting on St. Christopher’s Facebook page.
~ The Earth-Honoring Faith Committee
The Faith Communities Environmental Network: A Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative Network Leading the Way! (February 2022)
Click here to download the article.
Eco Justice for All
An interview with the Rev. Fletcher Harper and the Rev. Brian W. McGurk, October 29, 2021
Joint Statement on the Environment by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Pope Francis, and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
Click here to download the statement.
Give Light: Spiritual Support for Climate Activism, with the Rev. Fred Small
On Saturday, September 18, St. Christopher’s Earth-Honoring Faith Committee and The Faith Communities Environmental Network (FCEN) hosted the Rev. Fred Small in an interactive multi-faith presentation, available both in person and via livestream.
Click here to find the archived live stream.
A Unitarian Universalist minister, singer-songwriter, and former environmental lawyer, Rev. Fred Small is Minister for Climate Justice at Arlington Street Church, Boston, and Director of Faith Outreach for Climate XChange, which advocates for carbon pricing legislation in Massachusetts. Cited by Bill McKibben as “one of the key figures in the religious environmental surge,” Fred left parish ministry in 2015 to devote his energies to climate education and advocacy. He began his career as a lawyer and later became a Unitarian Universalist minister. Small graduated from Yale University and the University of Michigan, from which he earned both a J.D. degree and a master’s in environmental policy. His first position was as staff attorney for the Conservation Law Foundation. After graduating from Harvard Divinity School, he served as Senior Minister at First Parish in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Small resigned in September 2015 to devote his energies to climate advocacy.
Creation Care Season: September 1 to October 4, 2021
The Creation Care Justice Network in the Diocese of Massachusetts invites you to use the Season of Creation as a time to celebrate, grieve, pray and get engaged with creation and climate issues.
After a summer of record-breaking heat waves and wildfires, violent storms and floods, and continued inequities suffered by vulnerable low-income communities and people of color, we are called to look for the “Hope Beyond the Heat.”
What is our faithful response? To paraphrase 1 Thessalonians 4:13, even in the face of death, we are not like those who have no hope. We magnify our hope as we worship, pray and act together. The Season of Creation is our opportunity to lean into the groaning of God’s creation and God’s people, and lean on our Lord for forgiveness, guidance, community building and strength.
St. Christopher’s will be celebrating this season in a number of ways. Themes of Care for God’s Creation will be interwoven into worship through the Liturgy and Music. EHF encourages you to use this as a special time of awareness, reflection and action.
Recent Videos of Interest
Coming Soon to a Coastline Near You: Climate Change
Stepping Up: Cape Businesses Go Green
The Faith Community Takes on Climate Change
Lent Guide
Click here to download a Lent guide for creatively exploring Christian perceptions of animals.
May 9, 2020 Chatham Climate Action Network Forum video and article (featuring the Rev. Brian W. McGurk)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJtnhd97LTg&feature=youtu.be
Earth-Honoring Faith 50th Earth Day Booklet
Click here to download a booklet created from submissions by friends and members of St. Christopher’s Church, to honor the 50th Earth Day in April of 2020.
Radio Interview by Mindy Todd (WCAI) on Faith and Climate Change (featuring the Rev. Brian W. McGurk)
https://www.capeandislands.org/post/faith-and-climate-change
2nd Annual Cape Cod Climate Change Forum: Taking Action
On Saturday, October 26, 2019, over 300 community members gathered at St. Christopher’s to hear and interact with a variety of experts on the subject of climate change, including:
- Dr. Philip Duffy, President and Executive Director, Woods Hole Research Center
- Dr. Mary Evelyn Tucker, Co-Founder and Co-Director, Yale Forum on Religion & Ecology
- Dan Wolf, Founder and CEO, Cape Air
- Julian Cyr, State Senator for Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket
- Andrew Gottlieb, Executive Director, Association to Preserve Cape Cod
- Richard Delaney, President and CEO, Center for Coastal Studies
- Chris Powicki, Member of 350Cape Cod, Executive Committee, Sierra Club
- Montana Bailey, Co-President, Nauset HS Green Club; Member, Human Rights Academy
Co-sponsoring the forum were the Woods Hole Research Center, named “the top climate change think-tank in the world,” and the Faith Communities Environmental Network, a two-year-old body now numbering over 20 churches and other faith groups throughout the region.
To read a review of the event by WCAI, please click here.
To watch videos of this event, click the videos below: