A lot to say in a few sentences, but it gets to the heart of my point. With keen minds and strong faith the 202nd General Assembly, the governing body of our denomination, passed a resolution entitled “Restoring Creation for Ecology and Justice.” It declared that God’s work in our time “may be discerned as a call to earth-keeping, to justice, and to community…and further it “recognizes and accepts restoring creation as a central concern of the church, to be incorporated into its life and mission at every level.”
Two decades later a new mission was started to help carry out this resolution. Eight Presbyterian USA churches formed the first Earth Care Congregations, and now there are nearly 300. Earth Care churches must complete Earth Care actions in four areas: worship, education, outreach and facilities, and sign the Earth Care pledge committing them to those actions. Will we become one of them? Should we become one? Recently the session approved a motion to form an Earth Care study team to study these questions. The team will carefully conduct a review and analysis of our church’s activities in those four areas and report to the session the results. This will tell us what we may still need to do to be certified as an Earth Care Church. If you are interested in being involved, you can contact me at gsaylercda@aol.com. I am excited to be a part of this effort because I believe our God calls us to love our neighbor, and indeed the entire creation, and that when we do so, we honor God. When I look up at the night sky I always think of these words from another Psalm 19:1: “The heavens declare the Glory of God and the firmament proclaims His handiwork.” How could I not be grateful and how could I not be a good steward. Finally, I am proud of our church for hosting the first ever North Idaho Green Summit which will be held from 8:00 to 1:00 on Saturday May 18th. This collaborative effort, sponsored by four community organizations, will feature a guest speaker from the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and seven short presentations by different individuals on current environmental issues in our area. They will be followed by panel discussions where you can learn more about each topic, and what you can do to help. To find more information go to events.kea.alliance.org/green-summit. I would encourage you to join me at this event, which may perhaps be considered our first major act of creation care. Praise God for his creation, and all the people said Amen! In His Name, George
3 Comments
Genevieve Carlton wrote, “If we believe famous Renaissance artists, the Christian Messiah had flowing hair and a long beard. He also had pale skin, as seen in Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper or Michelangelo’s The Last Judgement” (1). That may be what European artists envisioned but how could that be? Beautiful as they are, those masterpieces look nothing like what we know a Jewish man from that time would have looked like. In her article, Ms. Carlton goes on to say, “The portrayal of Jesus has changed quite a bit throughout the centuries. The artists of the earliest painting of Christ were not concerned about historical accuracy, but rather symbolism. They wanted to depict his role as a savior, and they simply modeled him after the typical styles of the time” (2). Now that makes sense. We may be getting closer … maybe. A fresco dating back to 235 Anno Domini (AD), discovered sometime during the 20th century, shows Jesus with short hair and no beard. After the year 400, Christian artists around the world began depicting Jesus in their own image. Think African features in Ethiopia, Asian features in India and Caucasian features in Europe.
Maybe what matters most is how we see Jesus. Do we see ourselves in His face?
In His Name, Janet 1, 2: Carlton, G. 2022 Updated 2024. What Did Jesus Look Like? Here’s What the Historical Evidence Actually Says. AllThatisInteresting.com |
What's UpOur staff is voluntold each week and with grace they share their thoughts. Archives
May 2024
|