lakewooducc

From Hurricanes to Creation Justice

originally published on the UCC Website
May 03, 2019
Written by Claire Stiles

This past year my congregation went through a process of deepening and enriching our understanding of faith as we intentionally reflected upon our relationship to God’s creation. Living and worshipping in St. Petersburg, Florida makes us keenly aware of the very real dangers that threaten not only our global home, but our coastal community here in the Tampa Bay area.

After Hurricane Irma made landfall in the Florida Keys in 2017 as a Category 4 Hurricane, causing over $50 billion in damages statewide, many of us were jarred into the reality that our risks were escalating due to rising seas and more extreme storms caused by climate change. According to data from Climate Central in 2017, St. Petersburg ranked 6 out of the top 25 cities in the susceptible to sea level rise by 2050. By 2100, NOAA predictions run from a rise in sea level here in St. Petersburg from approximately 2 – 7 feet. By all indicators, we need to act now to protect our environment, both built, human, and natural.

As part of quest to take action rooted in our faith, our church undertook the United Church of Christ’s Creation Justice Church program which works to help local churches better care for our interconnected world, all living creatures, and every economically or racially marginalized community that suffers from environmental harm. The program lead to our church adopting a Creation Justice Covenant that captures and articulates our core commitments. Our covenant affirms “that all beings in the Sacred Web of life are ecologically interconnected and interdependent.” It further declares, “Our goal is not only to cherish creation, the land, and the earth itself, but also to restore living in balance with all of Creation and the Sacred.” Our work has really just begun. We shall continue to discern our higher calling to care for creation and seek justice for the oppressed. May we move forward together to fulfill our covenant and make a positive difference in our church, community, and world.

Claire Stiles is the Coordinator for the Creation Justice Task Force at Lakewood United Church of Christ in St. Petersburg, Florida.

StandingWomen.net

The women of the world are rising! One by one, small group by small group, masses of us are coming together to do the work needed to evolve humanity toward its greater good. Please stand with us one more time to affirm and confirm this reality. (We are doing something here!)

Sunday, May 12, 2019 at 1 p.m. local time
See the invitation

Tell us where you will stand
See where others are standing

DECLARATION OF STANDING

     We are standing for the world’s children and grandchildren, and for the seven generations to come.
      We dream of a world where all of our children have safe drinking water, clean air to breathe, and enough food to eat.
      A world where they have access to a basic education to develop their minds and healthcare to nurture their growing bodies.
      A world where they have a warm, safe and loving place to call home.
       A world where they don’t live in fear of violence–in their homes, in their neighborhoods, in their schools, or in their world.
      This is the world of which we dream.
      This is the cause for which we stand.

[Print out the Declaration here.]

To register your ‘standing’ or to find a gathering in your area, visit www.standingwomen.net. Each and every post is a step that grows the dream toward reality.

To help Standing Women go viral, forward this information on to your friends and family, in your own and other countries, and/or to any news service that seems appropriate. Use the hashtags: #StandingWomen #StandingWomen2019 #StandingWomenGlobalMovement

To be inspired, spend time on www.standingwomen.net, watching the ‘standings’ move around the world, reading the dreams and sensing into the unity of our human intention for the children.

To connect up, send an email of appreciation through the website to someone who speaks to your heart, standing in another state, province, or country.

On May 12, 2019, join countless people around the world standing for a time in silence with a common focus. Feel the deep connection and potential in this act of love… the call of the ‘seven generations to come’ … from every nation on earth.

With gratitude and trust,

Jeanie, Deb, Bruce, Julie and Bon

P.S. Check out Ariel’s song ‘White Linen’ to get an energetic sense of the ‘mother’ strength behind our 13 years of ‘standing!’

Concert reminder

LUCC Concert Series: celebrating Old Time, Blues, Blue Grass, Folk & Country music. All concerts begin at 7pm. There is a $20 suggested donation for the band, doors open at 6:30pm. See the website or LUCC Facebook page for more information. Spread the word, share on Facebook or Nextdoor, invite your friends! If you would like transportation to the concert please contact the church (727) 867-7961.

Friday, May 3 – Charley Groth- is Rev. Kim Wells’ mandolin teacher. He is a fabulous folk music treasure!

PLEASE JOIN US!