In our seven weeks of Lent practice, we explored Creation Care from different perspectives. We also reflect on our relationships with the nature, neighbours in poverty, and our community through scriptures, songs, and actions. Creation Care is indeed propelling us to embrace the created world and all creations with care and love. This is what Jesus manifested to the world. Therefore, this care and love for creations and people are obviously evangelistic and missional.
Nowadays, climate change is worsening, and the ecological environment is losing its equilibrium, which forces many poor communities into adverse situation – in India, years of crop failures lead to detrimental impact on many farmers’ livelihood, putting them in enormous debts that some of them had nowhere to turn to but to take their own lives. Under the influence of extreme climate, water sources and food supplies fall short, which increase fights and conflicts between ethnic groups. Countless families and communities become “climate refugees” because of warfare and frequent climate disasters. The World Bank stated that if the impact of climate change is not reduced effectively, the world will see 140 million “climate refugees” by 2050. If we do not change our usage of plastic, the United Nations predicts that there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean in 30 years. Some high-income countries exported plastic wastes to low-income or developing countries, but it is a challenge for them to handle the increasing amount of plastic waste. After years of accumulation, lands, water and air are contaminated, affecting local people’s health. When God sees His created world in such environmental chaos, is He pleased? How should churches who proclaim the Good News to the world respond?
All creations were good in God’s eyes at the beginning. However, sins entered the world, and everything deteriorate and relationships become distorted. Jesus Christ’s mission is to reconcile to himself all things, to restore Shalom in all creations. The Gospel shared by churches is not only about reconciliation between human and God through Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, but it is also about mobilising believers to proactively rebuild relationships between man and God, man and man, and man and other creations, restoring wholeness in Him.
CEDAR believes that a living testimony of Christ should include loving and caring for our neighbours and God’s creation. In Asia and Africa, we educate communities to do organic farming or backyard farming, teach them about personal and community health and hygiene, establish Disaster Management Committees in villages affected by climate disasters to enhance their awareness of disaster management and become disaster resilient, and equip villagers with various livelihood skills apart from farming, for example, animal husbandry or keeping shrimps and crabs, so as to stabilise their incomes. Will you join us in Hong Kong to start living a “Creation Caring” lifestyle, practice living simply and reduce carbon footprint? and share what you learn about Creation Care with brothers and sisters at church and your family?
Read other articles from the “Creation Care: Simple Living．Carbon Fast” campaign:
2018 CEDAR’s Exposure Trip Sharing: All Things Bright and Beautiful
Cyclone Idai: Two Meals a Day, One Meal a Day, then…
Climate Injustice: A Christian Perspective