As part of my role within the URC Youth, I am the nominated “Green Apostle” for the young people. Among other things, I sit on a national committee of “Green Apostles” who meet twice a year to discuss different actions that can be taken on smaller and larger scales to reduce our impact, both as a Church and as Christians, on the environment.
This leads to some interesting discussions, such as how renewable is our church building’s energy supply? Could we have solar panels? Are we recycling all that we can? Are the products that we use sourced in the most sustainable way? Are we finding greener ways to travel?
Not everything is reasonably possible, living in Suffolk, there are very restricted options when it comes to travel. It doesn’t mean that everything is impossible though, and all changes matter, regardless of the size they might seem to be. Some things are out of our control, we don’t have power over how much packaging our food or other products comes in. We absolutely can be vocal about our wish for this to change, but the reality is that until corporate giants decide to change, our hands are tied. I’ve noticed more and more “refill shops” where you can take containers to have dried items refilled from a dispenser instead of buying a plastic packet of the same product in the supermarket, but again, this only works where it is available.
When we were discussing these things at the meeting, I started to think of my own choices I’ve made personally at home. A few months ago, I looked into buying a hybrid car, but unfortunately it wasn’t quite affordable for me at the time. I’ve been using shampoo in bar form for over two years now, and not only does it reduce the amount of single-use plastic I’m using, but it also has a lot less chemicals, which is better for my hair, and far better to be sending down the drain. At a similar time, I made a vow to myself that I would buy no more drinks in plastic bottles, and I think I’ve only had to break it a handful of times when I have been out and about somewhere and that’s my only choice.
There are all sorts of impacts of trying to make more sustainable choices, some switches are cheaper, some more expensive. Some take up more time, others might take more planning. When I consider the teachings of the Bible about looking after God’s creation, I’m also reminded of his reminders not to judge others around us. We’re all taking different steps to do what we can to make more sustainable choices and protect our environment, so it’s important to bear in mind that no two people’s journeys are the same, nor their reasons for the choices they’ve made. The more we support each other, the easier these changes become. At home we’ve certainly found that the more we talk about which products we can change, or where we buy our food from, the easier it has been to find the best thing that works for us.
As I prepared to write this, I realised that I assumed everyone reading to be sharing at least a similar mindset to me, that we want to take actions where we feel able, to protect the environment, but of course that may not necessarily be the case and that it is not quite so much at the forefront of your mind. If it’s not, I’d encourage you to consider why not, and if there is perhaps one small change that can be made, if the situation as a whole is too overwhelming. There is a wealth of information, advice and support out there!
Lord God,
Thank you for giving us your beautiful planet to share. Guide us to find ways in which we can protect it for those that come after us, so they can enjoy it too. Amen.