Saying Goodbye

It is hard to be saying goodbye to our beloved cat. She is suffering from Chronic Renal Failure. She has been such a sweet and gentle companion. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

An Old Man's Prayer For His Cat.....
So many years ago she came to me, a trusting tiny ball of fluff that climbed on my leg to play and sleep upon my lap. For all those years and still, we share our joys and love; but now both are grown old, and soon must die. Her eyes, like mine, are clouded and would no longer serve to catch her prey. She would not understand the missing saucer, the cold hearth and empty bed, nor bend her ways to suit some strangers house.
Pray, take her first, Oh Lord, that I may see her resting safe beneath the apple tree that once she loved to climb with such agility, beyond my reach.
I shall grieve with understanding...
then anyone can bury me.
..........Author Unknown

THE CATECHISM OF CREATION

Last week, at my church, we had a speaker who talked about the origin and evolution of Christian fundamentalism. In the beginning of his talk he made a statement that was a bit startling to me. He said that fundamentalists don't care about global warming. (I am assuming that the reason for this way of thinking is that anything that hastens the appearance of "end times" is a good thing!) I wondered what the Episcopal Church USA had to say about caring for our planet. What are our obligations as Episcopalians? Can we just sit back, relax and ignore environmental issues?

If you click on the following link to The Episcopal Church and type into the search box, Catechism of Creation, you will find articles about the document: The Catechism of Creation Part III:Caring About Creation

Listed below are some excerpts from the document.

Give us a reverence for the earth as your own creation,that we may use its resources rightly in the service of others and to your honor and glory.
(Prayers of the People, Form IV, Book of Common Prayer, p. 388)

How can we as members of the Body of Christ act in all our caring for creation?

As individuals we can choose lives of voluntary simplicity, rejecting habits of wasteful consumption and making thoughtful choices for decent living. As congregations we can practice conservation and care wisely for our church properties. As individuals and congregations we can become examples and provide leadership to our local communities of wise stewardship. Likewise we can seek to influence our governments to develop wise environmental policies.

What does “created in the image and likeness of God” mean in relation to our obligation to care for the creation?

The God who is Love unconditionally loves all of the creation and not merely us who are able to enter into a conscious relationship with God. We may express the divine image and likeness by loving the creation as God loves it, and by exercising stewardship and earth-keeping as an act of love.

What can we say to Christians who believe that Christ will come again soon, and therefore there is no need to try to “save the environment”?

Scripture says that no one but the Father knows when the Christ will come again (Mark 12:32), and until he does we must continue to carry out God’s commission to care for the earth. Even if the power by which God holds the whole world in existence were to be withdrawn next week, we still must give an accounting to Christ for our stewardship until that moment. We want him to say to us, “Well done, good and faithful stewards” (cf. Matt. 25:22).

There is much more information about the Catechism of Creation at the above link. If you are interested in things you can do as an individual or as a parish regarding the issues of simple living, globalization and environmental stewardship, the following information and links may be of interest to you:

The archived Episcopal News excerpt below was located by clicking on the news link on the website for The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and it contains information useful to parishes within the diocese:

PEACE AND JUSTICE COMMISSION PLANS PILOT PROJECT ON GLOBALIZATION

A pilot project to establish a loose network of churches in the diocese that may be interested in the issue of economic globalization and the response of the Church was given the green light at the Jan 31 meeting of the diocesan Commission on Peace and Justice. As commission co-chair Chris Stephan (St. James’ Church, Los Angeles) explained it, the project initially involves three parishes---St. Luke’s Long Beach, Trinity Los Angeles, and All Saints Pasadena---that will begin to communicate with each other on issues relating to globalization, through an occasional one or two-page newsletter. The Rev. Canon Dick Gillett will initially put out the newsletter, about once monthly, on behalf of the three churches, which will contribute items of interest as well as evolving strategies for response…………………………….
“If this pilot project is successful, the Commission may decide to create a new Task Force on Globalization,” said The Rev. Julie Morris, rector of St. Columba’s Camarillo.
Church groups interested in joining this new network or signing up to receive the newsletter may contact Gillett at dgillpas@mindspring.com

ADDITIONAL INTERESTING LINKS:

California Coastal Commission Public Education

NorthWest Earth Institute

Los Angeles Eco-Village

IS THE IRAQ WAR A JUST WAR?

Just war theory involves the ethical criteria used in dealing with a decision of whether or not to go to war.
On March 24, 2006, Kim Lawton, on episode no. 930 of PBS' Religion and Ethics, explained just war tradition in these terms ".......a set of teachings that began with Saint Augustine in the 4th century and were further developed by Saint Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century. The tradition says in order for a war to be just; there must be a just cause; it must be declared by the proper government authority; there must be a right intention and a probability of success. War must be a last resort, and the means used should be proportional to the desired ends." Based on this criteria I am personally inclined to think that the Iraq War met only one of the criteria listed above and is therefore not a just war. What do you think?
The full transcript of the above mentioned program can be found at Religion and Ethics