From what I understand Good Friday and Earth Day fall on the same day this year. Hooray! I, however, will not be giving Earth Day a moment’s thought after I write this post (unless I think of something demeaning and funny to say about it later.) On Good Friday I will likely pray and watch “The Passion of the Christ” on DVD, not meditate and watch “An Inconvenient Truth.”
But it seems that an office of the Episcopalian Church sees great significance in the confluence of the calendar and want everyone to remember that it’s Earth Day. They even go so far as to compare littering with a crucifixion. Yup.
The Daily Caller reports:
The Episcopal Church’s office of Economic and Environmental Affairs released a statement urging followers to stay mindful of global warming, recycling and reducing carbon dioxide emissions while celebrating the ancient Christian holiday in 2011.
“This year Earth Day falls within Holy Week, specifically on Good Friday, a profound coincidence,” said Mike Schut, a church spokesman. “To fully honor Earth Day, we need to reclaim the theology that knows Earth is ‘very good,’ is holy. When we fully recognize that, our actions just may begin to create a more sustainable, compassionate economy and way of life.”…
Schut continued: “On Good Friday, the day we mark the crucifixion of Christ, God in the flesh, might we suggest that when Earth is degraded, when species go extinct, that another part of God’s body experiences yet another sort of crucifixion — that another way of seeing and experiencing God is diminished?”
The church set up a website for the celebration of Earth Day, complete with links to resources on how to best get involved on the extra special day.
Seriously? So littering is like a crucifixion? I think it’s about time someone took away the fax machine from the Episcopal Church’s office of Economic and Environmental Affairs.
Or maybe we could all spend Good Friday journaling about how the Risen Lord is just really a great step in recycling?
This message from the Episcopalians does change my plans a bit for Good Friday. Now I’ve got to watch “The Passion” and pray while also running the dryer, the dishwasher, taking unnecessary trips in the minivan, and spraying aerosol cans, and …
April 7, 2011 at 4:01 pm
The Episcopalians aren't the only ones with a lock on stupid. I believe the USCCB has an offering in this department, too. Giving up incandescant light bulbs and plastic bags for Lent. I'm not kidding.
Hey, how about helping to save souls?
April 7, 2011 at 4:28 pm
Last week I got a fax that was sent to every Catholic Church in the country from some Earth Day Group asking that I pledge to preach about global climate change on Easter Sunday. I am not kidding…but am sadden by the fact that many of my brethren will be talking about resurrecting the planet through cutting our carbon footprint IT wold be interesting posting on Easter how many parishes actually did this. Mine , of course, will not; we'll be old school fuddy duddies and focus on..oh yeah…the Resurrection of Jesus!!!
April 7, 2011 at 5:40 pm
The comparison to the Crucifixion is inartful, but the suggestion that degrading God's creation is *like* the Crucifixion *in so far as "another way of seeing and experiencing God is diminished"* is accurate. Inartful, yes. But the analogy is accurate.
Doesn't Christianity somewhat push us *toward* environmentalism? And I don't mean of the Al Gore variety, or any variety modern liberalism is offering; I just mean the idea that we're more like "stewards" of a creation we didn't help to create; and thus we're not to consume the creation on our disordered lust (not that we can't *use resources* for our pleasure: we're *supposed* to do that – just that we ought to take care of and preserve some of these things because they're His, not ours.)
I assume you're joking about the last line: but consider that you'd be using God's creative power simply to please your little vindictive moods.
April 7, 2011 at 6:00 pm
Patrick – Matthew is joking in that last line. He's also planning on barbecuing some tuna fish sandwiches for his kids as well.
April 7, 2011 at 6:14 pm
I don't find the analogy to be accurate. Christs crucifixtion was so profound. It took ALL of our sins, not just the sins against the environment. This comparision misses ALL of the wounds Christ took to free us. Yes we should take care of the environment, a given, but just once these days I would like to see the churches stand up against ALL SIN. Like, hey people, it is a sin to degrade your body by sleeping with 8000 people and using contraception to meet those means (okay I know the above was Episcopal and they don't care about the cancer pills given to women). Hey people, it is a sin to kill a baby. Hey people, it is a sin to be addicted to drugs, sex, money, fame, homosexuality, murder & of course littering. Now, when, when will I see a sermon about that?
April 7, 2011 at 6:50 pm
The analogy isn't accurate unless you're a pantheist.
April 7, 2011 at 7:01 pm
@Patrick,
To equate Christ's sufferings to that of pollution or littering is more than inartful, and is a bit grotesque.
And since the Greens are Climate Alarmists who have plunged down the rabbit hole of carbon regulation, it suffices to say that thier agenda goes well beyond recycling and lowering the thermostats.
But, I must say thier co-opting of religious piety is working on many. I would not be in the least bit surprised if Easter and Earth Day will someday fall on the same date.
April 7, 2011 at 7:02 pm
@ Sue:
"I don't find the analogy to be accurate. Christs crucifixtion was so profound. It took ALL of our sins, not just the sins against the environment. This comparision misses ALL of the wounds Christ took to free us."
The analogy compares the Crucifixion to the degradation of the earth *only insofar as* "another way of seeing God is diminished." And so for the analogy to be accurate, only that point about it has to be accurate. And it is. Again; you may find it inartful, but you couldn't say it's inaccurate.
@ Larry D: Sure, I understand it was a joke. I just figured if he was going to react against something that is inartful-but-not-heresy, I ought to point out that the suggested behavior is quite a bit worse.
April 8, 2011 at 3:54 am
I didn't realize Global Warming still existed. I thought when they found out the University of East Anglia lied and manipulated data about Global Warming, the term was changed to "Climate Change." The Episcopals are so 2005.
April 10, 2011 at 1:06 am
Our local Catholic Voice carried an article suggesting using those fluorescent light bulbs and avoiding plastic bags for lent. I believe it did come from the USCCB. Our Parish just won a Green Flag award, but opened its operetta (with a tropical theme, grass skirts and all) on Ash Wednesday. As far as dissing the Episcopalians goes, it's one of those plank-speck-of-dust things.