Earth Day at St. James Church

As our community celebrates Earth Day in our liturgy and prayers, The Creation Care Committee and the children of St. James Church will introduce our Monarch Waystation. The blessing of our Monarch Waystation will take place at 10:15 a.m. on the Yale Street side of the church. This is breakfast Sunday.

The Bible is full of beautiful language and theology for celebrating God’s creation. Earth Day Sunday provides time to focus as a church community on the theme of creation. Since 1970, communities have taken one day each year to be especially mindful of the Earth and its many gifts: April 22, Earth Day. This day has ecumenical and bipartisan roots. Each year, thousands of congregations set aside a day to pray, learn, and take action on a Sunday close to Earth Day.

Click here to learn how the Episcopal Church is caring for God’s creation. 

Genesis 1:20–22a, 24–26a, 28, 31a

And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them … And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let us make humankind.” …God blessed them … God saw everything that God had made, and indeed, it was very good.

Adapted from St. Isaac the Syrian

This is a charitable heart: It is a heart burning with love for the whole creation, for humans, for the birds, for the beasts, for the demons — for all creatures. One who has such a heart cannot see or call to mind a creature without having eyes being filled with tears by reason of the immense compassion which seizes the heart; a heart which is softened and can no longer bear to see or learn from others of any suffering, even the smallest pain, being inflicted on a creature. That is why such a person never ceases to pray also for the animals, that they may be preserved and purified. This person will even pray for the reptiles, moved by the infinite pity which reigns in the hearts of those who are becoming united with God.

From The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

"Love all God’s creation, the whole and every grain of sand in it. Love every leaf, every ray of God’s light. Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things. Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day. And you will come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love. Love the animals: God has given them the rudiments of thought and joy untroubled. Do not trouble it, don’t harass them, don’t deprive them of their happiness, don’t work against God’s intent."

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Earth Day shines a light on the serious environmental problems we face, from the climate crisis to air pollution and deforestation. The theme for 2024 is Planet v Plastics, highlighting the fact that 380 million tons of plastic are produced every year—while only 9% of plastic ever produced has been recycled. Campaigners are calling for a 60% reduction in plastic by 2040.

Facts about the history of our care for Mother Earth and the environment may serve as a wake-up call for action:

• Gaylord Nelson, a senator from Wisconsin, founded Earth Day in 1970 to raise public consciousness about environmental concerns such as pollution, oil spills and vanishing wildlife. He tapped into the energy of the anti-war movement, framing Earth Day as a “national teach-in on the environment.”
• April 22 was chosen as the date for Earth Day because it fell between Spring Break and final exams, and organizers wanted to maximize student involvement.
• The first Earth Day in 1970 inspired the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts, according to the EPA.
• Since the first Earth Day, average annual temperatures in the contiguous United States have been warming at a rate of 0.45°F per decade.
• Humans today use about 50% more natural resources than we did 30 years ago.
• Animal species populations saw an overall decline of 60% worldwide between 1970 and 2014, due to habitat loss, pollution, climate change and other factors.
• Twenty of the warmest years on record worldwide have occurred in the past 22 years.
• Rising global temperatures are leading to more extreme weather events, including more intense wildfires and more frequent, high-intensity hurricanes. 
• Today’s average American generates about 4.5 pounds of trash per day, compared to 2.68 pounds in 1960.
• Food accounts for 10 to 30% of a household’s carbon footprint, due to the emissions involved in food production and transportation, according to the Center for Sustainable Systems.
• U.S. automobile fuel economy increased 24% between 2004 and 2017.
• Nearly 80% of all plastic waste ever created by humans is still in the environment.
• More than 30 countries and regions have introduced bans on disposable plastic bags to fight plastic waste.

To kick off the celebration of Earth Day, the Creation Care Committee will join with the youth of the church to establish a small Monarch Waystation on the west side of the church. The ceremony will take place on Sunday between the two services nearing the end of the breakfast. 

While it is too early to plant the native milk weed and other habitat that will form the heart of the garden, we will be establishing the garden’s location with signs and a special blessing from Mother Dawn. Our youth and others are invited to visit the table as you move into the breakfast area to find materials to designate the garden’s location. Join us on Sunday for this special occasion.  

SAVE THE DATE

Dear Fellow Parishioners,

As you may have heard, St. James has joined with 34 other faith communities coming together to form an organization called Justice Together. Hundreds of Sedgwick County’s faithful have spent many hours meeting and doing research since November 9, 2023, when we chose to work on Mental Health and Homelessness issues in our community.

With God’s help, we are now prepared to come together on May 9, 2024 to do justice and present our well researched and thought-out solutions to our county and city officials. We hope and pray that as many of you as possible will join us for this Nehemiah Assembly. (O.T. Nehemiah 5:6-8)

May we count on you to join us for this historic event on May 9th at 6pm at Century II Convention Hall located at 225 W. Douglas? Please reply with your confirmation and use this link to register: tinyurl.com/greatassembly24, or let one of us know personally. We suggest Car Pooling and offering rides to others would be of great help!

We will be following up with a reminder, further details, and a ticket closer to the date of the event. For now, please just let us know if we can count on you to be there. If you have any additional questions just let us know.

With gratitude for your support,

Vicki Evans

Shirley and Scott Orr

The Rev. Joseph Bayles

IRC Update

Thanks to the continued generosity of the people of St. James, we have been able to provide the necessary items for the arrival of their newest family member! The baby is due in the next few weeks, so please remember the family in your prayers. 

Our formal contract with IRC will be completed at the end of April. The core team of this project, along with the outreach committee, has decided to continue our support of the family through the end of their first full year in Kansas. This is a large, single parent family that will need additional support over the coming months. 

Thank you for your continued support of this project and of the refugee family. We have been able to come alongside the family and assist them with their transition to life in America because of your generosity. 

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.“ ‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭12‬ ‭NRSV‬‬