One of the happiest
sentences I heard uttered by a parishioner recently
was “I’m tired of not
doin’ nothin’.” She was suggesting an idea to do
some recycling—simple
enough, but significant because it mattered that it
meant making a
difference. Isn’t that really what we are called on to do;
make a difference?
During Lent we spent time reflecting on our call to be
difference-makers. We
dedicated fasts that included
• walking instead
of driving for short trips
• drying laundry on
the line instead of in the dryer
• washing clothes
in cold water
• purchasing carbon
offsets
• giving up butter,
drinking skim milk
• replacing light
bulbs with fluorescents
• using the
microwave less
• giving up bottled
water
• collecting empty
juice and water bottles for recycling
• spending more
time as a steward of woodlands
• giving up
processed foods & goods from China
• giving up the gas
stove and electric lights
I can’t report on
whether everyone was faithful in their fasts, but I do know
some things. I know
that Judy cleaned out multiple huge bags of plastic
recyclables from the
teachers’ lounges where she works. I know that Pat
and Kate didn’t use
their stove or lights for the full six weeks. And I know
that my family didn’t
buy the more than half-dozen cases of bottled water
that we would have.
If I had to guess,
I’d say that the impact we had collectively on reducing
greenhouse gases was
well over a hundred pounds (not to mention the two
tons of offsets that
were purchased). And to top it off, we planted a tree
on Earth Day! We can
celebrate the fact that we are indeed difference-makers.
We are hearing and
responding to the challenge of Dr. Seuss’
Lorax, “unless
someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going
to get better, it’s
not.”
Personally, I’m still
walking to the church when I can and with the warm
weather a clothesline
has gone up in the back yard. The great lesson from
disciplines like
Lenten fasts is that they can bring joy and become easier to
maintain. As we all
strive to make a difference with the lives we are given,
we will find the
power of what one person can do. As the African proverb
says, "If you think
you're too small to make a difference, try going to bed
with a mosquito in
the room.” And as a people of God gathered in a
community of faith
practice, we also can see the power of working as one.
Brothers and sisters,
it is in seeing the power of difference-making that we
can see the truth of
our salvation!
Peace,
Ian
