The very first story in the Bible is of God creating all the things of the earth and then resting on the seventh day. As we honor God’s creation, we also honor the Sabbath, allowing for a time of rest and renewal.
Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ.
We in eastern North Carolina are people of the earth. Growing up on a farm in Gates County, I am very aware that May is the month for strawberries and asparagus. These are two of my favorite foods to this very day. The earth yields these marvelous gifts for us. It’s a time for the planting of gardens, the cultivation of fields. We anticipate that God will bless us through the fertile earth.
The very first story of the Bible is a story of God’s creating of all things – light separated from darkness, land separated from water, every moving animal, things that fly, things that crawl, things that walk, and every plant bearing seed upon the earth.
We, as God’s people, are called to give thanks and to care for creation. Creation Care ministries are an important part of our life as United Methodist people. Through the ministry of Blessed Earth, we continue to honor the Sabbath day, the day set apart in the Ten Commandments for us to remember God’s dominion over all things and for our share in caring for all that God has made.
Just as wise farmers let the land rest before planting, we as wise followers of Jesus Christ, are wise to honor a seventh day and to rest so that we might be renewed. Our emphasis on the honoring of Sabbath and caring for the earth are intertwined in a marvelous theological way.
Thank you for the ways in which your congregation is engaging in creation care. We are creating a Creation Care team for the annual conference. If you feel a calling of God to participate in this way in leadership, let us know. As we move toward the Annual Conference session, we will again focus on this important arena of ministry.
Let us give thanks as we look out today and see the beauty of the earth. Let us care for all that God has made.