As I sit here at my kitchen table typing, the sky outside my window is preparing to rain. Leaves on the oaks and maples in my yard are beginning their brilliantly colored transition. Every so often, I look up to an amazing sight: in the incubator on my counter, guinea eggs are hatching, eight so far and counting, new life for our family farm. On the wall behind me, a clock is ticking the seconds away.
On this Fall morning, I am reminded of the transitory nature of this world God has placed us in.
After the flood, God promised Noah, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:22) With the transitions of the earth, we see the various seasons the Teacher in Ecclesiastes writes of. Even as Summer gives way to Autumn and the Earth prepares for the cold and dark of winter, there is new life and healing in abundance around us.
I hope you will join us as we look to these healing cycles in creation as part of Season of Creation 2021. We have two webinars coming up that focus on this very thing.
The first is ReGenesis 2.15: Tools for Regenerating the Soil and Soul of Your Community. Rev. Keith Sexton and Rev. Jacob Dye will be sharing their Regenerative Agriculture Toolkit, and explaining how churches can be in ministry that benefits the earth and their local community at the same time. This webinar is on September 28 at 7:00. Click here to register.
Two days later, we will be welcoming back Dr. Ellen Davis, Professor of Bible and Practical Theology at Duke Divinity School. Dr. Davis will be joined by Rev. Jarrod S. Davis in a discussion of Leviticus 25, and the importance of Jubilee and Sabbatical for the health of the land and community. This webinar, titled Living as Resident Aliens in God’s Land, is on September 30 at 7:00. Please register in advance here.
Of course, the North Carolina Conference is not the only organization celebrating God’s creation. We also invite you to join Interfaith Creation Care of the Triangle on Monday, September 27, from 10:00 AM till 11:00, for A Dialogue on Climate Action. Our own retired Bishop, Hope Morgan Ward, will be in discussion with Fr. Jacek Orzechowski and U.S. Representative Deborah Ross about how faith leaders can center the debate on moral and religious principles of caring for all of creation, especially each other. Click here for more information and to register.
Have you missed any of our webinars? Click the links below for each video.
Season of Creation 2021 Worship Service
Coal Ash, BIPOC Farming, and Everything in Between: An Environmental Justice Panel