Fast for the Earth 2020

ASH WEDNESDAY Today ash will be smeared  on our foreheads and we will  hear the words “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return” What a shocking action – a smear of death on our faces. We are called to repent, to turn from death and choose life.  In order to choose life we must choose to do no harm. This sounds simpler than it is, because we are all part of systems that we depend on for our survival that are in fact killing creation and others as well as ourselves. This realisation that we are somehow complicit in the deathliness of the world invites us to repent – to turn around – to change. This acknowledgement that we are complicit rather than “innocent” is at the root of all confession. It is easy from the position of a false sense of innocence, to ask ourselves what good we can do. Doing good can feel good. Sadly, it often only addresses the symptoms in the form of charitable acts. Asking where we are doing harm, on the other hand moves us to see where we ourselves are the problem. This is uncomfortable but it may lead us to doing greater good. This approach is also more likely to address the systemic root of the problem that only doing justice can root out. So, ask not what good you can do, but rather what harm you can stop doing. May this be our fast for Lent: To fast from doing harm. Rev Alan Storey We would like to invite you to use the words of an environmental confession from Melanesia – communities which are on the forefront of climate change and  sea level rise. Litany of Environmental Lament and Repentance From Melanesia God of the whole  human race. You have given us responsibility to care for each other. But we have exploited and hated each other by our wickedness. We turn to you in sorrow and repentance. Please help us to look to you and care for each other. Lord in your mercyHear our prayer O God of creation. You have created land for us to make our gardens and for trees, animals and all living creatures on the earth. Forgive us for our destruction of the land by logging and poisonous chemicals. We turn to you in sorrow and repentance. Help us O Lord to care for the land that you have given us. Lord in your mercy Hear our prayer God of the universe, the ocean and of love. You have given us the ocean for fish, shells, reefs, whales, waves, corals, and for ships and boats. We have destroyed the ocean and everything in it, and not cared for it. We turn to you in sorrow and repentance. Please help us to care for the ocean, and to recognize that it is your blessing for us. Lord in your mercy Hear our prayer God of the forest, in which all living things survive and engage their life and move peacefully. You have given us wisdom, knowledge and understanding to use our resources well in  a manageable manner. We have been careless, short-sighted, and selfish and failed to share with other people throughout the world. We turn to you in sorrow and repentance. Please help us to think positively of your goodness and loving kindness.Please help us  to see the needs of others as you have seen us living in your beautiful forest. Lord in your mercy Hear our prayer God of the universe, the God who created the atmosphere. By your power of creation you made the sky so beautiful, the sun to give us light during the day and the moon and the stars to give light during the night. You have given us clouds to bring rain and give life to your creatures.Lord, we turn to you with a penitent heart for all the destructions we have caused to the atmosphere. Lord in your mercy Hear our prayer Merciful God, God of love and everything in this world. You have created the rain, winds, storms, cyclones, earthquakes, volcanoes and floods to renew your creation. Help us to understand their existence in your world. We turn to you in sorrow and repentance. Please, Father, forgive us for the human activities which have overpowered the weather and caused destruction of our environment. Lord in your mercy Hear our prayer God you are our creator, the source of all wisdom and power. You have created humans and animals and you have appointed us humans to be responsible for them. Forgive us who destroy your creatures. We turn to you in sorrow and repentance. Help us Lord to love and to care for them as you care for us. Lord in your mercy Hear our prayer ……………………………………………………………………………………. Written by members of the four Religious Orders in the Anglican Church of Melanesia. Melanesian Brotherhood, Society of St Francis, Community of the Sisters of the Church, Community of the Sisters of Melanesia. The Anglican Church of Melanesia includes 9  dioceses in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. It is one of the areas of the world most vulnerable to climate change due to sea level rise. To find out more about the impacts of climate change in this area https://abcnews.go.com/International/solomon-islands-disappear-pacific-ocean-result-climate-change/story?id=38985469

6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the homeless  with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own kin? Isaiah 58: 6-7 Traditionally Anglicans fast during Lent, it is a time to prepare yourself spiritually for Easter. For 40 days we sacrifice certain things in memory of the sacrifices that Jesus made in the wilderness.  People abstain from certain foods, drinks or luxuries.  But is that true fasting? Isaiah challenges us to consider the hungry, the homeless and the oppressed – fasting should involve actions of justice. We live in a world where millions are facing famine due to climate change, and where thousands lose their homes to violent storms,  turbo charged by the warming oceans. We live in a world where thousands of humans and  millions of animals have lost their habitat in raging bush fires, fuelled by years of low rain fall. When we read Isaiah 58 we realise that all those suffering the effects of climate change are our kin.. In the family of God , we are one body, not separate  nations – there is no call to make our nation great at the expense of others. We are called to care with compassion for the whole family of this Earth, our common home. Nearly 50 years ago the first men went to the  moon. The astronauts of Apollo 8 took this picture of the Earth from space “Earth Rising” an iconic photograph which changed our perceptions of this planet. Rather than nations, they saw land masses without boundaries, and the thin layer of atmosphere. They realised that we have one common home, it is beautiful but it is also vulnerable. They went to the moon but discovered the Earth. The first Earth Day was held some 16 months later, and today the image endures as a uniting symbol. So this Lent we challenge you to fast for the Earth, for our common home and for our brothers and sisters impacted by climate change. At the start of Lent we invite you to make a pledge, to reduce your use of plastic, to change your eating habits, and to reduce your use of energy and fuel. This are actions we take in solidarity with our ‘kin’ impacted by climate change. Each week has a different theme – we look at   food, waste, water and energy  and challenge you to take actions to reduce our footprint in these areas. During the last week we encourage you to celebrate the wonderful gift of nature and to fall in love again with this Earth that we are called to work and look after (Gen 2:15) The calendar with 40 actions can be found here : Fast for the Earth Calendar #fast4earth