Fast for the Earth 2022

And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these Matthew 6: 28-29 We all love a good bargain – we rush to the after Christmas sales, we can buy cheap clothes at the click of a button. But a bargain is not always good news. Almost ten percent of carbon emissions come from the fashion industry, which also uses around 1.5 trillion litres of water every year. Bargain clothes often release microplastics when they are washed. People are buying and wearing more and more clothes as trends change. Because the fashion industry is global, imagine the journey of a bikini – which may have been produced in Bangladesh in an abusive sweat shop, then shipped to the UK for their summer, and then if it is not sold, shipped to South Africa in time for their summer. Fast fashion also uses large numbers of chemicals to treat and dye the textiles. Not only is this dangerous for workers, it goes into wastewater and pollutes rivers and oceans. The fashion industry is dominated by polyester which is non biodegradable and produced from petrochemicals with high carbon emissions. What to do? Here are a few suggestions: When you buy clothes – think of them as a product, not as a once often entertainment (what shall I wear for that party – then I can’t wear it again). Buy the best quantity you can. Lend and borrow clothes freely. Be trendy and embrace vintage clothing! Have clothes swops with your friends. Give away or donate to jumble sales the clothes you haven’t worn for three years! Avoid polyester where possible. Repair, rewear , recycle! https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2020/apr/07/fast-fashion-speeding-toward-environmental-disaster-report-warns

Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Luke 12: 33-34 Our reflection today links our Christian Faith to the Sustainable Development Goals, and today we focus on the SDG Goal 12 – “Responsible Consumption & Production” Our earth is drowning in plastic – by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. We buy more and more bargain clothes. We buy junk food which is destroying our bodies and the planet. We need to begin to produce and consume only what we need. There is enough on this planet for everyone – there is enough for our needs, but not for our greed. Luke quotes Jesus saying, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” (Luke 9:25). We are created to be producers, and to be fruitful (Genesis 1:28, 9:17), (e.g. Exodus 28:3). We can receive satisfaction and material reward from our labours, but primary responsibility is to take only what we need for healthy living and invest any surplus into the wellbeing of our communities and environmental habitats which are for the benefit of wider society and future generations. When the Bible speaks of ‘dominion’ (Gen 1:28-30) it does not refer to dominance or abuse of the Earth, it refers to our guardianship responsibility, to protect and nurture creation (Genesis 2:15), to help our world and everything that lives in it to flourish. To do otherwise is to give in to self-centred human nature that resulted from the corruption event of Genesis 3. A manifestation of that corruption is greed. Jesus spoke powerfully against greed and the unproductive storing and defence of surplus (Luke 12:13-21) as it diverts a person’s devotion away from God. In contrast, followers of Christ participate in God’s shalom kingdom where we are called to remain in constant dependence on God as our provider, receiving from God what we need and freely sharing our surplus for the common good of all (Luke 12:22-34). Produce and consume only what you need! Adapted from WEA The Bible and SDGs https://wea-sc.org/en/biblesdgs

Creation is groaning Romans 8: 22 Today we will consider how we can reduce our transport and energy usage?Here are some pledges you might consider for the month ahead: Commit to turning off all unnecessary lights.We often just get into a habit of leaving lights on, but we can change those habits – turn off lights as you leave the room. Although they are expensive  to start off with, the costs savings of buying motion sensor lights over time are very high! Imagine instead of a light being on all night, it might only be on for a few minutes when you arrive home, or even to help to scare off an unwanted visitor! Use ‘task’ lighting.Turn off the ceiling lights and use table lamps or reading lamps, they use much less energy – They also create a nicer atmosphere. Use less hot waterRemember that water had to be heated, so if you have a shorter shower and especially if you opt for a short shower instead of a bath, you are saving a lot of energy! Also turn off the water when shaving, washing hands, brushing teeth etc. and fix that dripping tap as soon as you can! Unplug your electronicsStandby power can account for 10 percent of your average household’s annual electricity use Lower the thermostatTurn down the heat on your water geyser (heater) or heater in winter, aircon in summer Clothes washingWash clothes in cold water and make sure you use full loads Look after your fridgeRemember to defrost regularly and if the seal is not tight, get it replaced otherwise you are losing heat Be efficient with refrigerationMaintain clean, air-tight refrigerator door seals to keep the cold air in and warm air out. If your freezer is empty, fill it with bottles of water to be more efficient. This will also keep food frozen for longer if you have a power cut. Use the microwave instead of ovenIt might take 15 mins in microwave instead of 1 hour in oven. Save on transportDuring the month of Lent why not decide to carpool or cycle to work one day a week or walk to the shops for small items.Decide what you are going to do about energy and transport this Lent and make a pledge!

“Jesus said – let there be no waste” John 6 : 12 Today we will be considering food waste. Think about your weekly or monthly use of food. How much do you throw away? Why does that happen – does food go off because you bought too much, or are you throwing food away because you cooked too much? Do you buy in bulk because it is cheaper but then you have too much of a certain fruit or vegetable and it goes off? List the practical ways in which you can reduce your food waste for example, look through my cupboards regularly and check packages for sell by date. Work out a system for giving food away if you think it will reach its sell by date. Club together with neighbours when you buy in bulk so that you can swop items when you buy in bulk. Find out where the local soup kitchen is and drop foods with them. Share your food pledge with others! What is the problem with food waste?In South Africa, a third of food is never consumed and ends up at rubbish dumps, when there are millions of South Africans who go hungry. 10 million tons go to waste! Most of the waste are fruits and vegetables. It is not only the food that is wasted – the energy that is wasted in growing and transporting that food could power the City of Johannesburg for 4 months! And all the water that was wasted in irrigating the crops would fill over 600 000 Olympic swimming pools – a massive waste for SA, the 30th driest country on the planet. About 90% of food waste in SA is disposed of to landfills, where it produces methane which is almost thirty times worse than carbon dioxide as a heat trapping gas. So today, consider how you shop, cook and store your food. Work out better ways to save and give away. Make the pledge to reduce food waste this Lent. Do your little bit of good.

“I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable”.  Jeremiah 2 :7 As we start our forty days of Lent, take some time to reflect on your lifestyle and how much plastic you are using each week. Which items can you stop using this Lent as you fast for the planet? For example commit to not using plastic bags, straws, Styrofoam, plastic water bottles…. Which items can you cut out of your lifestyle, and make a pledge. Perhaps you would like to post it on social media to inspire others. Why is plastic so bad? Plastic pollution is impacting our health One problem is that it breaks down into tiny microplastics which have been found in bottled water, salt, fruit and vegetables. On average humans are ingesting about 5 grams of microplastic per week ( that’s about the amount of plastic in your bank card!) this is very scary stuff as we know plastic contains toxins Another problem is that plastic clogs water and sewage pipe which leaves polluted water to stagnate. Also if the plastic is burned, it releases harmful toxic gases. Plastic pollution is impacting our economy Our municipalities spend enormous amounts of money on collecting rubbish and especially illegal dumping . This is money that could be spent on vital needs. Polluted beaches impact on jobs from tourism. After heavy rains, the port of Durban sometimes has to close due to the large volumes of plastic, which can cause damage to the engines docked. Burning of plastic can damage roads and waste skips. Plastic pollution impacts on agriculture and fisheries Cows and goats will often eat plastic and can die from starvation as their stomachs become full.  Plastic pollution caused by abandoned fishing gear poses a threat to marine ecosystems and food security © naturepl.com / Terry Whittaker / 2020VISION / WWF Plastic is linked to climate change Plastic is primarily made from oil.  Greenhouse gases are produced during the whole plastic life cycle, from production to transport, to usage and disposal. The oil companies are actually planning to expand their plastic consumption fourfold by 2050! So let us take the pledge and do our little bit of good in reducing our plastic usage this Lent. WWF Plastic pollution in Africa https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf_plastic_pollution.pdf?38342/plastic-pollution-in-africa

Ash Wednesday gives us a chance to reflect on ways in which we have hurt God’s people and damaged God’s world – both in the things we have done and in the things we have failed to do. It is a time to confess our part in contributing to environmental degradation through our behaviours and lifestyle. And as we ‘repent and believe the good news’ it is a chance to commit ourselves anew to take action, to commit ourselves to 40 ‘little acts of good’. Creator God, we marvel that we are made from the dust of the earth, intimately connected and uniquely purposed within your creation. Yet we confess that we have polluted this planet with sin and soot, dirtying the world with unclean fuels and burning forests to ash. We have disconnected ourselves from our relationship to this planet; our actions and lifestyle choices have caused hurt to our neighbours near and far.  Lord have mercy. (Adapted from Living Lent)