On March 28, we had our Stewardship Sunday, the official beginning of the Canvass. We started to think about how we can be good stewards of our congregation, both financially with pledges and in terms of volunteer efforts. Then on April 3, we had a chance to be stewards of our physical space as the UUCiA had a Spring Cleanup. Volunteers (organized by Gail Ensdorf) came together to clean up our space, inside and out. Thank you to all who participated. It looks wonderful! If you haven’t seen the improvements (including some new wall hangings), you’ll just have to get yourself to Locke Street on Sunday and see for yourself. Now it’s time to start thinking about Earth Day and stewardship of the earth. You probably know that Earth Day falls on April 22 and that it’s a time to celebrate the beauty and consider the fragility of the earth. But did you know that this coming Earth Day is the 40th Anniversary of the celebration? (The first Earth Day was in 1970.) This year, many Unitarian Universalists are expanding the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day to last for 40 days, from Sunday April 18 to Thursday May 27. This will be done by “committing to small and large daily actions for the sake of the Earth and all who live here. Some are even testing driving lifestyle changes for 40 days, knowing our personal choices affect many aspects of global environmental justice.” You can learn more at http://tr.im/404040. According to the site, “When 40 people in one congregation make 40-day commitments, that congregation receives special acknowledgement from the UUA’s Ethical Eating Core Team.” Obviously 40 people would be too many for us at the UUCiA, but we may substitute 40% of average worship attendance, which is about 12 people. This Sunday, April 11, I will be preaching about the late, great Howard Zinn. Zinn reminds us that everyday people drive history, and Earth Day is an important reminder of this. Whatever the world’s governments do (or don’t do) to protect our planet, “we the people” can make our own stand. Earth Day and the 40/40/40 Unitarian Universalist challenge is an opportunity to think about ways that we can walk more gently on the earth and lessen our environmental footprints. This Sunday, I will bring some information on the 40/40/40 effort and see if we might have 12 (or more) people who would like to join the challenge. The following Sunday (April 18), the Rev. Maddie Sifantus will be at the UUCiA to lead a worship service in honor of Earth Day. In closing, I want to share the words of farmer poet Wendell Berry’s “Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front”. He writes, “So, friends, every day do something that won’t compute. Love the Lord. Love the world…. Ask the questions that have no answers. Invest in the millennium. Plant sequoias. Say that your main crop is the forest that you did not plant, that you will not live to harvest…. Be joyful though you have considered all the facts…. Go with your love to the fields. Lie down in the shade. Rest your head in her lap. Swear allegiance to what is nighest your thoughts…. Practice resurrection…. And … pray, not for new earth or heaven, but to be quiet in heart – and in eye, clear. What we need is here.” In faith, Lara

Posted by Rev. M. Lara Hoke on April 7th, 2010