Dozens of women in my life faithfully live into the calling of Earth advocates. When I reflect on their work, I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 21:4-6: “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.” Caring about, advocating for, and raising our voices to shine a light on both the beauty and sabotage of the Earth, is Spirit-driven work.
Seek out the Earth advocates around you. They head up the recycling efforts at church and school. They own resale shops in our communities. They organize neighborhood clean-ups, plan Earth Day celebrations, travel to the state capitol to demand more Earth-friendly laws and pick up trash in the neighborhood park. They care about what we are leaving behind for our grandchildren’s grandchildren’s children.
We cook from the Earth, weave fabric from the threads of the Earth, return to the Earth. Advocating for the Earth is the same as campaigning for our own human existence.
This message is excerpted from “We need Earth advocates.” by Venice R. Williams in the March 2020 Gather magazine. Today is Earth Day.
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