Today is Earth Day, and next week is Arbor Day, and so my mind has been tightly focused on how we can best honor these times, mark the days we have set aside for that which must become part of our day to day, our regular and expected activities.
I do love Earth Day. I have ever since it meant a field day outside at school, tossing around our giant Earth Ball, an inflatable planet earth that was ubiquitous in elementary schools in the 70s and 80s. But I don’t think I had ever heard of Arbor Day, a much older anniversary, until my adulthood. Arbor Day is a day set aside for the planting of trees, and some variation of it is marked all over the world and has been for hundreds of years. Probably longer, just not institutionalized in any way.
I have become more and more wary of dates and anniversaries, celebrations and special days, for those things that we need to make normative. For example, I will never begrudge anyone an amazing and fabulous Pride weekend, and know of many a young person who has used these happenings as an initial safe place to be queer. However, it is too easy for heteronormative people to tick off “Pride March Attendance” as their queer rights action for the year. Queer rights and the celebration of queer life is important every day, not just one glitter-filled party. Also, I have served a number of primarily queer congregations and not everyone wants to have a prty. For some people, Pride can be a time of grief. Same with honoring Creation, and the planting of trees. We need to be doing these things as a matter of course, a part of expected activities. And sometimes, doing so will bring up all that has been lost, and all that we will lose.
I don’t know how much fear of that grief drives climate inaction -it’s a really messy and complicated topic. But honestly, I think many people don’t get more involved or more deeply active because they have no idea what’s happening around them. I don’t mean a general apathy or disengagement. I mean they simply do not get word, don’t know a group is cleaning up that creek, or have no idea that all you need for composting is to sign up. The planet needs a town crier staff.
This week I wrote the article for “The Resistance Prays” [here], another act of honoring these Days of Green. I have been writing for this organization since the 2020 election, when I began more overtly political writing, in a secular sphere but with an explicit moral voice. Of course I tailored this week’s piece towards the care of Creation. My vocational work is in environmental justice, and so it is no surprise that I went this way.
The format of “The Resistance Prays” is to highlight a recent news article, link it to a scripture passage with reflection, provide action steps, and wrap up with a prayer. This week, I chose an article from The Nation about the importance of climate reporting. And of course because the distribution of The Nation is huge, the article was fairly broad in its application. Its examples were interesting and accurate, but missed a large opportunity to highlight that truly effective climate reporting is regional. It is made up of the health of YOUR watershed, the deleterious effects of the local power plant on YOUR neighbors, YOUR OWN inability to grow healthy produce in your backyard due to soil toxicity. Climate reporting can include chances in YOUR community to save a park or restore a waterway or lobby for significant change.
Our climate situation can be overwhelming in the big picture. Local and regional climate and environmental reporting is crucial not only to focus the work and conversation, but also to activate the people who DO care, but often feel isolated or disconnected. Reporting is even more important in this time of contagious and potentially fatal disease. The usual networks of community chatter and word of mouth spread are not happening in the same ways, if at all.
And so I have been leaning into Earth Week. I spoke at a great event Tuesday, the Denver version of a national jewish movement called Deyanu -a Hebrew word meaning ‘it is sufficient.’ The Colorado Jewish Climate Action community gathered in front of Wells Fargo to call the institution to account for their complicity in the Ten Fossil Fuel Plagues, and we danced. Tomorrow night I am attending a documentary premier about our local and especially egregious power plant, Suncor. On Earth Day itself, I plan to visit with a friend, play in some clay, and attend an afternoon of marches and lobbying for the planet. Friday evening, we are wrapping up the week with Sacred Breath: An Interfaith Vigil in which we will listen to music and focus on air and silence.
I am sure that there will be events wherever you are. NEXT week is Arbor Day, and maybe we could all try to plant a tree soon. For we have all we need to build what is necessary.