Dearly beloved,

Phew! Not liking this heat whatsoever! It is as “Mother Nature” is angry with us.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1 & 2) and instructed humanity to till and keep it. Earlier translation often spoke of humanity “having dominion” over creation. This lead to a sense of not just ownership but that we could do anything we want with creation.

Today, we see the ways in which the use and abuse of creation has led to climate change resulting in out of control temperatures, melting glaciers, increased wildfires, droughts, floods and other natural disasters.

What we have lost sight of is that creation was entrusted to us. Genesis 2:15 says that humanity was put into the garden to till it and keep it. The word “till” can also be translated as “serve” and the word “keep” as guard or preserve. God did not give creation to us but rather invites us to take care of all that God has created.

How might we look at creation and all that is in our keeping as that which is not just created by God, but entrusted to us? This includes nature as well as all of our possessions (and I use that loosely). It also includes all of our relationships – not just those what we know, but all of the world’s population. We are entrusted by God to one another!

Join us for worship this Sunday as we give thanks to God for all of creation and seek Christ’s love to enable us to be better stewards of what has been entrusted into our care.

Peace in Christ,
Pastor Jen