This weekend we have a full, full slate (again) at St. Mark, followed by the season of Lent. So, let’s begin with some reminders and then we’ll talk about the forthcoming season.
On Saturday and Sunday, we welcome Mihee Kim-Kort as our guest preacher. Mihee is the author of Outside the Lines: How Embracing Queerness Will Transform Your Faith, a very honest and self-examining reflection on identity and relationships. After Saturday worship is our monthly “Meet Me at Muldoon’s,” from 6:30 – 8:00pm. And after Sunday worship Mihee will be presenting a book talk in the Fellowship Hall from 11:00-noon.
Sunday afternoon, from 3:00 – 5:00, the Orange County Alliance for Just Changewill present a forum in the sanctuary entitled, “From Homeless to Home,” featuring two success stories of Permanent Supportive Housing in Orange County. Among the speakers will be activists, service providers, and residents, whose experience can help us in our work to establish 2,700 units of Permanent Supportive Housing in Orange County. You will also hear how the United To End Homelessnessmovement is recruiting “Housing Champions” who can attend city council meetings equipped with information, compassion, and justice.
And then, on Wednesday we enter the season of Lent with a 7:00pm Ash Wednesday worship service. Our theme for the season is “Fragile Beauty of the Earth.” We will reflect on being disciples of Jesus Christ while living in a world that is experiencing climate change at a pace that few of us are willing to imagine. Using the 104thPsalm as a guide, we will see how our addiction to carbon, resulting in rising sea levels, the loss of biodiversity, and exacerbated effects of wildfires, are at odds with God’s purpose in creation. Each week will feature a 30-minute “Talkback” following Saturday worship as well as a special presentation featuring environmental concerns on Sundays at 11:00am.
As this season begins, I want to clarify my starting point for this series: Climate change is a reality and it is dramatically driven by human actions, particularly by carbon emissions. The case for climate change is based on science and poses a real challenge to our ideologies – our approaches to economics, politics, ethics, and even how we interpret the Scriptures. I am not going to engage in endless debates over the whether climate change is truly taking place or whether it is a ‘natural phenomenon’ rather than impacted by human actions, because I believe one of the most effective means of avoiding a difficult question, is to ‘question the question.’ I believe that climate change denial/doubt is an ideological position that uses science to legitimate itself, rather than a scientific position that is willing to let the truth challenge our ideology. So, the starting point of this Lenten series – at least insofar as I contribute to it through my sermons and reflections – is that facing climate change is the cup that we have to accept if we are to be faithful, just as the crucifixion was the cup that Jesus accepted in his prayer in the garden. The question of faith is not whether we should do something, but what we should do.
There is a lot of beauty in the earth, and it continues to afford us many moments of joy and wonder. Yet, our earth is fragile. This Lenten season will be a time of embracing this fragile beauty.
Mark of St. Mark
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