Living responsibly and joyfully with God’s creation

Susan Tonge – part of the 9am congregation at Holy Trinity encourages us in this entry to ‘live responsibly and joyfully in.. God’s creation’.  We have a group helping us work towards an “Eco-church Bronze award”, looking at our worship and our teaching on creation, how we look after our buildings and our land, and how we encourage people to care for creation as an integral part of their personal lifestyles. We now have 100% recycled toilet rolls that we use in our Trinity Centre which we encourage guests to purchase for their homes, and we are also considering eco-friendly ideas in discussions around use of our newly acquired Glebe Field. 

 

Have you ever looked at a flower through a hand lens or a magnifying glass? Have you got down on your knees to inspect an apparently uninteresting bit of ground only to discover the myriad of tiny plants growing there? I’m sure you have looked in admiration at a huge tree and appreciated its beautiful autumn colours, or wondered at the great age and mystery of an ancient oak or yew tree.

You will hopefully have taken time to listen to bird song, notice the variety of insect life, and you may have been lucky enough to see some of our more elusive wildlife. You may have enjoyed a trip to the coast, watched the waves and gazed at the vastness of the ocean, or taken pleasure in seeing a Shropshire stream as it tumbled down the Long Mynd.

 

These are just a part of God’s world, God’s creation, made first and foremost for God’s pleasure and glory. As human beings we have been given the task of caring for it, and the blessing of enjoying the bounty of the earth and appreciating its beauty. This is what our journey as an eco-church is about; helping us as church, families and individuals to live responsibly and joyfully in all aspects of our lives in God’s creation.