Church of the Crossroads is taking part in a 50-day nationwide campaign of caring for Earth in which its members will plant 200 trees, write letters and circulate petitions on environmental issues.
The United Church of Christ’s national organization started its "Mission 4/1 Earth Campaign" on April 1, and it will run through May 19 (Pentecost Sunday), said Chuck Burrows, an organizer of Church of the Crossroads’ Peace, Justice and the Stewardship of Creation committee.
He is encouraging other ecumenical and interfaith congregations to help meet the campaign’s three goals: engage in 1 million hours of Earth care, plant 1,000 trees and write 1,000 letters and petitions for circulation.
The month is opportune for focusing on sustainability projects, with Earth Day falling on April 22 and Arbor Day on April 26. On behalf of Crossroads, Burrows has been a key player in the 2007 formation of Hawaii Interfaith Power and Light (HIPL), a network of churches promoting sustainability, starting with renovating their own buildings and practices.
In the past few years, Crossroads has cut its electricity costs by about 35 percent through renovations, using more energy-efficient appliances and being more mindful of conservation, he said.
Travis Idol, an associate professor of the Natural Resources and Environmental Management Department at the University of Hawaii, has been working with Burrows from the start at HIPL and explained why faith groups have joined the Earth-saving movement.
"It really cuts across different religious traditions," said Idol, who trains people on how to calculate their "carbon footprints" — one’s impact on the climate — for HIPL. "There are many compelling reasons, moral and spiritual intertwined, for taking action. … It’s an issue of stewardship responsibility; the earth and the resources have been given to people as a gift, and we have a responsibility to use them and to conserve them."
A member of Crossroads and the First Unitarian Church of Honolulu, Idol said, "Creation in many (faith) traditions is an expression of the divine; there’s something of the sacred that’s embodied in the natural world around us. So to degrade or destroy or change it dramatically is to dishonor the sacredness."
People who are most affected by climate change — and usually the least responsible for its damage — are often "the poor, marginalized elements of society," who depend most directly on natural resources to meet daily needs, Idol said. "Issues of justice and compassion are involved," as most religions have a long tradition of caring for these people, he said.
Idol will be speaking April 25 at 6:30 p.m. at Crossroads on "The Effects of Climate Change on the Tropical Forests in Nepal and Hawaii." More lectures are scheduled for Thursdays in May.
On April 20, under the leadership of Hawaiian cultural organizations Ahahui Malama i ka Lokahi and the Kailua Hawaiian Civic Club, volunteers will prepare a site at Na Pohaku o Hauwahine State Park Reserve in Kawainui Marsh in Kailua for the planting of 200 native trees and shrubs, Burrows said. More volunteers are needed for the planting, which will take place 8:30 a.m. to noon April 27, he said. Hawaiian Electric Co. donated $1,500 for the trees through a state grant program.
Other events include an Earth Sabbath service April 21, involving the Rev. Kyle Lovett and the Sunday school youth. And at 4 p.m. the same day in Weaver Hall, "Do the Math," by 350.org, will be shown, with live streaming of nationwide screenings.
For more information, contact Burrows at chuckb@hawaii.rr.com or at 372-7594.
Christ Church, Uniting Disciples and Presbyterians, will observe Earth Day with a free showing of "Dirt" on Friday at 6:30 p.m. The film is narrated by Jamie Lee Curtis and is based on the book "Dirt," by William Bryant Logan. Free popcorn. The church is at 1300 Kailua Road; phone 262-6911.
