A man participates in an interfaith vigil before the 2014 U.N. climate summit in Lima, Peru. (Barbara Fraser)
Editor s Note: EarthBeat Weekly is your weekly newsletter about faith and climate change. Below is the Jan. 1 edition. To receive EarthBeat Weekly in your inbox, sign up here.
Happy 2021! As we begin a new year, this seems like a good time to look back at where we ve been and where we re going. I joined EarthBeat five months ago, and it feels like home now although I m kind of glad that my physical home is in Lima, Peru, in the Southern Hemisphere, where we re now having summer instead of winter.
Day 24: Tuesday, Dec. 22
REFLECT
As part of Simple Advent, Abundant Life, we invited young people to share how they strive to live simply on the earth as a sign of hope that restoration is possible. Today s reflection comes from Connor O Leary Herreras, a senior at Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland, California.
Right now, my life is chaotic, but when I tend to the one-by-four-foot garden bed in my backyard, I am removed from the stress of college applications, my senior year and the civil unrest our country faces. Essays, assignments and politics all dissipate as I hover my watering can above the rows of carrots and lettuce, allowing its water to saturate the soil. Since April of this year, I have harvested zucchini, peas, tomatoes and more.
Day 20: Friday, Dec. 18
REFLECT
As part of Simple Advent, Abundant Life, we invited young people to share how they strive to live simply on the earth as a sign of hope that restoration is possible. Today s reflection comes from Denise Rodriguez, a senior at Cristo Rey St. Martin in Waukegan, Illinois.
My name is Denise Rodriguez, I am a senior at Cristo Rey St. Martin in Waukegan, Illinois. I’m really passionate about keeping our world clean, meaning keeping my environment safe. Throughout my high school years, I ve engaged more with ways to keep our environment clean.
The first club I joined was our eco-club. Believe me, we re a small group but we have made changes. Our biggest accomplishment is having a composting bin. We started our composting bin last year, and it was pretty great. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 we don t have a lot of students attending school.
Day 12: Thursday, Dec. 10
REFLECT
As part of Simple Advent, Abundant Life, we invited young people to share how they strive to live simply on the earth as a sign of hope that restoration is possible. Today s reflection comes from Josie Schuman, a senior at John Carroll University, in Cleveland: In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex.
-Henry David Thoreau,
Walden
Living simply is hard, especially in today s age of throwaway culture where people discard perfectly good items to be replaced with something new and shiny. I am guilty of buying into this narrative. As a senior in college, I am incredibly grateful to have had the privilege to study abroad my sophomore year, during which I had an epiphany about living simply (as paradoxical as that sounds).