Give God’s earth a break, give up something for 40 days

By Naomi Yaeger

Commissioned Earthkeeper
(United Methodist Church)

Ash Wednesday is March 6. Traditionally some people give up something for Lent.

When I became a commissioned Earthkeeper in 2016, each of those in the class picked a theme. My is “Duluth

Doesn’t do it Dirty.” My goal is to educate others, to meet you where are, and see how you might increase your ways to keep God’s earth beautiful. Hope UMC’s pastor, Rev. Lawton is also an Earthkeeper   FUMC also has Earthkeepers Chuck Campbell and Carol Donahue – they have chosen a different missions.

Lent is a good time to see what you might give up or do for 40 days.

Could you give up plastic cutlery for 40 days? It takes some planning ahead if you eat lunch at facilities that use plastic cutlery.

Plastic cutlery is used because it is cheap and doesn’t need to be washed. Unfortunately, it wastes a lot of resources and is rarely recycled. Most plastic cutlery is made from a type of plastic known as polystyrene. Polystyrene or expanded polystyrene is more commonly referred to as Styrofoam. Styrene is currently classified by the National Toxicological Program’s 12th Report on Carcinogens as reasonably anticipated to be a carcinogen, workers involved in the manufacture of polystyrene foams are at the most risk of styrene exposure.

It is estimated that serval million tons of Polystyrene is produced each year.

My bamboo spork

Most cities cannot recycle styrene. Keep metal cutlery at your office or in your purse. I have a bamboo spork that comes in handy. As soon as I use it I wash it and place it in a waxed paper porch in my purse. Or if you are going for fast food to bring it back to your home or office, ask them to skip the plastic cutlery. Maybe you have another way you’d like to be more friendly to God’s Earth. Try choosing something you can do from Ash Wednesday until Easter. Anything you can do for 40 days is a start.

According to the United Methodist Church Statement on the Environment:

God is the owner of the land (Lev. 25); thus it is a gift in covenant which involves the stewardship of keeping and tending the land for present and future generations; as God's creation, land has the need to be regenerated that it may sustain life and be a place of joy. It is a common gift to all of life requiring just patterns of land use.

(Originally published in Duluth First United Methodist Church's newsletter and Duluth's Hope UMC Church newsletter)

United Methodist Women
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