For God So Loved the World
By Naomi Yaeger,
UMC Earthkeeper
Christmas is coming. Have you thought about sustainable gifts you could give?
My friend gave me toilet paper for my birthday!
It was not because of COVID and hoarding situations, but because the company doesn’t use plastic for packaging and because it’s made from bamboo, which grows faster than trees. It arrived “pre-gift-wrapped” in colorful paper. The company gives 50% of its profits to building bathrooms.
I feel a little naughty writing this in, but the company's name is “Who Gives a Crap” - whogivesacrap.org. The company gives money to WASH, which stands for Water Sanitation and Hygiene.
As a United Methodist, I’m proud that WASH is a recipient of the Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church Advance # 3020600.
Think about what YOU could do this Christmas to bless a friend or family member with a sustainable, useful gift.
I’m giving bars of soap I made at a local business Mix Cosmetiques mixcosmetiques.com .
Some 10 % of everything Mix Cosmetiques sells goes to teaching women in Uganda how to make cosmetics and start their own businesses.
When Christians think of Christmas, they often think of John:3:16 -- how God reached out to them to enter into a personal relationship. I want you to remember how much God loves YOU. In addition, this Christmas, look again at what God loves enough to send God’s own Son—the world. God’s own creation! All of creation, not just humans. If God so loved the world, then we also need to. Choose at least one aspect of creation and love it through your actions and advocacy.
Sources: umcreationjustice.org and whogivesacrap.org and umcmission.org
