Steak knives near the nursery

From product packaging to acid rain, do environmental issues overwhelm you? “Information isn’t the problem,” said the Rev. Sarah Scherschligt of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Gaithersburg, Md. “I see the problem as being people actually being able to transform their lives in meaningful ways such that they feel part of the solution rather than completely overwhelmed by the scale of this problem and their potential participation in it.”

Because we value children, it’s a “no-brainer” to keep steak knives away from a church nursery and admonish someone who leaves one there, she quipped. We need “the same kind of culture around how we deal with creation” when one contemplates, say, a two block drive for an errand.

Pr. Scherschligt made these comments as part of a panel conference call posted to a blog of Sojourners (listen at Calling for change, 6/5/12). She is a member of the Metro D.C. Synod’s Creation Care team.

“Trying to give people specific actions so that they feel like they’re part of something useful, so that they can feel as if that they’ve accomplished something based on this value system and have done it within the context of their faith community, is really important,” she continued.

What specific creation care actions do you take?