Where did the idea of Earth Day come from?
Earth Day on April 22nd was first floated by an Irish-American peace activist, John McDonnell, who raised the idea at a UNESCO Conference on the Environment in San Francisco in 1969. It is fitting that the genesis of Earth Day began in the city named after St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology.
Relevance for the Church of Ireland?
In 1987, the Church of Ireland raised environmental concerns at the seventh Anglican Consultative Council (ACC-7), in Singapore. A discussion followed about Bhopal, Chernobyl, oil spills, soil erosion and desertification etc.. The next such meeting, ACC- 8, in 1990, then drafted the Fifth Mark of Mission which commits the Church to, ‘to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth’. Earth Day is an opportunity to assess our effectiveness in regard to making progress with the Fifth Mark.
Opportunity for the Church?
The Most Revd Robert Runcie, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1980 to 1991, noted that Earth Day was close to Rogationtide. He declared at ACC-8 that, ‘ In many places observance of Rogationtide has fallen into disuse. We hope that Churches will encourage imaginative use of this season, focusing on our responsibility for the environment’.
Opportunity for ecumenism?
Archbishop Runcie also wrote, ‘Our concern for creation in not exclusive to Anglicans. It is our experience that Christians grow together as they work together for a common cause. We hope that Christians of different traditions and members of other faiths will find a variety of ways to work together in caring for and celebrating and enjoying creation’.
Opportunity for youth ministry?
Greta Thunberg, the Swedish political activist working to stop global warming and climate change is just 16 years old. Her initiative to urge fellow young people to strike for action to save this young generation from runaway climate chaos challenges us all!