Perhaps the World Ends Here

EARTH: Earth Action, Reflection, Theology and Hope

Dear Friends in Earth Care, On our recent Steering Committee call, we shared how each of us will give thanks this week. Our rituals ranged from gathering with 50 people around one great table to taking a few days for solitude and rest, from gathering with family to gathering with friends. I was struck by the diversity of our plans and yet each of us spoke with anticipation for time set aside to be grateful. Below you'll meet the newest member of our Steering Committee, find the link to our Advent Devotional, as well as art and poetry. We've also landed on a new name for these monthly emails--EARTH: Earth Action, Reflection, Theology, and Hope. Such a name mirrors the myriad of ways we engage in creation care, and I look forward to how we're explore these ways together. However you spend this week, may you remember how deeply you are loved by God and how cherished the whole Creation is. Thank you for being part of Presbyterians for Earth Care. with hope and gratitude, Abby Mohaupt, Vice Moderator and Newsletter Coordinator Presbyterians for Earth Care Jiyoung Kim is a South Korean artist for children's books  and her work is made from clay and found objects. Perhaps the World Ends Here By Joy Harjo The world begins at a kitchen table. No matter what, we must eat to live. The gifts of earth are brought and prepared, set on the table. So it has been since creation, and it will go on. We chase chickens or dogs away from it. Babies teethe at the corners. They scrape their knees under it. It is here that children are given instructions on what it means to be human. We make men at it, we make women. At this table we gossip, recall enemies and the ghosts of lovers. Our dreams drink coffee with us as they put their arms around our children. They laugh with us at our poor falling-down selves and as we put ourselves back together once again at the table. This table has been a house in the rain, an umbrella in the sun. Wars have begun and ended at this table. It is a place to hide in the shadow of terror. A place to celebrate the terrible victory. We have given birth on this table, and have prepared our parents for burial here. At this table we sing with joy, with sorrow. We pray of suffering and remorse. We give thanks. Perhaps the world will end at the kitchen table, while we are laughing and crying, eating of the last sweet bite. "Perhaps the World Ends Here" from The Woman Who Fell From the Sky by Joy Harjo. Copyright © 1994 by Joy Harjo. Used by permission of W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., www.wwnorton.com.