Easter Greeting

 

Easter Greeting – 2024

 

Flowers and flowering trees

have braved the work of Spring again

amidst raucous winds and seesawing weather.

Climate Change.

Last year’s lilacs tried to bloom 4 times

as January released Spring’s warmth.

It prematurely teased early blooms and buds to open,

only to sharply succumb to bitter frost,

over and over and over again.

Now flowers and leaves keep buds tightly closed, dark,

fearful of fierce cold’s bite

as temperatures wildly swing

from spring warmth to winter frost.

 

Thus, my Easter wishes for us all

are continued leaning into

work of healing Mother Earth’s wounds,

for all her Life forms

are Sacred,

in all beginning kinds of Faith.

Only a Divine Source of Energy

could have Created the complex intricacies

of the exquisitely vital inter-relationships

continually found in Life on Earth.

 

Human hubris has

via free will

allowed greed, hatred, love of power

far too much free reign.

We’ve been seduced into

ruling, redesigning Nature

for gains of property, wealth, pleasure.

 

Many though are leaning into healing

with hopes that we can

nudge Divinely Created Life Cycles

again into some semblance of balance,

not as they were originally created;

for far too many life types have been decimated,

but in ways that nurture

remnants of rich forms of life

with spaces and prayerful use

 so that Mother Earth can emerge once more

 within a Divine Spirit of Resurrection.

 

                                                                                           Betsy Diaz - 3/23/24

Betsy Diaz, Ph.D. is a member of La Mesa Presbyterian Church in Albuquerque which resides on land of the Tiwa People, from whom as with many indigenous nations, we have much to learn about the Sacred gift of Creation and how we should live to maintain its sustainability.  La Mesa church also supports poetry with a Poetry Post & a Small Library in the Community Garden developed by La Mesa Church and La Mesa public Elementary School, East Central Ministries and the City of Albuquerque.

2023 Earth Care Award Winners Announced

 

Two Eco-Justice Award Winners Honored

at Presbyterians for Earth Care Hybrid Conference

 

Presbyterians for Earth Care (PEC) recognized two well-qualified individuals for their exceptional environmental achievements at their September 2023 hybrid conference in Massanetta Springs, VA. The William Gibson Eco-Justice Award was presented to David Kimball of Billings, MT for his exceptional and far-reaching service in visioning the creation and maintenance of an extensive community garden. Sarah Shimer, a science teacher at Berwick Academy in Maine, received the Emerging Earth Care Leader Award for a young adult.

 

David Kimball, William Gibson Eco-Justice Award

At St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Billings, MT, Dave develops, encourages, and inspires garden activities that have grown and improved over the last 21 years. The garden, with over 50 families sharing plots and a half-acre mission garden, feeds community members and annually shares thousands of pounds of fresh produce with local, low-income food agencies. Dave has led church members and the community in learning about composting, eco-friendly insect control, crop rotation, non-chemical-based fertilization, and offered instruction around sustainable agriculture and the importance of pollinators. The orchard, labyrinth, greenhouse, compost system, and beehives offer more than just vegetables to the community. Dave’s initial and realized vision is community inclusion and because of his vision, organizational leadership, and cheerleading, today the Community Garden continues to follow a mission that is broadly community driven and oriented.

 

Sarah Shimer, Emerging Earth Care Leader Award

Sarah first demonstrated sustainable practices and motivated others while in high school, working at Camp Hanover summer camp in Virginia. As a Young Adult Volunteer for the PC(U.S.A.) in Boston, Sarah immersed herself for a year in food justice – the right to grow, sell, and eat healthy, locally-sourced food. In the warmer months she worked with the Hartford Street Presbyterian Church community members in their community garden. After the growing and harvesting season, she served the community at a Place to Turn food pantry in Natick, MA. Sarah is now the Sustainability Coordinator and Upper School Science Teacher at Berwick Academy in Maine. She readily demonstrates earth stewardship and sustainable practices to her students and faculty in the campus garden. Sarah demonstrates great potential as a future leader of sustainability and will motivate many more to care for God’s creation in the future.