This past Sunday night, I was asked in a Zoom Meeting of a Church Community I have been attending, since soon after the pandemic began, if I might provide some reflection on the Ecological angles for Lent. As that meeting had been taking place, and the group leader/facilitator Joe Webb was asking participants about how they might contribute (as he calls it, he was intending to have people be “Volun-told”. Another way to see it would be that he was “evoking our gifts”. So as I thought of this “Eco-Angle” to Lent, and was remembering that my friend and ecotheological colleague, Leah Schade had written a small book of “Lenten Devotionals” that I had bought called “For the Beauty of the Earth”. I was in a mode of hesitancy, since I was beginning to feel a bit of time pressure in the days ahead, as I am looking for a place to live/stay come April 1, but then Joe raised the stakes there by raising the idea about my “Eco-angle” on this to the group. How could I pass that up? It seemed like a sign, as well as a needed “goose” or cattle prod to get the juices working. So after a bit of looking, I found the slim little volume right there on the bookshelf.

Just last week, I had quoted from the book by Climate Scientist Peter Kalmus, as this reflects very much where my focus is these days (the looking for my “next place to hang my hat”), along with my “calling/journey” seeking to live with minimum carbon footprint as an example of what I’m “preaching”.

Every day is precious, especially in light of our exponentially unfolding predicament. I hope that you’ll join me in using these wonderful days to begin aligning with the Earth, with each other, and with yourself. As more of us change to live in this way, the resilient communities we’ll need to weather the coming storms will emerge. — Peter Kalmus, Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution”, (2017, New Society Publishers), p. 99.