Sustainable September
Bible Study

Bible Study Sustainable September

The Anglican EcoCare Commission has produced its annual Sustainable September resource, with prayers, reflections, liturgies and resources. We also revisit some of the most appreciated Bible Studies from previous years, including this one from Dr Sue Taylor, EcoCare on ‘Earth’.

• In what ways can you think of the Earth as a source of energy?
• What propelled you to work or study today?
• Did you drive a car? Take a bus? Ride a bicycle? Walk? Where did the energy come from?

Isaiah 61

For I the Lord love justice,

I hate robbery and wrongdoing;

I will faithfully give them their recompense,

and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants shall be known among the nations,

and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge

that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,

my whole being shall exult in my God;

for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,

as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

For as the earth brings forth its shoots,

and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise

to spring up before all the nations.

If your vehicle was powered by petrol, how did it get to you?

Who created it, extracted it, refined it, transported it, stored it, served it? How can we know that all the people involved in these processes were employed fairly, and paid properly for their goods and services? Or is there a chance that our purchase of this product involves some element of enslavement?

Are there other concerns about the way we “harvest” and use fossil fuels? What do we do with the by-products? Can we be confident that the supply of fossil fuels is inexhaustible and reliable? How would it change our

lives if fossil fuels became more scarce/expensive than we could afford?

If your vehicle was powered by human power, where did your energy come from? Directly from fruits and vegetables? Or indirectly, via meat or perhaps processed food-products?

Who created it, nourished it, harvested it, processed it, transported it, stored it, served it? How can we know that all the people involved in these processes were employed fairly, and paid properly for their goods and services? Or is there a chance that our purchase of this product involves some element of enslavement?

Do you have any concerns about the journey your nourishment has taken? Can you think of alternative sources? Can we be confident that the supply of our food is inexhaustible and reliable? How would it change our lives if supermarket food became suddenly unavailable?

• Why would God care about where we get our energy?
• How might idolatry be an issue? Pride?
• How can we demonstrate good management of the Earth’s resources?
• What changes is God challenging you to make to the way you live and work?

A Prayer for the Season of Creation

God our Creator, maker and shaper of all that
is, seen and unseen;
You are present in the breadth and depth of
the whole of creation,
and in the processes that make life possible.

Yet, we are distracted by the
gods of the marketplace.
Our lives have become fractured
and fragmented.
In our brokenness we disturb
the Earth’s capacity to hold us

Call us back from the brink.
Help us to choose love and not fear,
to change ourselves and not the planet,
to act justly for the sake of the vulnerable,
and to make a difference today
for the life tomorrow.
We make this our prayer in your name, Father,
Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.