A few weeks ago, we had a discussion in our adult forum
about where we encounter God. Many
people talked about encountering God in nature, and I suspect that is not
unique to the St. Thomas community.
God’s creation is spectacular. As
I write this in Seattle, flowers of every color are emerging from ground that
has lain bare for a long winter. As the
spring skies clear from a long a grey winter, snowcapped mountains say their
final goodbye as the snowmelt nourishes the valleys. The damp and crisp air of winter is sweetened
by the warmth of spring and the air is filled with a chorus of bird songs. In all parts of the world, creation is
singing around us. But are we
noticing? I have to admit that in the
hurried pace and endless productivity of our culture, I rarely slow long enough
to notice God’s magnificent creation around me.
If we are honest, I think that is true for most of us.
At St.
Thomas, we are beginning to intentionally discuss stewardship throughout the
whole year. The word “stewardship”
typically makes people think about someone standing in front of a church,
asking for money once a year. But stewardship
is much bigger than this. It is caring
for and using wisely all that God has
given us: people, places, and things that sustain and enrich our lives. This includes creation. As the natural world shifts and the seasons
change all around the globe, we have dedicated ourselves to talking about the
stewardship of creation during the month of May.
With this in mind, we would like to invite anyone and everyone to participate in a project to help us all develop eyes to see God’s goodness in the world around us. What we will do is put together a photo gallery to draw our attention to the beauty and sacredness of creation. During the month of May, we invite everyone to pay close attention to creation and take a picture of anything that helps you connect with God. This could be a blooming flower, a stunning landscape, a sunrise or sunset, a beautiful person, or a majestic building or feature of the city where you live. Whether you take the photo on a cell phone or traditional camera, please e-mail the photo to Brian Gregory (brian@stthomasmedina.org). As we begin to collect photos, we will be sharing them online (stthomasmedina.org and our Facebook page) and in a display at St. Thomas during the month. In doing this, we can encourage and inspire one another to slow down long enough to see creation with eyes of wonder for the Creator. We hope that you will join us in this project and we look forward to discovering beauty with you!
- Brian Gregory, Associate for Youth Ministries
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