Albinos in Tanzania Hunted for Body Parts

I watched a recent episode of the television documentary 20/20 which chronicled the condition known as albinism. This condition, which affects both human and animal populations, makes it impossible for the body to produce any color pigmentation. A human or animal with albinism looks normal in every respect, except they are completely white: this includes hair, skin and eyes.

The episode followed a number of people with albinism in the United States, documenting their lives and how the condition affects their day-to-day living. Humans born with albinism are almost always legally blind, and are extremely sensitive to sunlight due to the body's inability to fight off the effects of ultra-violet light. Skin cancer is a serious issue with albinos.

Sometimes, though, the emotional issues are even heavier than the physical ones. Albinos don't fit into the "normal" minority categories. Albino children are often teased by classmates. One teenage girl interviewed by 20/20 was teased and bullied so mercilessly that she had to leave school and study at home due to the emotional toll.

However, some of these issues seem to pale in comparison to the plight of albinos in the African country of Tanzania. It has the highest concentration of albinos of any other population in the world. Albinism occurs once in every 20,000 births worldwide. In Tanzania, however, the rate of albinism is an astounding one in four thousand, five times the world's albinism rate.

Superstition in Tanzania holds that albinos posses a type of luck or "magical" quality. Because of this, practicing witch doctors are fueling a market for albino body parts. They use these human body parts, mainly legs, arms and hair, in potions. These potions are sold to believers who hope to attain wealth through them.

The lure of wealth in a country that has a gross domestic product of less than $1500 per capita is enough to keep these potions in demand. Unfortunately, the lure of money also makes it all too easy for witch doctors to find people willing to hunt, mutilate and murder albinos in Tanzania. In some cases, even parents of children with albinism are willing to exchange the lives of their children for money, usually about $2000 US.

These depraved hunters usually burst into a home in the middle of the night, heavily armed, and simply snatch the albino. They use brute force and the threat of violence to subdue family members. In most cases, they simply take the albino out into the yard to perform their dastardly deed, and then leave the person in a pool of blood to die as frightened and distraught family members look on helplessly.

Because good medical care isn't available in most of the remote villages, albinos who are attacked almost always die. A few, however, survive, and face a lifetime of disability in a country where there are no resources to support these severely disabled individuals.

Fortunately, a Canadian charity called Under the Same Sun is working tirelessly to focus attention on the plight of albinos in Tanzania. The non-profit organization was founded in 2008 by Peter Ash, a Christian businessman who himself was born with albinism. Ash, along with his brother Paul, donate money and raise global awareness of the problems that albinos worldwide are faced with, particularly in third world countries like Tanzania.

Thanks to the Ash brothers' charity, a school has been built in Africa to offer refuge to oppressed albinos. The school offers shelter, food, education and safety to albino children who otherwise would be hunted, or perhaps even fall victim to the conditions that many other African children face, like starvation, disease and abject poverty.

The school accepts many children besides albinos, and the building is bursting at the seams on any given day. Classrooms are wall-to-wall children, and kids often work two or three to a desk. The rest simply find a tiny spot on the floor. Dormitories are crowded, with two or three children sleeping in one bed or hammock.
While these conditions might seem deplorable to North Americans, the children and their families are unspeakably grateful for the opportunity for an education, daily meals, and above all, safety.

Under the Same Sun's mission is based on the belief that every person, albinos included, are made in the image of God. The Ash brothers hope to dramatically increase the quality of life for albinos in Tanzania by providing them with opportunities for education and quality free or affordable/attainable health care.

This story touched me like few others have. As a fan of television documentaries, I often hear stories about charities involved in various projects around the world. I am almost always moved by their stories, but none so much as this one.

It made me think about what my own response should be. In a time of economic crisis, almost every one has been affected in some way. Financial resources are tight, and not everyone can afford to give money. Couple that with the vast number of charities doing worthwhile work around the world, and the need seems overwhelming.

I think it's God's will that we, as Christians, give freely and gladly of the resources that He has given us. While He has not blessed all of us with extra finances, we all have the ability to pray. I very frequently forget that prayer is more powerful than the dollar, and admit that I often neglect to do my part by praying for those around the world who are oppressed and suffering. Even if I can't give my money, I can offer my prayers, specifically for protection for albinos in Tanzania, and that God would raise up those whom he has blessed with financial resources to fill those gaps that others cannot.

I am also blessed with the ability to write, and so I have also chosen to do that, in the hope that I might be able to bring just a little bit more attention to the plight of albinos in Tanzania. For that gift, and the ability to pray, I am grateful to God.

Learn more about Peter Ash's work at the Under the Same Sun website.

Watch Peter Ash's YouTube "Voice of America" interview.

Mental Health and the Church: What Would Jesus Do?

I was talking with an acquaintance from church recently. He's a bit of a health nut: he exercises almost as religiously as he reads his Bible, carefully watches what he eats, and even drinks dreadful veggie-based smoothies every day in an effort to stave off illness and prolong his earthly life.

We chatted a bit about ailments that seem to be so prevalent today, like cancer. He hoped that his strict regimen would help him avoid some of these things. He even mentioned mental illness, remarking that it seemed that depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders were almost pandemic.

His remarks made me start thinking about mental illness. Personally, I wonder if mental illnesses such as depression are really that much more prevalent now than they were 100 years ago. I'm certainly not a medical professional by any stretch of the imagination. But I would conjecture that perhaps mental illness is NOT more common in 2009, but rather, much more talked about.

It also got me thinking about my own experience with mental illness. I was diagnosed with clinical depression in 2002, shortly after the birth of my third child. It turned out that what I had thought was simple post-partum depression had much deeper roots.

As my doctor and I explored this new revelation in my life, I began to realize that I'd actually suffered from clinical depression most of my life. I also came to understand why it took me twenty years to identify the problem in my own life.
If you're like most people, you probably think of clinical depression the way I once did: it means that the victim lies around in bed all day, cries for hours on end, and generally has trouble going about daily living.

I, on the other hand, was really nothing like this. While I have learned over the years that I require more nightly sleep than the average person (8 1/2 to nine hours minimum), I've never suffered from lack of motivation to get out of bed in the morning. Quite the opposite in fact: I have always been quick to jump out of bed and pack my day from start to finish with non-stop activity.

This, I came to learn, was my coping method. But instead of making me feel better, it produced such severe anxiety that I began to be unable to sleep at night, even after my new baby finally began sleeping through the night himself. I would lie awake feeling nervous about whether or not I would be able to keep up with my hectic pace. I would suffer frequent panic attacks. I would yell at my kids and make unreasonable demands of my husband, blaming everyone around me for making me feel so lousy.

It was a simple ten question quiz in a parenting magazine that finally made me realize that I was suffering from clinical depression, which manifested itself in my life as severe anxiety. I was shocked and relieved at the same time. There was hope! There really was more to life than constant panic attacks and dissatisfaction with my circumstances! Medication and therapy has done an amazing job of getting my depression/anxiety under control.

Statistics suggest that some ten percent of North Americans are currently receiving some type of treatment (medication, therapy or a combination of both) for clinical depression. They also estimate that 10-25% of all women and 5-12% of all men will experience a bout of clinical depression at some point in their lives.

Think about those statistics in relation to your church. There are roughly 600 people in my own church. That means there are probably about 59 other people sitting in church with me every Sunday morning who are dealing with the same thing that I am. 59 people! This is more than a mere handful. And yet, I can think of less than five people who have ever admitted aloud to me that they do indeed suffer from clinical depression.

So why is it that mental health issues are still so hard to talk about in the church? I consider myself fortunate to live during a period in history where mental illness doesn't quite have the same negative social stigma attached. Had I lived one hundred years ago, I would most likely have been labelled as "delicate" or perhaps as being "not right." I most certainly would not have had access to the same kind of treatment that has helped me so greatly today.

And yet, even as I write this, I realize I have now "put myself out there." While I've never been one to shy away from talking about my experience with mental illness, I haven't been quick to take out a billboard ad either. What will my church think? Horror of horrors.... pastor's wives can be clinically depressed????

I guess my hope is that by opening up about my own experiences, I might inspire others in the church to realize that it's okay to talk about mental illness. Not only is it okay to talk about it, it's okay to BE mentally ill. Mental illness is as real a medical problem as the flu or a broken leg. And like broken legs, mental illness can be treated. What it SHOULD NOT be is hidden or ignored. You'd never walk around on a broken leg. It would be painful, foolish, and would lead to much more serious problems in the long run. No one in his or her right mind would ever consider simply ignoring or "shaking off" a broken leg. And yet, this happens time and time again with people who suffer mental illness.

Admittedly, there isn't a lot said in the Bible about mental illness, or what the church's response to it should be. However, in my own studies I have become convinced of a couple of things. First, I've come to believe that David, he of kingly heritage, sheep and harp-playing, was clinically depressed, perhaps even bi-polar. If you don't believe it, consider some of his writings:

"I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning, my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. Because of all my enemies I am the utter contempt of my neighbors, I am a dread to my friends, those who see me on the street flee from me." (Psalm 31: 9-11)

I have thought and felt similar things during some of my own dark moments. I identify very closely with David in many regards, and have come to take great comfort in the Psalms, knowing that I am not the only person in history to have felt such overwhelming heaviness, and also knowing that I, like David, understand that on the flip side of the coin there is hope:

"The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them, He delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all." (Psalm 34: 17-19)

The other thing that I have become convinced of is that the church needs to respond to mental illness with compassion. Again, there's not a lot about mental illness in the Bible. However, there is a great deal in the Bible about responding compassionately to people in other awkward and socially-stigmatized life situations. Take Jesus' encounter with the "sinful" woman, whom we assume to have been a prostitute or of similar ilk, who wished to express her deep love for Jesus. Those around him were disgusted when she began weeping uncontrollably at his feet, washing them with her tears and drying them with her unbound hair.

Jesus fellow dinner guests were appalled, questioning his very divinity ("If this man were a prophet, he would know who was touching him and what kind of woman she is." Luke 7:39) They chided her wastefulness when she anointed Jesus' feet with expensive perfume: "It could have been sold for more than a year's wages and the money given to the poor." (Mark 14:5)

But Jesus rebuked them, responding with compassion to this woman who understood more than anyone else at that table that she had been rescued from so much.

In other instances we see Jesus extending compassion to social outcasts like lepers, offering healing and forgiveness of sin and even skin to skin contact, something that was so socially repulsive that it was actually forbidden. We see him reacting in love to those who were possessed with evil spirits, drawing physically and emotionally near to them when no one else would.

I can't help but believe that this is what Jesus wants us to do with those who suffer mental illness. Instead of ignoring it, pretending it doesn't exist, or relegating those who suffer it to the very fringes of our congregations (much as the demoniac who was forced to live in a graveyard), I believe Jesus calls us to embrace those who might otherwise be deigned social outcasts, to acknowledge their sufferings, and to show love and compassion.

Mental illnesses like clinical depression are difficult to understand for those who haven't suffered them. I think it's okay not to understand. (I don't understand what it's like to have a broken leg, having never broken a bone in my lifetime.) But the church is still responsible to reach out in love to the mentally ill, like I think Jesus would do, with love and compassion and a great deal of grace.

Facebook: The New Prayer Chain

Remember the church prayer chain? Many churches around North America still have active prayer chain ministries. For those who think a prayer chain is a piece of jewelry, let me enlighten you.

A prayer chain consists of a group of volunteers who agree to pray for prayer requests as they are submitted by church members. Prayer requests are directed to the person at the top of the "chain" (usually the leader of the prayer chain ministry.) He or she then delivers that prayer request to a small group of individual volunteers (in the "olden days" this occurred by telephone.) Each of those individuals then delivers that same request to a group of individual volunteers underneath him/her, and so on until everyone in the prayer chain ministry has received the request. It's a fast way to get multiple people (dozens or even hundreds) interceding in prayer on behalf of one person. (Think "Pyramid Scheme," except in this version you get prayed for instead of ripped off.)

My church has a very active prayer ministry, though it's a little less formal than an organized "prayer chain," and probably a lot faster than the old-fashioned telephone variety. Prayer requests can be submitted to a staff, board or prayer team member. These three groups of people work closely together to ensure that each of the other groups knows that a prayer request has been made, and most of the communication is done by email, which tends to be faster, less invasive, and more reliable than the phone prayer chain.

My husband and I recently experienced a whole new twist on the good old-fashioned prayer chain. A couple of weeks ago my middle child came down with what appeared to be a pesky but tenacious virus. It turned out to be parvo-virus, a garden variety flu-type bug that strikes just about everyone on the planet during childhood.

Parvo-virus is normally little more than a nuisance. What differentiates it from other flu-like viruses is that it attacks the bone marrow and temporarily halts the production of red blood cells.

Human beings normally make a surplus of red blood cells for just such times as these. However, my two sons happen to have hereditary spherocytosis, an inherited blood disorder which inhibits the proper production of red blood cells. The cells that are produced are the wrong shape (spherical instead of round) and subject to attack by the spleen, which thinks they are foreign substances and therefore wipes out many of them. So parvo-virus can be deadly for my two boys.
My son got very ill very quickly, and ended up needing an emergency blood transfusion and hospital stay.

As I threw together an overnight bag so that I could accompany my son to the hospital, I quickly posted a request for prayer on Facebook. To my surprise, hundreds of people knew within hours of my son's admittance to the hospital and had already prayed for Joshua's recovery. And not just locals either.... people from all over Canada and the United States were praying for my son before he'd even drained the first of two bags of blood that he needed.

I couldn't help but marvel at this modern twist on the prayer chain. This is not intended to be an endorsement for Facebook (though I admit that I am slightly addicted to it.) I am also aware that Facebook has been misused, abused and employed as a tool to promote all sorts of insidious ideas and causes and has even served to destroy the careers and reputations of people (even Christians.) But Facebook, when used wisely, can also be a tremendous tool for the church in general, and for individual Christians, particularly in times of need as I so recently came to discover.

As it turned out, Joshua graciously shared his virus with his little brother Josiah (now why can't I get them to share toys?) and a week later we found ourselves in a re-run except with a different child. Once again we turned to Facebook for prayer, and were deeply rewarded to find so many friends praying for us and encouraging us, even people that we haven't seen in years. I am exceedingly grateful for this contemporary twist on the prayer chain.

Building Bridges

For the last two years or so, my children and I have watched with fascination as a massive suspension bridge has been built just up river from where we live. Its impressive spans and vaulting cables can be seen towering above centuries-old groves of trees that line either side of the river over which it crosses, linking two major communities together that were once joined only by a quaint but slow and inconvenient ferry system.

Every time we would drive by this work in progress, we would observe the latest additions to the structure and comment on how the bridge was taking shape. Sometimes it seemed as though nothing visible was being accomplished for days at a time, even though dozens and dozens of workers were always present. Other times it was as though whole sections of bridge would appear seemingly overnight, as if bridge fairies had visited in the wee hours of the morning.

We also marveled at the various aspects of bridge building that were surprising to us. One day we drove by and noticed piles and piles of giant bricks with nubs on the sides. This excited my boys greatly: "They look just like giant Legos, Mom!" Turns out, they were made from styrofoam. Who knew bridges can be built with styrofoam?

The last several months have been the most exciting to watch, as more and more spans were added from each end, until they finally met near the middle and the last piece was dropped in. After years of building, the bridge is complete and will open to the public in less than a month.

Every time I drive by that bridge, I can't help but think of all that goes into building bridges. Over two years of work, and that doesn't even include the years and years of planning that go into such an effort. It's a remarkable thing to begin with an idea, and years later finally see all those plans and all of the work culminate into a suspension bridge that will stand for decades (maybe even centuries) and see the passage of billions and billions of vehicles over its length.

In fact, it reminds me an awful lot of ministry in general, and church ministry in particular. After all, isn't this what we're all doing in all of our churches all over the world? Ministry is all about building bridges. Whether professional or lay ministers, we work at building bridges between parents and children, children and adults, teens and adults, teens and their peers, old and young, husbands and wives, couples, ethnic groups, Christians and non-Christians, mature Christians and new, "baby" Christians.... and the list goes on and on.

Building bridges in our churches doesn't happen overnight either. Much as our Golden Ears bridge has been years in the making, it takes time to build bridges in our churches. It's easy as leaders (professional or otherwise) to get discouraged because, let's face it: sometimes it seems that little or no progress is being made. We often bump up against hurdles that seem to set progress back. It's easy to feel like "throwing in the towel" and walking away from a half-built bridge in frustration.

Watching this bridge go from a concept to a grand suspension bridge that will link two communities together and vastly change the way we travel, recreate and do business has been a powerful visual object lesson and reminder to me that bridges are not built overnight. Instead, when they are discussed, planned, designed with purpose, and built with proper care and due attention (including working through the inevitable glitches) they become a thing of awe and a beacon for and symbol of change, progress and brand new relationships.

"[I am confident] that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day that Jesus Christ returns." Philippians 1:6

Three Easy Ways that the Church Can Help Strengthen the Pastor's Marriage

Pastor Kevin Martineau of Port Hardy Baptist Church (my husband and I go back to Bible college days with him and his wife) recently returned from the Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Conference in New York City. He shares some of his thoughts about his and his wife's experiences there in his blog, Shooting the Breeze. I found his thoughts not only intriguing, but also realized that many of his experiences trying to balance marriage with ministry were eerily similar to mine and my husband's own experiences.

Ministry can be very hard on a marriage, which doesn't seem logical considering Christian ministry and Christian marriage both supposedly center around the same thing (Jesus Christ.) And yet my husband and I can attest to this fact, having been in both marriage and ministry for almost 17 years now.

Shepherding a flock (whether big or small or somewhere in between) can take a toll on the Pastor and his wife. It can be exhausting both physically and emotionally to spend ten or twelve hours a day (let's face it... I don't know many pastors who work eight hour days. Do you?) ministering to the needs of others, and then somehow find the emotional energy to come home and connect with your spouse. Throw in kids on top of that, and you have the perfect recipe for marriage burnout.

If it's true, as Pastor Kevin suggests, that a church is only as healthy as the marriage(s) of its pastor(s), I think it stands to reason that the church is in a prime position to benefit a great deal from helping to nurture those marriages. So what, exactly, can the church do to help ensure that its pastor's marriage thrives?

Seventeen years in ministry has by no means made us marriage experts (and believe me, we've had our share of marital struggles,) but it has given us some very good insight into how a church can encourage its pastor(s) to have good marriage(s.) Here are just a few of those insights:

1) Don't phone the pastor on his day off. Nothing short of death or near-death is so critical that it can't wait until tomorrow. Most pastors take only one full day off per week. This has been the case for us ever since my husband entered full-time ministry, and has been the case for every single other pastor we have ever worked with. Even pastors who are fortunate enough to get two days off in a week need to really be able to escape the workplace. Many pastors devote those days off to spending time with their spouses, since it's often the only one they have together in a week. Parishioners should recognize this and save their business for the next workday so that the pastor can feel as though he can put work aside and focus fully on his spouse.

2) Respect his desire to maintain balance. In many churches the pastor is expected to be a part of most or even all of the goings-on at the church. There's a good chance he's already out several nights per week on church affairs. Don't add another night onto his plate if it means he'll be sacrificing time with his wife and family. Running at a breakneck pace without any chance to connect during the week can leave a pastor exhausted and his wife frustrated, neither of which is conducive to marital bliss.

3) Be intentional about seeing that your pastor and spouse get away together. Pastors don't make a lot of money. (Shocking, isn't it?) Sometimes it's difficult for the pastor and his wife to budget for a dinner out, let alone a weekend away together. Trust me when I tell you that the best gifts my husband and I have been given by our congregations over the years are those that came in the form of dinner gift certificates and paid-for weekend getaways. (When our kids were little these often came with offers of free babysitting.) Just a couple of these kinds of gifts each year can make a gigantic difference in the relationship of the pastor and his wife. (Try sending them to a marriage enrichment conference for double the bang for your buck.)

These really are easy and relatively painless ways to show your pastor and his wife that you care about their marriage. The dividends that the church will receive in return far outweigh any cost (financial or otherwise) incurred.

Read Pastor Kevin's thoughts on maintainting an emotionally healthy marriage: "As Goes the Pastor's Marriage, So Goes the Church."

The Value of Mentorship

Recently I was talking with a friend about the idea of mentoring relationships: what that looks like, and why mentoring is important. I'm not sure if she realized it, but I actually considered her a "mentor," and I value her wisdom and maturity as much as I do her friendship.

When you think of the word "mentor," what kinds of images come to mind? The picture that usually jumps into my mind initially looks something like a young Luke Skywalker conversing with Yoda.... old (and by old, I mean REALLY old. Elderly old. White hair, gray wispy beard OLD) imparting wise sayings to a young charge over a cup of herbal tea ("Size matters not, ... Look at me. Judge me by size, do you?”) and generally being boring with one another. Maybe the occasional Light Sabre match. But overall, BORING.

Is that what mentoring is really all about? I suppose there is much to be learned by sitting at the feet of one who emulates Socrates and listening to wise sayings all day long. But I think sometimes Christians make mentoring too complicated. Mentoring doesn't have to be about Bible study (though I'm certainly not knocking Bible studies.) What mentoring should be about is friendship.

About a year ago my husband and I took a course on marriage mentoring. The basic philosophy of this particular program is that married couples need mentors in the way of another married couple who is more experienced at marriage, that is, who have been married longer. The program encourages these "experienced" couples to get together with a newly married couple on a regular basis, not for Bible study or to discuss philosophy, but just to talk. To hang out, have coffee, talk about what married life is like, bounce questions and ideas off one another.

Mentors in this particular program didn't have to be Bible scholars, nor were they expected to know all the answers. They are simply asked to befriend and listen.

I think THAT is what mentoring is really about. Whether it's marriage mentoring, or mentoring in general, it's not about mentors having all the answers or being perfect Christians. It's about sharing one's own greater experience with someone less experienced.

I have a number of mentors in my own life who are older than I am, some just a few years older, others who are decades more experienced at life than I. In fact, my best friend is twenty years older than I am, and I cherish her as both a friend and a mentor. I don't know if she realizes how smart she is, and I know that she doesn't "know it all," but I value her life experiences and treasure her willingness to share those experiences with me (both the good and the bad.)

I believe I've grown a great deal under her "counsel," which usually consists of us chatting over a cup of coffee or taking a walk together. It's nothing complicated, and often we don't even talk about "deep" issues when we're together. Nevertheless, her experience and maturity has definitely enriched my life, even if we're just comparing lasagna recipes or complaining about our husbands' snoring!

I also have relationships where I myself might be considered the mentor. And I know that being on the mentoring end of the relationship is just as rewarding as being the mentoree (is that even a word?) I know I also have a great deal to gain from investing myself in a younger generation. I know that my young friends don't expect me to have all the answers (thank God, because most of the time I'm really, really dumb,) just like I know that MY mentors don't have all the answers. And that's okay with them. Because it's more about listening and caring and less about giving answers.

When I step back and take a look at both those who mentor me, and those whom I mentor, there is a span of three generations between them all. What a simple but powerful way to fulfill God's simple command to "love one another." It amazes me to think about the wealth of experience that is being passed down the chain from the oldest to the youngest. And this pattern is being replicated over and over again, not only in my own church but in the church at large, the worldwide Bride of Christ. Think of how the world could change if everyone had mentor!

Earth Day is Special When you Know the Creator

Earth Day is celebrating its 29th birthday this year. Earth Day was first founded in 1970 by American Senator Gaylord Nelson who hailed from the state of Wisconsin. Nelson was an activist on a number of fronts, including health care and the environment.

The political climate leading up to the first Earth Day, April 22, 1970, was not unlike today's political climate. Concern for the environment was charged with fear, with one major difference: 29 years ago, the great fear was over global cooling.

Nevertheless, Nelson's efforts sparked a movement that has continued for nearly three decades. While interest in Earth Day and its celebrations has waxed and waned during that period, the current political climate has inspired renewed interest in Earth Day and all that it entails. This is likely due in large part to Al Gore's 2006
film An Inconvenient Truth. And while it has since been criticized for some of its faulty reasoning and misguided use of "facts," it has helped to raise a new awareness of this planet on which we reside, and which we must one day leave to our children and grandchildren.

But what should Earth Day mean to Christians and the church? Earth Day has historically been celebrated as a grassroots movement by environmentally-minded organizations and the odd ruling government. One rarely hears of churches making an effort to join in on the front lines of stewardship of our planet.

This is unfortunate, since Earth Day is rife with opportunities for the church to rub shoulders with people in the communities in which they minister. Ordinary citizens are more open to embracing conservation and stewardship now than they have been in twenty years, making it a virtual mission field just waiting to be permeated by those who should know best the value of caring for the earth.

Who better to lead the way in conserving, sustaining and nurturing the planet than those to whom God Himself gave the direct charge? From His very first command to Adam to "...fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves over the ground" (Gen. 1:28) to the reminder in Psalm 115:16 that "The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth He has given to man," to the hundreds of other verses which proclaim the Lord's love for His creation, it's clear that conservation and stewardship are Biblically sound principles.

Of course, man went on to fall from grace, which ultimately made caring for the earth, and in particular, reaping the fruits of the earth, more difficult. This may be all the more reason that the church should be leading the way when in making our planet greener and healthier. We have centuries of earth-abuse and taking for granted God's creation to make up for.

While they are becoming more common, I still see very few churches with recycling bins. Many have them in their offices, but I've seen just a handful with recycling bins in even the main entryway, let alone every room that is used by the public. What a simple way for the church to show care and responsibility for the world that God has so graciously given for us to enjoy!

There are many things that churches can do to set an example and take seriously God's command to care for earth. (And by the way, they can do them all year round, not just on April 22):

*Switch to biodegradable products. Our church recently switched from styrofoam to biodegradable coffee cups. They cost a little bit more than the styrofoam kind, but we estimate that our church will be keeping between twenty-six and thirty thousand styrofoam cups out of our landfill each year.

*Employ water conservation techniques. High-efficiency toilets can save tens of thousands to millions of gallons of water per year, depending on the size of your church. Installing rain barrels keeps rain water from being wasted: use the water they collect to keep the grounds and gardens beautiful without turning on the tap.

*Use blue bins. Even if you can't afford to put them in every room in the building, at least put a few large ones in central, high-traffic areas, rather than just in the office. Then encourage parishioners to keep recyclables out of the church garbage cans.

*Compost organic matter. Think of all those grass clippings and leftovers from church dinners. Compost it all, and then donate it to individual gardeners in the church, or to a local community gardens project. Or, feed the church's flower beds with it.

*Adopt a highway. Many communities in North America have Adopt-a-Highway programs. Your church can join and commit to picking up garbage along a particular stretch of road in your community. The commitment level is usually once per month for a few hours. Your local roads department usually supplies gloves, garbage pick-up sticks, bags and safety gear. This is an excellent way to raise your church's profile in your home community.

There are hundreds of ways your church can become green, reduce its carbon footprint, and shine the light of stewardship in your local community. It's one small way to bring honor and glory "to Him alone who does great wonders, who by His understanding made the heavens, who spread out the earth upon the waters, who made the great lights- the sun to govern the day, the moon and stars to govern the night... His love endures forever!" (From Psalm 136:4-9.) And this year on Earth Day, celebrate the fact that you know the Creator personally.