“A HOME FOR ALL? Renewing the Oikos of God” is the theme for this year’s Season of Creation, observed by Christians around the world from September 1 to October 4. Oikos is a Greek word that means house or household and was used by Aristotle to refer to the basic unit of a polis or community.
The current climate crisis is accelerating ecological instability, causing the destruction of habitats that are homes for millions of species, including humans, whose homes are at risk due to climate-related conflict, loss and damage. The Season of Creation is a call to renew our baptismal vocation to care for and sustain our surroundings and our neighbourhood so that life is protected and nurtured, and all creatures may find their place to flourish within our common home.
The need of the hour is for goal-oriented, region-specific, practical guidelines and guidance to push forward the local Church’s commitment to caring for creation. In the past four weeks, we have discussed a few viable recommendations to encourage the participation of parishes, smaller communities and individuals in the projects of Laudato Si’ Action Platform. A couple of responses to our discussions also offered ideas on how our Church communities could participate in climate action and encourage parishioners to do the same.
During this upcoming Season of Creation can we, our communities and our parishes, at least pledge to conserve our plants and woodlands? How can we contribute to the greening of Hong Kong? Growing plants and trees are options to consider. The beautification of our Church premises, by maintaining a garden with a variety of plants and trees, refreshes the atmosphere for prayer. The church could also encourage the growing of plants at home. During the pandemic, many have spent money on purchasing air-purifiers. But plants purify the air naturally, reducing energy consumption and rejuvenating our surroundings.
Another method of environmental conservation is reducing or avoiding the use of paper. With smartphones and computers becoming inseparable parts of our daily lives, printouts to a great extent can be done away with. Switching to cotton handkerchiefs instead of wet-wipes would be another statement. Wet-wipes are practical and popular, but some brands, being made of neither paper nor cloth require up to 100 years to biodegrade.
Meanwhile, it is often said that “future wars will be fought over water.” According to a BBC report, as much as a quarter of the world’s population faces severe water scarcity at least one month out of the year. Water scarcity affects roughly 40 per cent of the world’s population and the United Nations and the World Bank predict that drought could put up to 700 million people at risk of displacement.
In this Season of Creation, the Church must also make people aware of the need to conserve water. Water used for the laundry or the shower could be used to flush the toilet! A lot of water could be saved if used well. Carrying a bottle of water instead of buying one also helps us both to reiterate our commitment to climate action and to retain our hard-earned money. jose CMF
