A Positively Poetic Priest

Every church has different missions which bless and grace the surrounding communities. One of the outreach missions of St. John's Church in Franklin that I have been blessed to work with has been Adopt A Highway. This program comes through the umbrella of the United States government and specifically in this area by PennDOT. St. John's has a two mile stretch it has adopted and has cleaned up for more than ten years.  While the program has very specific requirements about how many times a year you have to do a clean up to get a yearly recognition plaque, and St. John's hasn't met those requirements every year, we have tried to make sure that the area we have adopted does get cleaned up every year. Cleaning up entails walking the full length of the section, both sides, while picking up litter and bagging it for proper disposal. Usually plastic bottles and so forth can be divided out for recycling.  I have been graced by this mission outreach for many reasons. I love the w...

"The sea is his for he made it, and his hands have molded the dry land." Psalm 95:5 All the way at the beginning of the Bible, at the very start of Genesis, God lays out how human beings are supposed to be in relationship with the earth. God asks the first human beings to care for creation and to be good stewards of it. We are not simply in charge of everything around us, able to do as we please in our environment. We are to care for it and treat it well, in order that it may flourish and might be passed along to the next generations. In today's society, taking care of the Earth is seen as only something certain kinds of people do. However, taking care of our environments is not simply an environmental issue, but also a justice issue. Many times when the environment is not taken care of, it is in areas that greatly affect and damage the poor and needy, those who are already struggling. Currently St. John's and Grace have two opportunities for you to help in car...