Action Description:
Episcopal priests Hildebrandt and Moore plan to observe Good Friday/Earth Day by walking the "Stations of the Cross" with a focus on the sufferings of Earth as well as Humanity: pollution of the Hudson River, clouds of asthma-causing and climate-worsening exhaust from thousands of autos crossing the George Washington Bridge, etc.
We commend this idea to our Christian readers and members.
As for the Passover connection with Earth Day:
On April 11, The Shalom Center sponsored an Interfaith Seder for the Earth. It was held at Mother Bethel AME Church in Philadelphia, the first independent Black church in American history. The weave of blessings, poetic texts from several religious and secular-ethical traditions, bursts of song, excellent vegetarian food, and activist letter-writing to several crucial Federal and state officials about fracking and the climate crisis was very powerful, and joyful rather than a “downer.”
Thursday evening April 21 or Friday evening April 22 would be perfect times to use the Seder for the Earth. A downloadable, easily printable copy with an extraordinary full-color graphic cover is available on our website here:
Background Information:
What to do when Earth Day (April 22), Good Friday, and the 4th day of Passover coincide?
An intriguing idea surfaced at the Greenfaith-initiated action gathering
in Philadelphia on religious responses to the climate crisis, the last
two days. The Shalom Center was one of the most involved co-sponsors,
and in one workshop I led on “Religious Festivals as if the Earth Really
Mattered” --
an Episcopal priest, Rev. Lise Hildebrandt, reported that she and a
colleague, Rev. Allison Moore, will interweave the sacred observances
by drawing on one of the traditional aspects of Good Friday: the
“Stations of the Cross,” in which the congregation reenacts the
sufferings of Jesus through the day that ends with his crucifixion.
Many progressive Christians have brought these “Stations of the Cross”
into our own day by moving from place to place of suffering in the
cities of today -- neighborhoods of high disemployment, drug-sale
corners, inadequate health facilities, failing schools.
Reverends Hildebrandt and Moore plan to focus on the sufferings of Earth
as well as Humanity: pollution of the Hudson River, clouds of
asthma-causing and climate-worsening exhaust from thousands of autos
crossing the George Washington Bridge, etc.
We commend this idea to our Christian readers and members.
Good Friday/ Earth Day/ Passover:
When Sacred Times Overlap
Dear friends,
This year, Earth Day (April 22), Good Friday, and the 4th day of Passover coincide. What to do?
An intriguing idea surfaced at the Greenfaith-initiated action gathering
in Philadelphia on religious responses to the climate crisis, the last
two days. The Shalom Center was one of the most involved co-sponsors,
and in one workshop I led on “Religious Festivals as if the Earth Really
Mattered” --
an Episcopal priest, Rev. Lise Hildebrandt, reported that she and a
colleague, Rev. Allison Moore, will interweave the two sacred
observances by drawing on one of the traditional aspects of Good Friday:
the “Stations of the Cross,” in which the congregation reenacts the
sufferings of Jesus through the day that ends with his crucifixion.
Many progressive Christians have brought these “Stations of the Cross”
into our own day by moving from place to place of suffering in the
cities of today -- neighborhoods of high disemployment, drug-sale
corners, inadequate health facilities, failing schools.
