In which Kate vociferously advocates stewardship

Oh look, it's my desktop image. You know what I get to see every time I open my computer? Pope Francis telling me off for being a dumb-dumb about the way I spend my time, money, energy, resources, and love. 

You know what else I get to see? God's invitation to stand in solidarity with every member of His family - most especially with the poor - and together envisage a future that respects human dignity, the glory of creation, and the fragile beauty of our common home. 

I want to see that reminder every time I open my computer, because I dare not forget it. 

I dare not forget every exhortation to live a more loving life than I currently am - the moment I do, my faith is hypocrisy.

I think it's very possible to have an active concern for the world without an active faith (though I think an active faith animates and enhances that concern, but more on that later). However, I think it is impossible to live an active and genuine faith that does not manifest itself in a deep consideration of the challenges confronting our planet and the poor, and a commitment to good stewardship of all that the Lord has entrusted to us. Faith without works is dead: dead because it has not been animated by the Love it has encountered.

So I wanna talk about the planet. And the people on it. And God. And life. And stuff. And I want to talk with you. I want to do what Papa Frankie asks us to and "bring the whole human family together to seek a sustainable and integral development."

For my Catholic friends out there, this post is for you: please, please hear - with love - that we are not doing enough. In our ignorance, in our wilful apathy, and in our easy acquiescence to consumerist norms, we are failing to let God's Love animate our actions. 

For my secular friends out there, this post is for you too: you may not have a structured belief in the God in whom I find my joy, strength, and hope. Your concern for this planet and the people on it might flow from a different belief - but please know that for me, your compassion and proactivity reflect the heart of a God who cares, and by your witness, I am led closer to Him and into a deeper conviction of my responsibility to protect the goodness of His creation.  I want to hear your thoughts and to journey together towards a sustainable future. 

For all ze people who are still reading: it's long. I'm sorry. Read at your leisure (it's even in three sections if you want to attempt it in three goes), but bear with me if you can. It's all for the sake of this pretty planet!! 

Part I: The Big Picture

It's a fabulous time to be alive. Let's take a moment to be grateful for that, hey? Before I get all doom and gloom on you, can we just celebrate the beauty that is happening in the world? 2015 in particular was a rather epic year in terms of world achievements (especially from my POV as an international relations student and a Catholic). 

We got the report back from the Millennium Development Goals - and guess what? Since 1999, world poverty has been HALVED. Even accounting for population inflation, there are less that 50% of the number of people living below the line than there were sixteen years ago. HOW PHENOMENAL IS THAT?

In celebrating the success of the international community in effecting many of the MDGs, and looking to pave the way forward for the next fifteen years, we have these:

The Sustainable Development Goals 

At the 2015 Climate Change Summit in Paris, the UN created and 174 countries signed, the Global Goals for Sustainable Development (SDGs). This is the vision of our world's leaders, people! They have committed to shaping nations that value freedom from poverty, inequality, and oppression. They're committed to mitigating the impact of humans on the natural environment by finding clean energy, combatting climate change, and protecting life below water and on land. They want peace for this world: a peace that goes beyond the absence of war, and means a just society where life in all its forms is treated with the dignity it deserves.

Flipping wow.

Last year in Melbourne my NET team sister and I attended the SDSN youth #knowyourgoals campaign event, and were encouraged to pick one of the seventeen goals to personally take on board and implement in our lives.

Want to do the same?

In case your little eyes can't quite make out the text, here are the global goals to be achieved by 2030:

1. No Poverty

2. Zero Hunger

3. Good Health and Well-Being

4. Quality Education

5. Gender Equality

6. Clean Water and Sanitation

7. Affordable and Clean Energy

8. Decent Work and Economic Growth

9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

10. Reduced Inequalities

11. Sustainable Cities and Communities

12. Responsible Consumption and Production

13. Climate Action

14. Life Below Water

15. Life on Land

16. Peace and Justice Strong Institutions

17. Partnerships for the Goals

Oh look, you just skim-read those! Go back. Internalise their content. And pick one. See what resonates most. Pray about it, and bring these before the Lord, asking what commitment you can make to stand with our world's leaders in desiring a more peaceful, sustainable human family.

Last year I vouched a personal commitment to SDG #12: Responsible Consumption and Production. Part II of this blog post goes into a bit more detail on that. But for now I want to hand it over to Papa Frankie for a little bit more of the Big Picture.

Laudato Si'

If you click on the title, it'll take you through to the Vatican website copy of Pope Francis' 2015 encyclical 'On Care for our Common Home'. READ IT, if you haven't already.

Alternatively, if you're shortish on time, read this article from Focus.

If you're even shorter on time, read this quote:

“The ecological crisis is also a summons to profound interior conversion. It must be said that some committed and prayerful Christians, with the excuse of realism and pragmatism, tend to ridicule expressions of concern for the environment. Others are passive; they choose not to change their habits and thus become inconsistent. So what they all need is an ‘ecological conversion’, whereby the effects of their encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in their relationship with the world around them. Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience” 

Laudato Si, #217

Pope Francis weaves the spirituality of Saint Francis of Assisi with a practical, comprehensive, and scientific overview of the issues confronting the world and its inhabitants, exhorting not just Christians, but every member of the human race to care, to commit, and to change.

Basically the whole thing is like: climate change! poverty! inequality! consumerism! exploiting natural resources! ----- seriously people?! Get yo act together and start behaving with LOVE.

If you're not too certain what the problems confronting our world actually are, I'd encourage you to read Chapter One.

If you've got a pretty good grounding in ecology, but really have no clue where Christians are coming from, Chapter Two might be a nice foundation in Catholic environmental theology.

If you're like: "why has this all happened?" Chapter Three has pretty good insights into the roots of our current world crises.

If you're like: "nooooooo, it's all doom and gloom. Let's rid the world of humanity now so we stop being such nicompoops," Chapter Four proposes an 'integral ecology' that respects and enhances the dignity of creation, and Chapter Five goes big-scale in addressing how this could really work.

And Chapter Six be like "Imma make you weep with how beautiful I am." Read it. #perfection.

Ultimately, the whole book is a call to action that flows from conversion of heart.

Yes, we have many obstacles to overcome in changing the cycle of destruction happening in our world, but the first obstacle is ourselves. Until we encounter the Love of God that enables us to see beauty in the world (which we may have done even without realising it), we're going to be hard-hearted towards the needs in front of us. His Love animates us to become the presence of Love.

Okeydoke. Now that you've done some light reading, let's get practical, shall we? I'm going to share bit of my own ecological-conversion testimony, not cause I'm a narcissist (maybe I am. mea culpa) but cause it might be useful if you're like "I want to do the things! But how do I do the things?"

Part II: How I Do the Things (And Fail) 

I kind of enjoy being a guinea pig. I am not going to pretend in any way that my determined quest to be a better Steward over the last year has in any way been exemplary. Nor do I think my journey of discovery is complete! But if any of this is helpful to you, I'll consider it a victory for the Holy Spirit.

Food 

I've been vegetarian since I was eight, but some combination of Laudato Si, the SDGs, and my stubborn desire to one-up past Kate made me reevaluate my food consumption choices this year.

In January I began exploring veganism. Ten months later, I'm still failing pretty fantastically at being a vegan - but it's not really my biggest priority. Mostly I see it this way: the food I buy and consume is a series of choices I make about how I'm going to vote with my dollar. Every cent I spend says to an industry that I support or do not support it. And I want to make that vote count.

For me, it's not about inflexible lines drawn - if I am a guest at someone's house and they serve me meat, I will eat it, because I think Love makes other considerations - but rather about daily choosing what is most ethically responsible.

Here's the story with my food life:

1. I avoid eating or purchasing meat because I believe it is (a) drastically over-consumed for no valid cause other than preference and habit; (b) only dietarily necessary in small quantities, or not at all if you're lucky (like me! Yay body that doesn't turn anaemic easily!); (c) often farmed unsustainably, sometimes cruelly, and always with negative repercussions for the natural environment; (d) a privilege of the wealthy at the expense of, or in neglect of, the poor; (e) not, in our planet's present circumstances, in line with a model of good stewardship.

2. I avoid purchasing dairy for many of the same reasons: industry impacts natural environment negatively, it's not really necessary as part of our diets (at least not in as high quantities as we consume it), and I'm not a big fan of a lot of the practices that occur in many large-scale enterprises.

3. I try to buy locally grown where possible to vote for lower food mileage (this basically means the distance your food has travelled to get to you. Distance = fuel = cost for people and planet). I'm falling more and more in love with farmer's markets (West End on a Saturday morning or, if I miss those, Milton markets on a Sunday morning!). My goal is to eventually break away from supermarkets completely (also just because they are so much less fun than markets, and I have a perpetual distaste for fluorescent lights)

4. I eat eggs. They're free range. I really have no problem with robbing chickens of their menstrual cycles.

5. Immediately post-veganizing, I adopted soy milk. It's since gone out of fashion, mostly because I learned to drink my tea and coffee black, and don't really have much use for milky substances other than that.

6. I bake. And I shamelessly use dairy really often. Mostly because I really like to bake. And my housemates really like to eat my baking. And so I bake. And it's fun. And yummy. And carrot cake really isn't the same without cream cheese frosting. And. And. (someone please kick my butt and encourage some consistency in my ethical approaches to life).

Plastic-Free 

Ze brilliant Ingrid kickstarted my plastic-free living tangent this July, and it's been escalating since then. The goal is to eliminate all single-use plastics (which end up in landfills, strangling turtles, or creating happy little messes like this) from consumption - and also just to start thinking about the many unsustainable choices that are part of our daily lives.

Here's been my plastic free journey so far:

1. Ditch the plastic shopping bags. Take reusable ones (and always keep one rolled up inside your handbag for surprise shopping). Use brown paper mushroom bags for fresh produce and bulk bin items. Avoid foods that come wrapped in soft plastic (e.g. chip packets).

2. Recycle! The Brisbane City Council Recycling Guide blew my mind! Who knew that all the things could go in? Our household has created a document with guidelines that apply to our usual use items to make sure we're not throwing things out unnecessarily.

3. Eliminate unnecessary products from your life. Can coconut oil replace your face wash, moisturiser, and makeup removal wipes? Get rid of them all! (or finish the ones you're currently on, but don't replace them). Can you cut down to a very basic hair and skin routine? Excess products probably aren't helping them much anyway. Check out alternatives from places like Lush and Biome, and evaluate seriously what you use in contrast to what you actually need.

4. Get a keep cup, if you're a takeaway coffee drinker, and a good quality water bottle. Absolutely no need for single-use products with either of these.

5. Environmental toothbrushes are the bomb dot com. $36 for a pack of twelve (that's only $3 each and you can share with aaaalllllll your friends!) PLUS free shipping (I know, right?) Check it out over on their website and consider becoming that household that all brushes their teeth with matching bamboo toothbrushes ;) Consider swapping to a toothpaste that doesn't come in disposable tubes, too. At the moment I'm rolling with Lush's 'toothy tabs' (though these may soon prove financially unfeasible).

6. Okay, ready for the scary ones? In an effort to not let my monthly feminine hygiene routine contribute to an endless cycle of plastic wrappers and consumerism, I recently bought one of these and am thrilled with its awesomeness. Ladies, please, please consider it. I promise it's not gross. Message me for nitty gritty questions ;)

7.  The other scary one was switching from disposable razors to a longlife metal safety razor. This post was a great foundational guide, though it was with terror and apprehension that I attempted my first shave... justifiably. My first stroke was at the wrong angle and I gouged a crater in my ankle. But after that, I worked it out, shaved my legs normally and now it's second nature!

Responsible, Minimal Consumerism

1. I try not to shop for clothes at all (it's really my goal to live as simply and "poorly" as possible.) The only issue is my weakness in wanting pretty new things all the time.. so in reality, my clothes habits look like this:

2. Buy from op shops. No contribution made to the cycle of consumerism, some money finds its way to a particular charitable enterprise, and I happen to acquire a cute new blouse in the process. I live next door to a brilliant op shop, so it makes it both easy and too easy to get things there.

3. Purchase a few good-quality garments from ethical companies. The verdict's a bit foggy on my favourite brand (and actually the only store I've bought new items from this year), but I'd encourage you to research the place you usually buy from and see what their humanitarian and environmental policies are like. Buy things that will last, rather than fast fashion - and please, whatever you do, not $3 shirts from Big W or Kmart that you'll throw out next week.

4. I buy leather shoes. Controversial for a veg, I know - but I'd prefer to buy high quality shoes made of natural materials that will last well rather than synthetic, cheap, fast fashion that will wear quickly. I mostly live in my brown sandals for summer and black ankle boots for winter, with a pair of sneakers for fitness, heels for schmancy occasions, and flipflops for the beach.

Miscellany 

1. I can't drive, which is helpful in forcing me to choose environmentally friendly transportation. I have a beloved bike named Audrey whom I ride to uni, work, the markets, and most commitments within a 10km radius. I do, however, live in a very hilly suburb, so my feet are often faster for daily Mass, the supermarket, or choir practice. Cycling is the bestest thing in the world, and all peoples everywhere should do it. Public transport is also fabulous. Even if you own a car, consider investigating your usual routes to see if you can catch the bus, carpool or (my personal favourite) take the ferry.

2. I only do laundry at the last possible moment (partly stewardship, partly laziness) to avoid running half-loads, and always line-dry.

3. Gulp. Take. Shorter. Showers. You're probably better at this than I am. Hot water is my best friend. I still grieve this loss.

4. Read stuff. Laudato Si. Global goals. Reports on the Paris Climate Change Conference. Educate yourself about what's happening in Tuvalu and the Torres Strait Islands.

5. Surround yourself with people who care. Find yourself an inspirational Ingrid. Spend an afternoon hanging out with your uni's environment club and pick their brains for suggestions. If you can, drag some people along for the ride with you. My housemates have been angels in both putting up with, and embracing, my eco-warrior 2016.

6. Pray. Pray about what God may be calling you to do - it might be a change of attitude, or a concrete first step towards more effective stewardship. Pray for the world, the people around you, and those who are suffering because of climate change. Pray knowing that God loves and cares about this world, and by coming to understand His heart you'll be better empowered to care for it.

Part III: How You Do the Things

And it's over to you, my friend! Oh, wait, you're not convinced?

No worries - I'm heaps-boy-scout: always be prepared.

Potential Argument #1.
That's nice, Kate. But really, priority issues: I care about God first, people second, the planet third.

Yay! Me too!

And I find myself incapable of caring about God without caring about His people and His planet. The stronger my faith gets, the more convicted I am that apathy is lovelessness, and failure to be a good steward of creation directly contradicts a desire to glorify the Lord and do His will.

I also don't think it's ever a dichotomy (or trichotomy). We never have to choose between having a prayer life, valuing and working for the benefit of people, and making sure our actions and consumptions are in line with a respect for the environment.

Furthermore, the choices we do face on a daily basis are whether or not to manifest our love for God in every action. If you can honestly tell me that it's more loving to do what is easy than what is right, then I'll be Dumbledored.

Sometimes making a small sacrifice can be the biggest step in our own growth - whether that's getting up an hour early to pray, choosing not to buy that steak you wanted, or  taking that bit of extra time on the bus rather than pour fossil fuels into the air He made. The point is that awareness of, and respect for, anything in creation broadens our hearts to Love better across the board.

Plus, even if you're all Book-of-Revelation, this Earth's just a temporary thing anyway... as I said to my housemate this morning, "Sure, God's making a new heaven and a new earth - but wouldn't it be nice if He didn't have to do much renovating?" ;)

Potential Argument #2
Hmm... I'm skeptical. Nothing's really going to change if I cut back a kilo of meat and a few plastic wrappers each week.

Have you heard the starfish story? So what if you don't change the whole world? Does that mean you shouldn't do the very little that you can?

And if you're just one little human, keep in mind that you're a human that knows other humans that know other humans that know companies and governments. Together, I believe we can make a change. Our challenge is to bring the whole human family together in love to seek an integral and sustainable development for we know that things can change. (Pope Francis)

Potential Argument #3
I get you, I do. But it just doesn't really resonate with my spirituality. 

Yeah, nah.

Sorry dude. It kind of has to.

Laudato Si' is addressed to "everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all." (14)

You exist. You are a beloved child of God. That makes you a steward of His creation, and necessarily implicates you in this beautiful, messy world and its future.

You don't have to change everything about your life today. But please take a step. One little baby step - begin with prayer, and see where God leads you.

I think we have a daily responsibility to combat our own apathy. Love and apathy cannot coexist, and where the God who is Love abides, apathy should be flung far, far away.

What will your first step towards embracing a more effective Stewardship look like? I would love to hear! Let's go on this journey together.

The urgent challenge to protect our common home includes a concern to bring the whole human family together to seek a sustainable and integral development, for we know that things can change.

In Christ,
Kate


P.S. The closing prayer of Laudato Si' is rather beautiful:

God of love, 

show us our place in this world

as channels of your love

for all the creatures of this earth,

for not one of them is forgotten in your sight.

Enlighten those who possess

power and money

that they may avoid the sin of indifference,

that they may love the common good,

advance the weak, and care

for this world in which we live.

The poor and the earth are crying out.

O Lord, seize us with your power and light,

help us to protect all life,

to prepare for a better future,

for the coming of your Kingdom

of justice, peace, love and beauty.

Praise be to you! Amen.