The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it,
the world and its inhabitants too.
Because God is the one who established it on the seas;
God set it firmly on the waters. – Psalm 24:1-2 (CEB)
You might recall last spring our Green Team organized a post card campaign to support environmental legislation, including the Skip the Stuff bill.
We had around 30 people fill out the cards one Sunday after worship to send to their state senators urging them to support this bill. The postcard design was then picked up by our New Jersey Synod Creation Care task force, who got many more postcards sent at the Synod Assembly. That bill passed both the Senate and Assembly on Jan. 12 and was signed into law the following week. It will take effect on August 1.
The law is designed to reduce plastic waste. Once it goes into effect, restaurants will no longer automatically put plastic utensils or condiment packets into takeout orders. Those items will still be available, but you will have to ask for them if you want them. This will greatly reduce people being given plastic items that they do not want, and so eliminates quite a bit of excess single use plastics. The law also requires full-service restaurants with seating for at least 10 people to provide reusable utensils rather than single use ones.
Our faith calls on us to steward God’s creation. To steward something is to tend something that is not yours that you will eventually pass on to someone else. Being a good steward means to care for it so that it remains in at least as good of a condition as when you received it, and preferably in even better condition, so that when you pass it on it remains a blessing to those who receive it. This earth is God’s good creation, and we are to tend it lovingly so that it remains a blessing. We do not own the earth or the land or the seas; we use and tend them before passing them on to the next generation. Curtailing the prevalence of single-use plastics is a positive step towards better care for the earth. Working to support turning this bill into law is also a good example of public advocacy, where we support specific laws that align with our faith values. It is worth celebrating that our work contributed to making a tangible difference in our state.