2008

Thursday 27th March 2008
Statement from Bishop Michael Malone in Support of Earth Hour

This Saturday night, March 29, thousands of Australians will turn off their lights, during “Earth Hour”.

Many parishes and schools in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle are participating in Earth Hour.

Holy Trinity Parish Blackbutt North is hosting prayer and meditation in candlelight.

Holy Family Primary School Merewether Beach has taken a very creative approach by selling student-made candles to raise funds for its continuing environmental education.

I urge all members of the Catholic community, as well as the community at large, to participate in Earth Hour, turning off lights whenever possible.

In a sense, initiatives such as Earth Hour are easy for us to support. They don’t cost us much, and we know any inconvenience we may experience is only short-lived. We can return to normal in an hour!
But we all know, unfortunately, that this is not enough.

Can we take another step together and reflect on our responsibilities to our environment?
Without an understanding of our ongoing responsibility to respect and nurture our earth, initiatives such as Earth Hour remain merely tokenistic.

We are constantly confronted by the environmental damage we have done: global warming; rising sea levels; inadequate and harmful waste management; the rapid depletion of the ozone layer; soil erosion; acid rain and greenhouse gases. What can we do in the light of this?

We can learn much from our Indigenous brothers and sisters about being "at one" with the land.

In the words of Indigenous writer, Maisie Cavanagh, "My Mother’s land can be dry and harsh. Yet every tree, every cluster of rocks, mountain, water hole, river, cave is sacred – every feature. The billabongs and the places where the spirits live are all landscapes of the soul. For we as people see these mountains, rivers, trees, animals, wind, as brothers and sisters, and we are part of the one thing.

"... So we take notice of the call of the black crow, or the laugh of the kookaburra, or the change in the wind. We pay attention to the willy-wagtail when he comes to visit, or the magpie who sits on the clothes line even here in the hustle and bustle of city life.” (Miriam Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann and Frank Brennan “Reverencing the Earth in the Australian Dreaming”)

Jesus too had a strong connection with nature. His birth occurred amid the sounds and smells of animals in a stable.

He made much use of natural experiences and imagery in his teachings and parables: sowing seed, vines, shepherds and sheep, lilies of the field and birds of the air.

Jesus also illustrates for us that the natural environment can be a powerful arena for deep spiritual reflection and discernment. He regularly returned to the hills to pray and commune with God.

As stewards and trustees of the earth, it is our duty to work towards a just relationship with our environment: to sustain, safeguard and salvage it for future generations.

We must care for people. And our care and compassion must also extend to animals, trees and bushland, flowers, parks, oceans and air.

Please do all you can in your home, workplace and other spheres of influence to support Earth Hour.

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