For The Beauty of The Earth - Earth Day 2010

Forty years ago, I took part in the first Earth Day activities. I was a year older than my youngest child, Vincent, is now. I still have my original Earth Day button around here somewhere. (I wonder what that would go for on EBay?) It was a grass roots movement that took on a life of its own. That's why it worked, because ordinary people came forward to do something positive.

A group of Pray It Off members, joined by spouses and children, met this cold, rainy morning to carry on that tradition. We decided to clean the area around our church to support the Earth Day credo and get some exercise at the same time. It was more of a work-out than I had imagined! I never saw so many cigarette butts and gum wads! A lot of bending over and walking; I enjoyed every minute of it.

When we were finished and had piled up all the bags, one of the children George, said, "The earth is all clean now." We erupted in laughter but later I thought, wouldn't it be wonderful if that were true?

Maybe if ordinary people like us, continue to pass along the value of perserving God's gifts, to our children; beautiful children like, George, it might just become a reality before he has forty Earth Day's behind him.



For the Beauty of the Earth*

For the beauty of the earth,
for the glory of the skies,
for the love which from our birth
over and around us lies;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.




*Text: Folliot S. Pierpoint
Music: Conrad Kocher; Arr. by W.H. Monk