From the Rector
“As Orthodox Christians, we use the Greek word kairos to describe a critical moment in time, often a specific historical period with lasting repercussions and eternal significance. For humankind and the planet as a whole, now is our kairos: the decisive time in our relationship with all of God’s creation, when we must respond in an opportune manner to protect life on earth from the worst consequences of human recklessness. May God grant us the wisdom to act promptly."
His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
Dear Friends in Christ,
One of the mysteries of the Incarnation, of God coming to be with us in Christ, is that he could have simply taken us up to be with him. All at once, he could have called this experiment done and brought us home—or sent a new round of floods so a new Noah might find land again.
But he pledges, in covenant with us, to no longer treat us in this way. He pledges a love for us that does away with floods. Instead, he comes to be with us in this world, not despite its fragility but because of it. He does not turn the might of Creation on us but becomes Created even knowing that we’d try to turn our might on him.
The mystery of Creation is tied inextricably to the Incarnation. By making himself the stuff of this world, Christ ennobles it and makes it holy. Just as we do not simply toss aside bread that has become Bread and Body (because it is a sign of Christ with us) so, too, must we not allow ourselves to simply toss aside Creation itself. For it, too, has become the vehicle, the site and substance, by which God walked with us, was fed by his mother, was nailed to the wood of a tree, and rolled away the rock of the tomb.
The stuff of Creation is the clay in the hand of the potter as he shapes and molds a cosmos by and through which we are called, in gifts of beauty, wonder, awe, and more to perceive him yet still.
The mystery we celebrate in the Incarnation, on Christmas Eve, is a joyful one. It deserves to be celebrated with beauty and dignity. To that end, Saint Philip’s commissioned a new, semi-permanent Christmas Eve bulletin that reflects that beauty. It is filled with art by professional artist, Jeanine Colini, and Saint Philip’s youth; its creativity reflects one of the many gifts God gives us with which we can praise him. (See related article.)
The bulletin also reflects something else: a desire to be more ethically conscious of the impact we have on the environment. We are gingerly and thoughtfully using the resources he gives us to produce something of lasting beauty and not something that will be tossed aside.
Most years, Saint Philip’s prints around 1,800 Christmas Eve bulletins. We worked to consolidate them a few years ago to save paper and achieved some savings, but the cost and waste are still quite high. We also print hundreds of bulletins each Sunday that have a lifespan of one morning.
The Christmas Eve bulletin will not only be a thing of beauty because of how it looks, it will be a thing of beauty also because of what it protects and preserves. It is designed to last, not to be discarded. On Christmas Eve alone, we use the equivalent of 4 whole trees worth of paper that are thrown away. In one year, Saint Philip’s uses 35 or so whole trees that are subsequently discarded.
Our Sunday bulletins are also being reimagined to be more beautiful and lasting. Their lifespan will be years—not hours. If we use them for five years, we will save around 175 trees worth of paper.
God uses Creation to speak. And we, too, can use the stuff of Creation to speak with God and honor the love he shows us by showing our commitment to be stewards—not just consumers—of all we’ve been given.
God chose a kairos moment to come among us. We, too, may choose to act in this kairos moment—this decisive time in our relationship with him and Creation—to do our part as a community of faith. No single community will make all the change needed to address the scope of the environmental challenges we face. But each community is charged to do something—to act faithfully.
May the work we undertake this year inspire us to a deeper commitment to faithfully preserve and nurture all that we have been handed as stewards and followers.
Yours in Christ,
—Fr Robert