Early in the book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible God tells humankind to take care of all that God has created. This means caring for the earth, its plants and animal inhabitants, as well as for all human beings. What a challenge!

Caring for the earth and caring for each other certainly necessitates walking with God in faith. Be responsible…I believe there is no higher calling today. With our natural world slowly being destroyed and disease rampant, we are called to do what each of us, and all of us together can do to restore the earth and provide for health and well-being.

I rejoice in all the health and welfare agencies throughout the world that are working to find solutions. The most I, and all human beings, can do is to heed means and methods of preventing and overcoming diseases. Sometimes this means not only following guidelines from the medical community but using common sense in the way we live. What to do?   How to act? We are so intertwined with one another that just wearing masks seems only a drop in the bucket. But it’s a start. Each drop counts.

In our daily walks with God, we are called to find ways in which we can contribute to the earth’s restoration as well as our own healing.  Let us renew our faith in a God who sent Jesus into the world to provide a model of who we each can be.

Rev. Nancy Dickinson
Retired UCC Pastor
Indianapolis, Indiana