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| Maui, Hawaii. Image by Hannes Mauerer |
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A GREETING
Your love, O God, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.
(Psalm 36:5 TIB)
A READING
God compresses waterdrops into clouds,
and the clouds scatter the lightning.
At God’s command they blow around
over the face of the whole earth,
doing whatever God directs them to do.
Whether the clouds are issuing a thunderous rebuke
or watering the earth in an act of love,
God causes it all.
(Job 37:11-13 TIB)
MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
You made the night your cloak;
you covered yourself in a canopy of storm clouds.
(Psalm 18:11 TIB)
A POEM
just understand
that our intentions are critical
that more often than not progress is incremental
that each moment builds on the next
and if we want to affect change and keep it going it comes in baby steps
barely noticeable to the naked eye
but like the movement of the sun through the sky
it is ever present every second of every day
so be that change
be the parent that you never had, make lessons out of your mistakes
kiss the sky with your mind while you work, learn until your brain aches
graduate to your potential and push further
love your father your mother your sisters your brothers your children
listen to your compassion
be passionate
- from "Intentions," by Kealoha,
Hawaii's first Poet Laureate
VERSE OF THE DAY
by God’s knowledge the depths were deepened,
and clouds dropped down dew.
(Proverbs 3:20)
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| Waimea Falls, Oahu. Image by Thomas Shahan. |
The North Pacific Tropical Gyre is a large mass of the Pacific ocean that holds currents moving in a clockwise direction. It is the movement of these currents that capture and enclose large areas of garbage. Yesterday’s devotion chronicled the California part of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Today we follow those currents to the western area of the Pacific, where the other patch is, closer to the coast of Japan. North of Hawaii is the Subtropical Convergence Zone, where cold water and warm water currents meet. It is through this zone that garbage moves from the Eastern California patch to the Western Japan patch in cycles. For a number of years, Hawaii has been starting to feel the impacts of this reality.
What is unique in the Hawaiian context is that most of the pollution is not always visible to the naked eye. This patch is the result of the other movements of currents: the plastic has broken down so much (but not dissolved) that the water just appears cloudy. This also means that marine mammals and birds eat it. The exception to the plastics cloud is the number of large items that simply don’t break down at all. Much of the larger garbage eventually floats to the sea floor.
In our own communities, we have landfill garbage dumps, where trash lands and becomes buried in earth. Even still it can become absorbed in watersheds that then continue on to other water bodies. In the ocean, there is no burial. As the video below tells us, styrofoam never goes away: once discarded, it will inevitably end up somewhere in the world’s seas, either on the surface or on the ocean floor.
In today’s reading, we hear how God makes use of clouds to water the earth as is required, through thunderstorms and through gentle rain. God created the currents and the streams of our watery bodies so that ecosystems can survive and thrive and exchange what is needed to sustain life. Clouds of microplastics in the ocean, however, are only harmful. Unlike the work of Ocean Cleanup (in yesterday’s devotion), it is much harder to rid the water of these particles.
We can help change this story by helping to create less plastic waste, and by choosing to not ever use styrofoam. How can we help our ocean waters become swirling and teeming with marine life? What can we do to help pressure our governments and our societies away from the use of harmful disposable products?
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CHILDREN WORKING FOR CHANGE
On Hawaii, children are able to see the impacts of garbage pollution in the oceans first hand. In this video, they demonstrate what they know, and their deep desire for change. "Almost every piece of styrofoam ever made is still out there, somewhere on our planet, somewhere in our oceans."
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Resources in today's devotion:
Scripture passages are taken from The Inclusive Bible.
Unfortunately, the full lyrics for today's song, "Legacy," cannot be found.
For more on Hawaiian poet Kealoha, go here.
For more on the Subtropical Convergence Zone garbage patch, go here.
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LC† Streams of Living Justice is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work.
Thank you and peace be with you!