Come gather ‘round, people, wherever you roam, and admit that the waters around you have grown,

and accept it that soon you’ll be drenched to the bone, if your time to you is worth saving.

And you better start swimming or you’ll sink like a stone, for the times, they are a-changing.

– Bob Dillon

Beloved of God,

The skies were clear and the waters of the Sound flat on Tuesday morning, July 29, when I dropped Chris and Naomi off near the Fauntleroy Ferry for their 3-day backpack trip with two other moms and young women on the wild Washington Coast.  It was time off the grid that they both needed; an oasis during what had become a heavily scheduled summer.  

It wasn’t until 8:00pm that evening that I first heard about a massive earthquake that had struck off the east coast of Russia, sending seismic tsunami waves racing across the Pacific at the speed of a jetliner.  My first thought: the backpackers have no way of knowing about the earthquake nor the tsunami that has Western Washington in its sites!

After scouring the internet for the latest information on the tsunami threat I started making phone calls—to the Olympic National Park visitors center, the Kalaloch Ranger Station,  and the Forks, Washington, police department.  But at that time of day the only option available was to leave a message.  Finally, I got ahold of the Clallam County Sheriff Dispatch officer.  She told me that messengers had been sent to the coast to warn campers, and that the expected tsunami impact was only forecast to be 1 foot or so.  Hearing that news and consulting the tide charts calmed my nerves some, but still I was concerned about the irregular currents and threatening waves that COULD develop on the shore where they were camped.

While I prayed fervently for the safety of the women, suddenly, a text and photo popped up on my phone.  It was one Chris had sent hours earlier from the Lake Ozette Trailhead.  It’s arrival on my phone told me that, for whatever reason, Chris had cell coverage for the moment.  I quickly texted her and she confirmed back to me that they had just learned of the tsunami advisory.  In the hours that followed, before the first tsunami waves were to arrive at 11:30pm, they talked through their strategy for addressing the threat.  In the end, they chose to climb atop a massive, flat topped rock near the shore that was big enough to accommodate all six of them and their sleeping bags.  Some of them held vigil through the night, while the others slept—or tried to.  Finally, midmorning Wednesday I learned—to my great relief—that they were all safe and that the night had passed without incident.  With the tsunami danger past, their chief concern now was the ambling black bear who’d been hanging around since they arrived.

Unexpected events happen all the time all over the world.  Earth’s processes go on without us humans being consulted, sometimes with tragic results. What is also true is that human habits and choices are exacerbating the harm that natural forces sometimes unleash: rising seas, escalating storms and floods, intensifying heat waves.  We ignore these realities at our peril. 

Now the federal agency charged with protecting the environment—the Environmental Protection Agency—is poised to revoke a scientific finding that has long been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change.  The proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule would rescind a 2009 declaration that determined that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare.[1] This is absolute nonsense.

Bobby Dillon’s iconic song, The Times They Are a Changin’, reflects the seismic cultural shifts that were taking place during the 1960’s.  The lyrics still pack a punch for our time.  The church must continue to find its prophetic voice if we are to have a positive impact in turning the ship of state around toward a less disastrous planetary future. 

For the past three decades Seattle’s Earth Ministry has been a strong partner in strengthening ecumenical partnerships and developing strategies to address state and federal legislation and policies that address the challenges facing the human and other than human communities in this era of massive climate breakdown. On the same day that the earthquake struck, I learned that the board of Earth Ministry has made the decision to shut the organization down.  The exact reasons have yet to be revealed, but it is clear that a major factor in this decision has to do with funding. The Trump administration’s defunding of climate and environmental related entities and projects are having a ripple effect on many non-profits, including those organizations which rely on grants from entities which are themselves recipients of federal grant programs.  When the National Interfaith Power and Light organization closed in January this year, we knew this portended an impact on Seattle’s  Earth Ministry organization.  Funding dominos have been falling ever since, creating a destructive “tsunami” with impacts beyond Seattle and Washington State.

The dismantling of federal agencies and the strip-mining of already approved programs and budgets that deepen our understanding of Earth’s processes and develop strategies for addressing climate challenges is an abomination; the very kind of greedy, shortsighted, and self-serving practices that God’s prophets railed against.  Our Creation Care ministry here at Peace continues to be strong—a leading congregational model within our synod.  In the absence of Seattle’s Earth Ministry organization our work becomes even more important. 

Soon I’ll be heading to Holden Village for a time of refreshment and enrichment, and an encounter with wilderness that has always nourished my soul.  Wherever you find yourself this final month of summer, I pray that you also find refreshment and enrichment, and also a deepened desire to champion and preserve the only planet home we’ll ever know.

With you on the Way,

Pastor Erik

[1] https://apnews.com/article/trump-climate-epa-endangerment-zeldin-5cba0871c880e23d044ef40a398c57b2