Erl Purnell Sermon

cEaster 7 ~ May 20, 2007 ~ A sermon preached by The Rev’d Erl G. Purnell at Old St. Andrew’s Church, Bloomfield, CT

Acts 16.16-34; Psalm 47; Revelation 22.12-14, 16-17, 20; John 17.20-26

Several months ago, in January, we watched Al Gore’s stunning film An Inconvenient Truth as a part of our adult education program after the 10 o’clock service. For many of us the movie was an inspirational eye-opener.

Of course, later An Inconvenient Truth won an Academy Award. The Oscar was for documentary film making. The Academy recognized a well conceived, directed, and produced film. In addition, An Inconvenient Truth was acclaimed because of its courage and content—Al Gore’s persistent courage to bring the unpopular issue of global warming to the world-wide stage and content because most ordinary people were unaware of the science of climate change, the extent to which the earth’s systems themselves had already changed, and the prognosis for future catastrophic, life-threatening changes in the planet’s eco-system.

Not only was our own awareness raised about global warming and the environment, but millions across this nation and the world have begun seriously to look at their carbon footprint. The United Nations is taking an important lead and individual governments are beginning to address this critical issue. Is it enough? No, not yet. There needs be a massive shift in the way we live on this third rock from the sun and in our relationship with the eco-system that sustains us and of which we are a powerful part.

A moment ago I used a term you may or may not know—carbon footprint. According to Wikipedia, “carbon footprint is a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide or CO₂ emitted through the combustion of fossil fuels; in the case of an organization, business or enterprise, [it’s the amount of CO₂ emitted] as part of their everyday operations; in the case of an individual or household, [it’s the amount of CO₂ emitted] as part of their daily lives; or [it’s the amount of CO₂ emitted to get] a product or commodity to market. A carbon footprint is often expressed as tons of carbon dioxide or tons of carbon emitted, usually on a yearly basis.”

Let me illustrate carbon footprint a few different ways. First the California strawberry. A typical strawberry gives the eater about 5 calories of energy. Transporting a 5 calorie strawberry from California to your table, however, requires the use of 250 calories of energy—for simplicity’s sake we’ll associate most of that energy as fuel for the refrigerator truck driving cross-country from the central valley of California to Connecticut. In other words, for me to have a bowl of 12 California strawberries (about 60 calories), it would cost at least 3,000 calories of energy to get them to my table.

Another example. The appliances in my house are ten years old. They work fine, but they’re probably not the most efficient, especially the refrigerator. And, the oil furnace, although I have it cleaned every year, is still eighteen years old. I saw an ad for an oil burner the other day that operates at 96% efficiency. So too, my “instant-on” TV and the “chargers” I have for my cell phone, iPod, blue-tooth headset, camera, electric toothbrush, battery powered drill, etc., all of these consume dribbles of juice that add up if not disconnected from the socket after use.

And finally, my car. The average gasoline consumption in Connecticut per person is 436 gallons per year. In my family, we have two cars so our combined use is 872 gallons. Between the Subaru and the Camry, I’m guessing (hoping) we average 24 miles per gallon. That amounts to 20,928 miles of driving per year for the Purnell household. About one fifth of that driving, or 5,000 miles, is associated with my job. I estimate that for 90% of my driving, I’m alone in the Subaru. If I drove a hybrid car and got 40 mpg, my use of fuel would drop dramatically. My consumption on behalf of OSA, for example, would be about 125 gallon per year instead of the 208 gallons I currently use.

So, can you begin to see what my carbon footprint looks like. The total amount of CO₂ required to operate this human being comes from many, many other factors too—the clothes I wear and the food I eat, my air travel, the temperature of my house (winter and summer), the hair dryer, the extent to which I recycle, the plants I grow inside and out, the restaurants I frequent, even the entertainment I watch … because everything I consume or have costs tons of CO₂.

These details are important. What’s also important is the connection I have finally made between how I live (my carbon footprint) and my responsibility as a co-creator of Life here on Earth with God and with all of you. Evidence is that the impending global warming crisis is being induced by human activity. We can no longer deny the impact we have on the environment, especially through our dependence on burning fossil fuels, and so we must also at this point in time, recognize that we are indeed co-creators of the Life … for good and bad.

How we move forward as inhabitants of the planet is an important theological issue as well as a survival issue. A growing number of religious people are speaking out about the responsibility humanity has toward caring for our fragile eco-systems for future generations. The relationship we have with God is reflected both in how we treat each other and in how we use Creation.

This morning OSA is beginning to take some positive action toward lessening the carbon footprint of the Church. Under the leadership of Junior Warden, Tom Salvini, we have begun an extensive energy audit, we’re looking at the efficiency of our furnaces, the insulation R-factor in the Church and Parish Hall, and the electrical usage of appliances in the kitchen.

The one place where we as a Parish can have an immediate impact on our carbon footprint is by lowering our electrical usage. We have something like 110 light bulbs of various kinds and sizes throughout our buildings. To swap out those bulbs and replace them with efficient compact florescent bulbs will make a huge difference to the carbon footprint at OSA and so our monthly electric bill. While the impact may seem small, combined with other green-conscious families and organizations, it will become very significant.

So, here’s the plan. Beginning today, we’re offering OSA Efficiency Shares to parishioners. The idea is simple. An OSA Efficiency Share sells for $15. If we can sell 120 OSA Efficiency Shares we will raise enough money to change all of our light bulbs. Think about it: $15 per share is a pittance compared to the advantage we’ll gain immediately toward lowering our carbon footprint and our monthly electric bill. Today is the day to buy $15, $30, $45, or even $60 in the OSA Efficiency Share program? Please invest in some OSA Efficiency Shares today. We’ll keep selling them until we’ve reached our goal. I hope you’ll participate in the program.

What I’m talking about this morning—that we are co-creators with God—has everything to do with our faith. The connection between love of God and respect for Creation is immutable. In this small but important step we as a parish can demonstrate to ourselves and to others that we are committed to rescuing Earth and supporting a sustainable environment for our children and grandchildren.

Amen.