September 21, 2025 · Rev. Derek van Gulden · Genesis 18:1-5; Mark 16:14-15
Opening a fall series on creation justice, Rev. Derek van Gulden starts with humanity's call to care for creation and the storms already arriving: rising seas, from Bearskin Neck to a Louisiana tribe forced to move its whole community. The way to weather them is one of faith's oldest virtues, hospitality, perhaps even rethinking how the church's own buildings are used.
Transcript
People of God, would you join me in a moment of prayer? Gracious and holy God, this morning I ask you to move the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts by your love, and help each of us this day not to be the instrument of our own or anyone else's oppression, but to be an instrument of peace in every step, in every breath, in every moment of every day. Amen.
A reading from the Book of Genesis. I'll be reading Genesis chapter one, verses twenty six to twenty seven. And then God said, let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness, and let. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, And over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. So God created humankind in God's image, in the image of God, he created them, male and female. God blessed them. And at the end of that day, God looked and said it was very good.
I'd like you to ignore the sermon title that's in your bulletin. Actually, today what I want to talk about is weathering the storm. I may have mentioned it last week, or I may have forgotten that we are entering into a sermon series about creation justice starting today, and it'll go right up to Thanksgiving.
And I thought a good place to start Was with humanity. I think quite often we forget that we are part of creation. Like everything else, we were created in the image of God. And at the same time, we hear that God blesses. And tells the first humans, Adam meaning earth creature to care for, to be stewards. Of God's created world.
I don't know about you, but I have a feeling. Well, I know that these days we're not doing a very good job of it. And I'm not just talking about climate change. I'm talking about how we care for all aspects of creation, including humanity.
The storms that are coming are already here. Climate change is making a big difference in our world. We know that storms are getting stronger and worse. The way we treat each other is getting much worse.
I slipped that piece from Genesis. About Abraham welcoming these strangers, because I think one of the keys to weathering the storm and working towards creation justice. Is showing hospitality.
Because one of the first things going to happen, we know, are that the oceans are going to rise. Back about two years ago, I attended a program, I think it was put on by the Cape Ann Climate Coalition, and it was really looking at Rockport, looking at our shoreline from somebody who does that for a living up and down the coast. And afterwards we were walking back up the hill and he said, pastor, do you own a boat? I said, yeah, I have a canoe. He said, oh, so if you're still here in a number of years, you'll be able to paddle to the church and tie up your canoe in front of the church and hopefully be able to get on the steps and get in without getting your feet wet. I hadn't thought about that.
But when we look at what climate change is already doing, and if you remember back a number of years ago, I believe it was FEMA. I could be wrong. Drew some new maps and said on Bearskin neck, if you build a new building or you rebuild one, they have to be, what was it, fourteen or seventeen feet up off the ground? Well, we knew that didn't pass because Rockport was the first town to take that to the government and said, whoa. But the reality was very clear.
Along the coasts of every nation is where people are going to feel climate change first. And usually that's where some of the most poor people live along those waterways. And somebody said, but not in the cities. No, but there's not that many cities in the world compared to all the land there is. It's already happened in this country, and I'm going to totally mess up this name. In Louisiana, there is a Choctaw tribe that has had to move from their native lands. They spent almost twenty years working on how to do that, how to preserve the land that they did live on because of tidal surges and the rise of the ocean. They had to move to a safer place. If anybody is interested, I can tell you where to read about it. It's fascinating. And they spent that twenty years preparing for and moving and bringing with them those things that would be lost, including seeds and trees and bushes and all kinds of stuff.
This is going to happen more and more. And as it does those people that have lost their homes due to climate change are going to have to migrate somewhere. In this country, they believe the biggest migration will be to the Midwest. I guess there's lots of land out there, but it's also not close to a lot of oceans or anything. But wherever these people come from, they will be migrants, but they won't be fleeing their homes. That was an emphasis on this one point because of persecution, because of wars, because of violence, because somebody is gentrifying that area and making it impossible for them to live there. And I'm not positive. I know a few years ago I read the thing about Migrants who are moving because of that don't have the same protections. If we believe there's protections for people immigrating, then those who are being persecuted, if they're immigrating because their land is gone and underwater, it's considered different. I could be wrong. So if somebody wants to look that up, it would be great.
But one way we can weather the storm, and historically, you find this for faith traditions all over the world and whatever they are, are known for welcoming people in for their hospitality. In our tradition, you go back and read that beautiful story of Abraham and the hospitality that he gave these three people, not even realize that one of them was God. We didn't read the rest of it, but I'll share that with you. Hospitality of helping these people find a place to live. Hospitality of opening up and using the resources we have. Whether we have a three bedroom house or a two bedroom house, or a one bedroom house with a cot, our facility, this gorgeous sanctuary, our other four buildings. How will we look at those in the future and how will we figure out how to reutilize them? We have a lot of space here. The one thing we never have enough of is storage space. I can never figure that out. I see stuff everywhere ER and not sure why it's there.
But moving forward, I think one of the things we can start working on is finding a way to continue that hospitality. We are called to do that. We have been shown how to do to invite everybody in, including those who are going to have to migrate away from where they live. And remember, we live on the ocean too. It may mean in a number of years there's a dock out front. I don't think that's impossible. The worth of the land that we have would go up because it would be seaside right there, right on the water.
So as we move forward through this period of creation justice. Let us start by looking how in the hospitality that we claim we are in the open and affirming in inviting everybody in, including those who have lost their homes because of climate change, because of the things that we're all part of that have destroyed. The created world in many different ways. How can we use this facility in new ways? I don't know what that is. Somebody said, what do you want us to put bunk beds up out back? Well, that's a thought.
Truthfully, I will tell you, as your pastor, we do not need as many pews that are in the sanctuary. We need to figure out where to put the ones that we move. I know that's very controversial and I will hear about it sometime in the next half hour. Somebody said they're historical. These are not the original pews to this building, are they? Liz. We can tell because there's pictures over there and these pews weren't in them. But I'm also aware of the historical significance of everything we have and do. So we have to find a balance which is more important.
Hospitality. Welcome all those in who need it, not knowing when possibly we become the ones who are in need. So when we pray today and every day. Let us pray for those people who are losing their homes, their homeland, their native land, because of climate change. Let us find ways to reach out and be there for them, no matter where that is. If they're in Louisiana, if they're in Canada, if they're anywhere near, if they're right up the road from us, and if it's us, how can we get ourselves involved to start working on the changes and how we how can we continue to be the welcoming and hospitable people that we say we are?
There's a group on Cape Ann. It's been going on now for, I think about eight to ten years. Cape Ann Climate Coalition. There's a subsection of that interfaith. CPP and Interfaith Climate Coalition, which is part of the coalition. They do amazing stuff. Something coming up is a week from today at Annisquam Village Church. There will be a lecture called four hundred Trees. I believe it's called Could Be Wrong. And if you've never been to any of these, they're good. I'm going to go and I think it'll be the only second thing I've attended. But there are ways to get involved. Which is what we say we do.
As we go forth. Let us think about that. How will we weather the storm together? Together? Meaning together with all creation? Where will we make a difference? And will we remember that hospitality is always needed? Amen.