![\"\"](\"https:\/\/earthministry.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/SJU-Plastic-Fast-1.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nWhy fast from single-use plastic?<\/h1>\n
Plastic has made many things possible. It\u2019s saved life in the health sector, facilitated the growth of clean energy (wind turbines and solar panels) and revolutionized safe food storage. \u201cBut what makes plastic so convenient in our day-to-day lives \u2013 it\u2019s cheap \u2013 also makes it ubiquitous, resulting in one of our planet\u2019s greatest environmental challenges.\u201d[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n While plastic is easy to use, it is not easily disposable. It can take thousands of years to decompose, especially when it sits in landfills. Oceans have also become a primary dumping ground, resulting in marine life becoming entangled or mistaking small plastic for food. The majority of seabirds have plastic in their stomachs. Plastic can also clog drains fostering the spread of disease and causing flooding. We also produce and toss a lot of it! It\u2019s estimated that nearly half of global waste is single-use plastic. Plastic has it\u2019s value, but it is an overused resource.<\/p>\n It may seem impossible to live without single-use plastic. The truth is that we can choose to do differently.\u00a0 It may be difficult, but it is not impossible, and creation itself, cries out for us to change our behavior. The season of Lent is an opportune time to practice a change of behavior. The journey from Ash Wednesday to Holy Week and Easter, is full of time to reflect, reset and repent.\u00a0 The season invites us to take up a spiritual practice, often called a\u00a0fast.\u00a0<\/em>The Hebrew origins of the word indicate a\u201cpublic observance\u201d in which one \u201cabstains from food\u201d, but the deeper intention behind fasting is to \u201cloose the chains of injustice\u2026and set the oppressed free\u201d[2]<\/sup><\/a>.\u00a0 By treating our fast as a spiritual practice, we seek to be drawn into closer dependence on God.\u00a0\u00a0 We actually practice God\u2019s reign of justice and mercy.<\/p>\n You\u2019re invited to take up a Fast From Single-Use Plastic, both individually and communally.\u00a0 By committing yourself to such a practice, but also being public and collaborative, we embrace the hope that God can work powerfully through us for change. By engaging together, we stave off isolation and reject obscuring our sin.\u00a0 Rather than becoming overwhelmed by the problem of climate change, or hiding in the shame of our participation, we are invited to turn from sin and mindless consumption, and reorient ourselves towards our living God, the sacredness of creation and the hope of New Life made possible in Christ Jesus.<\/p>\n