In The Church Yard

Stop 2 – The Bike Patio

Installed in 2018, our Bike Patio, located on the east side of the church, facing Brecksville Road, provides a safe space to park your bike when you travel to town. The tools in the Dero Fix It Stand make common repairs easy! Tools in the stand include Philips and flat head screwdrivers, Allen wrenches, box wrenches, Torx wrench and tire levers.

Why is this important? Stepping off that gas and onto bike pedals is one of the best things you can do to help the environment. Choosing a bike over a car just once a day reduces the average person’s carbon emissions from transportation by 67%.

Word for Reflection: Wonder

Riding a bike can help us slow down and attune to the natural world. When you consider the wonders of creation that mean the most to you, what specific places and experiences come to mind? Did you have a favorite outdoor spot to visit when you were younger? What made it special? What do you most appreciate about that place? What do you most want to preserve for generations to come?

Today, make time to be outside and breathe the fresh air. Appreciate the planet and the feeling of awe that nature provides.

In the first creation story in Genesis, God acts as a host making a home for guests: first creating habitats, then creating creatures – and finally, creating humankind as a deputy made in God’s Image to care for them all (Genesis 1). This is the arrangement God calls not only “good,” but “very good” (Genesis 1:31).

A PRAYER
God of grace and generosity, restore us to our graceful, generous calling. Grant us the love, courage, and wisdom to care for your creation: stepping back when we should step back, stepping up when we should step up, helping life to flourish in all its wondrous beauty, from the waters to the wilderness. Amen.

PLAN STEP TWO: Taking an “inward” inventory.

What do you love to do? What gives you life? By the same token: What activities do you dislike? What bores you to tears or leaves you feeling drained? Some questions to start your thinking:

• Introverted or extroverted (or a little of both?)
• OK with confrontation? Or inclined toward consensus?
• On stage? Or behind the scenes?
• Enjoy inviting others to join you? Or working with those who already have?
• What activities do you truly love and look forward to?
• What sustains you over time? Social support? Accountability? Staying in touch with why you’re doing this in the first place?

Some other resources to help you take inventory:

• Ayana Elizabeth Johnson’s “Climate Action Venn Diagram.”
• The One Green Thing Service Superpower Assessment
• What type of change maker are you? Take the quiz.