Newsletter June

Did you know that Pennsylvania made recycling the law in July of 1988? My guess is that most people don’t know that. But, it’s true. With Act 101, the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act, Pennsylvania became the largest state in the nation to require recycling.

However, if you ask the folks in Caernarvon Township, where Amy and I live, if they recycle do you know what they’ll tell you? Here’s what they’ll tell you. We don’t recycle! However, they probably won't tell you this in such a blunt way as this. They will say that the residents are welcome to recycle on their own. Yea sure, who wants to load up recyclables in the trunk of their car and drive them yourself to the local dump every week? Not I. And, my guess is, not you either. In other words the answer to the question remains. We don't recycle!

I have learned that in Honey Brook Township the circumstance isn’t much different. Everyone is welcome to recycle, even encouraged to recycle—if they want to. Well, who WANTS to sort their garbage into differentiating containers? Who WANTS to wash out bottles, jars and cans? Who WANTS to stack up, and possibly even bundle up their paper? Who WANTS to recycle? Most don’t. Therefore, even though our state boasts about becoming the largest state in the nation to REQUIRE recycling, in the end the state is doing very little to enforce their recycling law. As a result most people in the state of Pennsylvania, as is the case here in our area, choose to not recycle.

But, we are believers in God. Because our faith is that which guides us, we are asked by God to live according to God’s law first and civil laws second. This means God asks us to try to live according to His law in all aspects of life. God calls us to be good stewards of creation. We all know that recycling saves resources, saves energy, and saves the environment. We all know that recycling is one way to be a good steward of creation. The stewardship of God's creation is an issue important enough to prompt us to find a way to recycle. "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord." You may have heard that before. It's in the bible, in the book of Joshua. In other words, as it pertains to this message, "For me and my house, we will recycle." This means that for you and me, contrary to the township, RECYCLING IS NOT AN OPTION. This is why I was so pleased to see large recycling receptacles placed all around the church property during the Spring Fling in May.

The question for us is not IF we will recycle, but HOW. The recycling options are dependent upon the area in which you live. For Amy and me, we can load up our recyclables in the car once a week and take them to Lanchester ourselves, or we can pay $25/month for a local trash hauler to make a special stop at our house each week. Given those two options, I gladly pay the $25/month to not have to "truck" them myself in the trunk of my car.

Our township does not enforce the state’s requirement for recycling. But this law is in consort with God’s law of good stewardship. So, even though the civil authorities do not enforce this we ought to do so anyway. If your home is already a recycling home, GREAT! For the rest of us, maybe this summer is a good time to start taking recycling more seriously. After all, God has given us the beauty of the earth to appreciate and protect, not consume and throw away. So, let’s offer to God our best effort at keeping it beautiful and rich with natural resources.


A Blessed Summer to all of you,

+Rich