June Stafford

When thinking about what propels me to want to be a part of the Creation Care Team, three emotions seem paramount, guilt, fear, and love.
 Guilt: The word expedient has played and still plays too big a role in my daily decisions. I grew up at a time ( the 40’s & the 50’s) when there was little thought about the finiteness of the planet; in fact, concern for the planet was the farthest thing from our minds. We didn’t live for the planet, the planet lived for us. Too often choices were made on the basis of what was fast and easy. That’s a habit that needs changing. 
Fear: The consequences of decades of thoughtless actions has come home to roost. I believe what science tells us about the extent of the damage done, what is responsible and how the future of a degraded planet will impact our lives and those who follow us. Conversations with our son, Hugh, the chief ecologist for the California Forest Service, leads me to want to deepen my environmental focus.  
Love: Sometimes I think I love the earth too much. Montana can seem heavenly, might that not be sacrilegious?  More and more I understand how connected I am to all of humanity and all of nature. I want future generations to be able to not just survive but to flourish. There isn’t much time to waste according to the experts.  And one of those experts is “ Lab Girl,” Hope Jahren, author also of The Story of More, which the team wishes to share with as many as possible. 

These reasons, then, lead me to want to strengthen my awareness and the awareness of friends here at Hope to the fact that each of us depends on the earth and its well being depends  upon us.