June is an emerald month. The trees have put on a fresh dress of the most incredible shades of green imaginable.

The grass and the fields of grain add their particular hues of green before the hay comes off and the grain turns golden.

The weather adds its own pallet to the hues; either softening them with the mist of a summer rain, or enhancing them with the full brilliance of the early summer sunshine.

No wonder June is the most popular month for weddings. It is a month of beauty warmth and hope. It makes a person feel glad just to be alive.

This brings me to the point of my writing. There is no doubt that the earth is a living organism. Each part is interconnected with the whole and with each other part.

Cut a tree and a world of insects, birds as well as other plants and animals are affected.

Cut a forest and the amount of change it brings is immeasurable.

I was in Haiti a few years back and was shocked to see that every mountain had been denuded, eroded, and made barren.

What used to be called the Pearl of the Antilles because it was so lush is now an ugly wasteland in many parts. . It is no wonder that poverty is such a huge issue in that country.

The earth is not only alive, it is a unique jewel. Who can forget the shots of the earth taken from the Apollo expeditions?

The earth is an incredible living blue Safire hanging in the nothingness of space. It is the only planet to our knowledge capable of supporting life. In the grand scheme of the universe, it is tiny, fragile and vulnerable.

It is truly a unique paradise that has allowed human beings to flourish. Sadly, because of us, this is not true of many of our animal relatives.

The incredible beauty of the earth, and its unique fragility in bringing forth life, make it a holy thing. Something is holy when it is to be revered, honoured and valued.

This is the attitude each of us must take with the earth, regardless of what faith or lack thereof a person may have. For Christians and Jews, it is recognized that the earth belongs to its Creator and that we as humans have a responsibility to care for it.

Buddhism teaches to 'Cut down the forest of desire, not the forest of the trees. [Buddah, Dhammapada 283]

Even for the non- 0believer it must be recognized that something so rare and life-giving must be valued beyond price.

We are not separate from the rest of creation. We repr esent the highest and at the same time the most destructive of what this earth has produced. We must become one again with creation. We must come into harmony with our world and exploit it as if we were not a part of it.

All these things provide strong argument for the case that we must all get involved in the current Green Movement that is spreadi n g around the globe. It cannot be business as usual. Our choices range from the kind of bags we put our groceries in, to the vehicles we choose to drive.

Getting involved must be an activity and attitude that transcends religious sects, race, class and culture.

After all, we all live here. That breath of air you just breathed has been breathed by a thousand creatures before you.

To care for our planet is to become one with it. It a Spiritual exercise that will ultimately result from, or lead to, harmony with its Creator. We can only be better as human beings as a result.

Edward Bellsmith is the minister at Primrose and Trinity United Churches. He invites your comments at trinity.minister@ bellnet.ca