Marta Z. Ukropina (MDiv’06)

LABOR DAY 2020 WAS A STRANGE BUT BEAUTIFUL DAY in the Pacific Northwest, especially in Eugene, Oregon—the place this native Texan has called home for the past five years. My day started with a gorgeous hike with visibility for miles, highlighting the jagged peaks of the volcanic Cascade Mountains and the less dramatic, but equally as beautiful, Coastal Range. It was strange because of the continuing coronavirus pandemic, and as I hiked I reflected upon how un-normal the last few months had been. Pastoring, parenting, and living during a pandemic have caused us all to dig deep and find new skills and strength we never knew we had.

But, it was a beautiful day. I looked around full of thanksgiving that God had called our family to serve in Oregon, a place where God’s handiwork in creation seems to be everywhere you look.

Later, the winds kicked up. I remember seeing an alert on my phone for fire danger, but to be honest, I didn’t think much of it.

Tuesday morning, however, was surreal. When I woke up, it was dark. Thinking I had awoken too early, I looked at the clock only to see that it was actually later than I thought. It was dark as evening, but with an eerie reddish orange glow. The smoke was so thick it choked out the sun and the hills. It was raining—ASH. It was, for lack of a better word, apocalyptic.

A wildfire was burning 15 miles away. We learned that many of our parishioners had been evacuated, with no warning, in the middle of the night. As the day wore on, the fire grew and so did the evacuation zone and people’s anxiety.

The news was dismal—the West was on fire.

Pastoring was challenging of course because of COVID-19, but despite the pandemic, we are still the church. We started a successful fire relief fund, took meals to those in need, organized a collection drive, and reached out through emails, phone calls, virtual worship, and our board of deacons. And through all this, we reflected on our call as Christians.

Friends, we are not being good stewards of God’s creation. We just aren’t. We all need to make decisions in our everyday lives that focus on saving the environment. Wildfires are normal—they happen. But these fires that burn so fast and hot, destroying homes and communities in minutes, are not normal. There is extreme drought which fuels these fires and makes them difficult to contain. The fires and all the other super-charged natural disasters in our world are symptoms pointing to the reality of climate change. But instead of getting our act together as a society, we make excuses and explain away the truth that is staring us down. The fact that we have politicized issues like tending to God’s creation boggles my mind. We must do better. God calls us to do better! Instead of constantly taking the easier route of blaming the other side, we must look deep within ourselves and focus on what we can do to make a difference.

For almost two weeks, the air was so hazardous that we had to stay inside. The destruction is widespread and the landscape here will never be the same. It is a scar reminding us of the disaster that hit in the midst of one of the most difficult years of modern life. New life will rise from those ashes, and it is my hope that it will serve as a reminder of our calling to do all in our power to care for God’s creation.

– The Rev. Marta Z. Ukropina (MDiv’06) Co-Pastor, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Eugene, Oregon