In February, Dr. Larry Rassmussen was at St. Stephen, as our 2007 Theologian in Residence, talking about our responsibility as Christians to care for the environment. I very much appreciated his nuanced presentation. For instance, he said that he does not use the term "global warming" very much. Instead, he talks about "climate change." That's because there are so many unprecedented climatic events occurring around the world. As an example, he told us that England is experiencing tornadoes for the first time since human beings have been writing down their observations. Something significant is obviously going on!

May I offer another example? Today, it is April 7, in Williamsburg Virginia. Flowers and trees are in full bloom. Hundreds of high school and college track and field athletes are in town to compete in the Colonial Relays today. Teams of professional bicyclists are in town, to begin a race to Richmond in about an hour.

And it's snowing!