San Juan Islanders and friends converged in Friday Harbor to celebrate Earth Day with a Creation Fest in mid-April.
"Earth Day is about celebrating our Creator," explains William Hurtado, district pastor.
The day's festivities featured John Baldwin, an Andrews University professor, with stories, photographs and examples of God's handiwork as displayed in geology; marine life demonstrations with Nathan Schwarck, a scientific diving safety officer with Western Washington University's Shannon Point Marine Center; and hands-on science projects for kids, coordinated by Orcas Christian School teachers.
"We can't celebrate Earth Day completely without acknowledging God's role in the history of earth and its creation," Baldwin says, as he illustrated how the first angel's message in Revelation 14 approves creation. "The reason we're having a Creation Fest on Earth Day is to honor God, to lift up the truth of Jesus and the history of earth."
Creation Fest represents the first event for the Friday Harbor Church after a decision to begin a creation-nature outreach ministry a few months ago. Approximately 75 people of all ages attended this one-day event.
During Friday Harbor's Creation Fest, participants used microscopes to examine plankton from Puget Sound. (Heidi Martella)
A nature treasure hunt provides the children who attend Friday Harbor's Creation Fest a chance to learn more about their Creator God. (Heidi Martella)
John Baldwin from Andrews University weaves stories of God's love and creation throughout his presentations at Friday Harbor's Earth Day Creation Fest. (Heidi Martella)
Nathan Schwarck shows plankton in water samples drawn that morning from the Puget Sound to the Friday Harbor Creation Fest attendees. (Heidi Martella)
