Caring for Creation

Our Presbyterian General Assembly’s recent study, The Power to Change: U.S. Energy Policy and Global Warming, has been published and is also online.  The church report is timely reading with today’s news that Obama pushes for passage of global warming legislation.

PDA: 'Green construction' in disaster areas hampered by lack of clarity    [6-5-09]

Presbyterian News Service reports that the Obama administration's emphasis on "green jobs" and "green construction" tracks well with a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) energy policy statement approved by last summer's 218th General Assembly, one of the denomination's top disaster relief officials told the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) here recently.

But a lack of clarity over what newly emerging "green" standards entail makes it hard for agencies such as Presbyterian Disaster Assistance to promote the environmentally sound rebuilding practices, said the Rev. John Robinson, PDA's associate for U.S. disaster response.

"We're somewhat encouraged by the new administration and its green jobs initiative," Robinson told the committee on May 15. "But when disasters happen, we're not clear as a culture what the expectations of individuals and governments are for responding."

There is a growing concern in the U.S. that green construction happens, Robinson said, "but the standards and technologies are so new that there's no consensus on what green construction is."

Melanie Hardison, staff person for the Enough for Everyone program of the PC(USA), sends this update:

Hundreds of Presbyterian churches and families around the country have changed their light bulbs, started carpooling to church and are buying more local foods -- actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and leave a smaller footprint on God's Creation. Each individual, church and local community has a contribution to make in the effort to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Green Living

Consider deepening your involvement and celebrating every day as Earth Day. Check out our Green Living materials as a place to get started.

Climate Legislation

Over the next month, the House of Representatives will consider legislation that addresses the United States' disproportionate contribution to global climate change emissions. Celebrate the glorious gift of God's Creation and our responsibility to care for it by contacting your members of Congress through the Presbyterian Washington Office. The sample letter provided is based on PC(USA) policy. In an ecumenical effort through Church World Service, you can also encourage the President to support a national climate response and to engage in international climate negotiations in good faith.

Peace,
Melanie

Melanie Hardison
Enough for Everyone
(888) 728-7228 x5626

Peter Sawtell of Eco-Justice Ministries offers some answers to this question in his most recent Eco-Justice Notes.

"I feel closer to God when I'm out in nature than when I'm in church."

I imagine that every pastor has heard those words on more than one occasion. Sometimes they are voiced by a loyal member explaining why she skipped a Sunday morning. Other times, they are a defiant assertion from somebody who never, ever comes to sit in a pew.

For lots and lots of people, there is a distinctive sense of spiritual connectedness that happens away from church, away from cities, and away from mass media. There is a rich and vivid ecological spirituality that can come through most clearly when people are intentionally focused on, and present in, the other-than-human parts of nature.

How do those experiences of nature help people feel close to God? Let me stimulate your thinking with a far-from-exhaustive list of spiritual experiences.

    * There is the emotional and spiritual reaction of awe, of encountering something vast and powerful, which sets our personal and societal selves into a humbling context. Seeing the stars spread out overhead when away from the haze of city lights, the ocean stretching off into infinite distance, and mountains shaped by eons of geologic forces -- these put our lives and accomplishments into perspective.

    * Taking the time to "get out into nature" provides an extraordinarily rare taste of real Sabbath. "Getting away" without an agenda offers a deep quality of rest and relaxation. We can only be still, and know God" when we escape from the calendar and computer, the babble of TV and telephone, text messages and Ipod tunes.

    * I have heard from many people about the spiritual delight of encountering life in an "other" – a deer grazing, a whale spouting, an eagle soaring, a flock of songbirds, a colony of ants. Those creatures are free and alive, engaged in their own ways of being which have little or nothing to do with us. Observing those animals on their own terms offers a realization of their inherent beauty and worth. We experience "the integrity of creation" where the natural world is disconnected from human use.

    * Our spirituality is nurtured as we become aware of ecological relationships. Things do not exist in isolation. Creatures exist within habitats. They are woven into predator and prey relationships, and symbiotic interactions of support within herds and across species. Ecology makes us aware of our connectedness and interdependence.

    * Time in nature makes us aware of seasons and the cycles of life. Birth, growth and death are embedded in the fabric of the world. Patterns of rainfall and sunlight are discerned as gifts instead of commodities.

    * Time alone in the natural world can provide a more intense sense of self, unfiltered and unprotected by the stuff of culture. A clarity about our real needs comes to the backpacker who must carry all the supplies for a trip. A few days in nature can trim away concerns about style and status, and get us back to the necessities.

These are just a few of the ways that time in nature might strengthen people in a faithful spirituality. These are just a hint of the many ways that time focused on the creation can draw us into awareness and relationship with God.

Robert Pollin writes in The Nation:

For most of the past generation, the aims of environmental sustainability and social justice were seen as equally worthy, yet painfully and unavoidably in conflict. Tree huggers and spotted owls were pitted against loggers and hard hats. Fighting global warming was held to inevitably worsen global poverty and vice versa. Indeed, the competing demands of the environmental and social justice agendas were frequently cited as a classic example of how public policy choices were fraught with trade-offs and unintended consequences – how you could end up doing harm while seeking only to do good.

Over the past couple of years, there has been a dramatic reversal of thinking: the idea has emerged that protecting the environment – in particular, defeating global warming – can also be an effective engine of economic growth, job creation and even poverty reduction.    The full article >>

From Witness in Washington Weekly, published by the Washington Office of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), June 2, 2008

The Eco-Justice Program of the National Council of Churches wants to help you in celebrating Earth Day! If you, your community, or your church is sponsoring or attending an Earth Day event, send an email to jblevins@ncccusa.org and let them know. If you are looking for a place in your community to attend an event, click here to view an interactive map and find one near you!

Click here to download the NCC's 2008 Earth Day resource, "The Poverty of Global Climate Change", and get your church involved!

Mindful Living:
Healthy People, Healthy Churches, Healthy Planet

October 9-11, 2008

[4-7-08]

The National Council of Churches Eco-Justice Program will host its biennial conference Oct. 9-11, 2008, in Alexandria, MN, at Lake Geneva Christian Center. The focus for the conference will be environmental health.

Join this ecumenical gathering of denominational staff, clergy, seminarians, lay leaders, church educators, eco-justice coordinators, and Christians to educate yourself on the unfolding world of toxics found in everyday items in our homes, our churches, and even our bodies.

Click here to visit the conference website.
For more information, contact Chloe Schwabe .

Washington Office staff is participating in planning this conference.

From the Witness in Washington Weekly, published by the Washington Office of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)  If you would like to receive this information directly, click here >>

Event reflects growing concern by religious groups over global warming     [4-3-08]

Presbyterian News Service reports on an interfaith group that included Presbyterians, which gathered outside the Memphis, TN, office of U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) last week in support of Congress’ work to draft effective climate change legislation.

The Climate Change Rally on March 27 was among more than a dozen gatherings held across the country by the National Council of Churches (NCC) that signaled the faith community’s growing concern around the issue of global warming and its desire for action.

Those attending the events urged their elected officials to take stronger action to cut harmful greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Hundreds of congregations and communities across the country have already taken steps to lower their greenhouse gas emissions.

A New York Times article explores the possibility that care for the creation can be a powerful creator of jobs. (And the Times is not the only one looking at this.)

The article begins:

Everyone knows what blue-collar and white-collar jobs are, but now a job of another hue — green — has entered the lexicon.

Presidential candidates talk about the promise of “green collar” jobs — an economy with millions of workers installing solar panels, weatherizing homes, brewing biofuels, building hybrid cars and erecting giant wind turbines. Labor unions view these new jobs as replacements for positions lost to overseas manufacturing and outsourcing. Urban groups view training in green jobs as a route out of poverty. And environmentalists say they are crucial to combating climate change.

No doubt that the number of green-collar jobs is growing, as homeowners, business and industry shift toward conservation and renewable energy. And the numbers are expected to increase greatly in the next few decades, because state governments have mandated that even more energy come from alternative sources.

But some skeptics argue that the phrase “green jobs” is little more than a trendy term for politicians and others to bandy about. Some say they are not sure that these jobs will have the staying power to help solve the problems of the nation’s job market, and others note that green jobs often pay less than the old manufacturing jobs they are replacing.

The 207th General Assembly (1995) directed staff to “Advocate environmental justice concerns through the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Washington Office on behalf of the poor and people of color; and that the Washington Office assist congregations and individuals in their advocacy efforts.”

As the impacts of global climate change become clearer to us, through scientific understanding and anecdotal evidence, it is clear that the world’s poorest communities will bear the heaviest burden of climate catastrophe. Although global climate change affects all human populations across the globe, it hits those living in poverty the hardest because they depend on the surrounding physical environment to supply their needs and have limited ability to cope with climate variability and extremes.

Both in the United States and in countries around the globe, climate change will first and most heavily impact those living in poverty, through higher energy prices, water scarcity, drought, crop failure, increased disease, and flooding.

As stewards of God’s good earth, we are called to care for the environment and all the creatures that depend on it to survive. Celebrate this year’s Earth Day, April 22, in a worship service that lifts up the goodness and bounty of God’s creation, and our responsibility toward it. The National Council of Churches Eco-Justice Program is marking Earth Day Sunday (the Sunday closest to Earth Day) by recognizing the interconnectedness of poverty and climate change and offering a resource for worship, adult study, and youth activities.

A worship planning resource for Earth Day Sunday is now available - to obtain a copy visit www.nccecojustice.org, or contact the Eco-Justice Program office at info@nccecojustice.org or 202-481-6943.

From the WITNESS IN WASHINGTON WEEKLY, produced by the Washington Office of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

As stories about global warming, sustainable energy, and climate change make headlines, the fact that some neighborhoods, particularly low-income and minority communities, are disproportionately toxic and poorly regulated has, until recently, been all but ignored.

A new breed of activists and social scientists are starting to capitalize on the moment. In principle they have much in common with the environmental justice movement, which came of age in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when grassroots groups across the country began protesting the presence of landfills and other environmentally hazardous facilities in predominantly poor and minority neighborhoods.

In practice, though, the new leadership is taking a broader-based, more inclusive approach. Instead of fighting a proposed refinery here or an expanded freeway there, all along trying to establish that systematic racism is at work in corporate America, today's environmental justice movement is focusing on proactive responses to the social ills and economic roadblocks that if removed would clear the way to a greener planet.

The new movement assumes that society as a whole benefits by guaranteeing safe jobs, both blue-collar and white-collar, that pay a living wage. That universal health care would both decrease disease and increase awareness about the quality of everyone's air and water. That better public education and easier access to job training, especially in industries that are emerging to address the global energy crisis, could reduce crime, boost self-esteem, and lead to a homegrown economic boon.

The author of this Utne article is Leyla Kokmen, who is the program coordinator for the Health Journalism M.A. in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota. She has been a staff reporter at daily and weekly papers across the United States, including the Twin Cities' City Pages, The Seattle Times, and The Denver Post, where she contributed to that newspaper's Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the Columbine High School massacre.

From an AP report: In a major shift, a group of Southern Baptist leaders said their denomination has been "too timid" on environmental issues and has a biblical duty to stop global warming.

The declaration, signed by the president of the Southern Baptist Convention among others and released Monday, shows a growing urgency about climate change even within groups that once dismissed claims of an overheating planet as a liberal ruse. The conservative denomination has 16.3 million members and is the largest Protestant group in the U.S.

Pope condemns the “climate change prophets of doom”
[12-19-07]

The London Daily Mail reported on December 12 that Pope Benedict XVI “launched a surprise attack on climate change prophets of doom, warning them that any solutions to global warming must be based on firm evidence and not on dubious ideology.” His comments were prepared for delivery on World Peace Day on January 1, but they were released as delegates gathered on the Indonesian island of Bali for UN climate change talks.

In this message, entitled "The Human Family, A Community of Peace," Pope Benedict says that "Humanity today is rightly concerned about the ecological balance of tomorrow," and he adds: "It is important for assessments in this regard to be carried out prudently, in dialogue with experts and people of wisdom, uninhibited by ideological pressure to draw hasty conclusions, and above all with the aim of reaching agreement on a model of sustainable development capable of ensuring the well-being of all while respecting environmental balances.”

The Daily Mail reporter adds: “His remarks reveal that while the Pope acknowledges that problems may be associated with unbridled development and climate change, he believes the case against global warming to be over-hyped.”

Read the full article >>

From the Orthodox Church: a more pro-creation stance

Witherspoon Issues Analyst Gene TeSelle notes that the Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church, Archbishop Bartholomew of Constantinople, addressed the same issue out of the Orthodox theological appreciation of creation. He issued an Encyclical in September, 1999, in which he proclaimed September 1 as “the annual day of prayer for the environment.” This concern for the natural word, says TeSelle, is grounded in the Orthodox faith in God's presence in the whole world – especially through incarnation – and the role of icons and the liturgy and other sensory factors in devotional life.

In addition, the document praises the Committee on the Environment of the World-wide Federation of Organizations of Engineers, which had just met in Thessalonike and proposed that a binding "Global Code of Ethics" for the environment be drafted.

A new affirmation of the call to care for God’s creation

Al Gore and chairman of scientists’ panel gave important statements in receiving the Nobel Peace Prize   [12-11-07]

You may want to see the full texts of these important statements.

To see Gore’s address:

For R. K. Pachauri’s address

What might we do with this material to extend its effect?  Here's a suggestion from one friend: 

I am forwarding this message to my entire address book and urging you to insist that your elected representatives and favorite presidential candidate do the difficult and right thing in the months and years ahead to save the planet for human life.

The Green (Environmentally concerned) Presbyterians at First Presbyterian Church in Kalamazoo, MI would like suggestions from any congregation that has successfully eliminated the use of foam (especially) and other paper/plastic cups in church programs – especially before/after worship and for meetings. How did you do it? And what have been the results? Any and all suggestions welcome. Please respond privately to Kremlick@juno.com and in the subject line, note "Green Presbyterian - cups."

Warren Wilson College ranked as #3 among "green colleges"     [10-25-07]

The Sierra Club reports that numerous colleges and universities are "going green." Presbyterian-related Warren Wilson College is ranked number three on their "Top Ten" list, with this brief description:

This small Southeast star wears its environmental ethos on its sleeve and backs it up with a sustainably managed farm, garden, and forest that provide food and lumber for the campus; streetlamps that reduce light pollution; and community service as an integral part of the curriculum.

George Marshall, the founder of the Climate Outreach Information Network, who blogs on the psychology of climate change at www.climatedenial.org, has written a provocative essay in The Guardian, UK.

He urges environmentalists to drop slogans like "save the planet," and to focus on "intelligent living" instead.

Saving the planet, he says, is too big, too vague, too negative, when people are looking for positive things to do, not just things to give up.

So he offers his own personal statement:

"I have embraced a lighter lifestyle because it is the smart, cool, intelligent and healthy way to live. I want to live in the present and the real world, not be tied to an outdated and dangerous 20th-century way of living. I live this way because I love it, because it makes me feel good and because it is healthy and gives me freedom.

"I feel that I am setting the pace for the 21st century and I am excited to see people all around me trying to catch up. If we all work together we can build a world that is cleaner, fairer and happier and that is what I want to leave my children."

from Eco-Justice Notes, by the Rev. Peter Sawtell, executive director of Eco-Justice Ministries

In 1987, the Commission for Racial Justice of the United Church of Christ (UCC) released a report titled Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States. It was a detailed statistical analysis of census data, meticulously cross-matched with information on the location of toxic waste sites.

That report is widely recognized as a foundational document in the environmental justice movement in the United States, and in shaping similar efforts around the world. It made the well-documented assertion that the environmental risk from hazardous waste is more strongly correlated with race than with economics.

On this 20^th anniversary of Toxic Wastes and Race, an important new report has been issued by the UCC. Toxic Wastes and Race at Twenty: 1987-2007 revisits the statistical analysis with more sophisticated tools, and finds that "by better matching the locations of people and hazardous sites, racial and socioeconomic disparities around the nation's hazardous waste facilities are found to be far greater than what previous studies have shown."

This new report is available for free download from the United Church of Christ website. I highly recommend this new report for your reading and study. The 175 page document is 6.5 Mb, so plan on a lengthy download time.

An environmentalist leads us on a new path through Lent    [3-9-07]

The Rev. Peter Sawtell, the Executive Director of Eco-Justice Ministries, is posting a very provocative and helpful exploration of what he calls the four core norms of an eco-justice ethic: solidarity, sustainability, sufficiency, and participation.

The one for this week, on sufficiency, asks "How much is enough?" – "one of the central questions for those who seek eco-justice in the world."

The current meditation, on Sufficiency, is entitled "Enough, Already."

The first meditation, on Solidarity, bears the title "All In It Together."

The second, on Sustainability, he calls "Nothing Left for the Kids"

The final one, due out in a couple weeks, will deal with Participation.

NCC offers training and support for faith-based eco-justice work

Award also offered for eco-justice sermon – deadline is March 1

[2-9-07]

The National Council of Churches seeks to transform the faith-based eco-justice movement by training and supporting emerging practitioners engaged in faith-based environmental work. We will nurture and train this new generation of leadership and aim for diversity and collaboration. The next fellowship class will begin in the summer of 2007.

The Program

During 2004, we developed and implemented a leadership training program for 20 emerging religious eco-justice practitioners (age 22-40).

Location

The inaugural retreat was held July 26-28, 2004, at Port Isobel, Virginia, an education center located next door to Tangier Island, home to Tangier Watermen's Stewardship for the Chesapeake (TaSC), an organization of watermen that implements a Biblically based stewardship plan for the island.

Goals

We will connect fellows with peers representing a broad array of eco-justice work in order to help build a network of leaders. By providing training and other learning opportunities, we hope to build a network of leaders and focus attention on the need for the religious community to nurture the next generation of environmental leaders.

Fellowship Commitments

• Fellows attend a summer retreat.
• Fellows agree to join the network of other fellows.

Benefits of the Fellowship

Participants will have the unique opportunity to gather in community and foster their own leadership development during their one-year fellowship. Skills training will include:

• Communication techniques, community organizing
• Spiritual reflections and worship resources
• Education on environmental issues including environmental justice
• Existing faith-based resources

In addition, participants will receive travel compensation to the July retreat (traveling from points within the United States) as well as lodging during the three-day event. Meeting expenses, including food and beverage, will be covered for the summer retreat.

For more information about the Faith & Eco-Justice Fellowship, contact Cassandra Carmichael at cassandra@toad.net.

And also ...

NCC announces eco-sermon award

Washington, D.C., January 29, 2007--The National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC) today announced a call for submissions to its first ever eco-justice sermon writing award as part of its eco-justice work. The award, which is a celebration of God's creation in the proclaimed gospel, is open to clergy, lay leaders, and other religious leaders and entries can focus on a variety of environmental issues such as sustainability, global warming, wilderness, and water.

"As Christians have the moral responsibility to protect all of God's creation for current and future generations," said Cassandra Carmichael, eco-justice program director for the NCC.

"At the Council we strive to provide resources such as our recently released theological resources to folks in the pews," said Carmichael. "This sermon award will help highlight the good work going on in churches across the nation as well as provide sermon starters for worship leaders."

The award was announced six months after the release of "Opening the Letter:

God's Earth is Sacred," a theological resource for congregations. According to Carmichael, an increasing number of congregations are preaching on the environment as evidenced by the rising popularity of the NCC's Earth Day Sunday worship resource.

Sermon submissions should be no longer than 1,500 words. Deadline is March 1, 2007, and sermons should be sent via email to info@nccecojustice.org. More information can be found at www.nccecojustice.org/sermoncontest.htm.

The NCC is America's ecumenical voice of 35 Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, historic African American and traditional peace churches with 45 million members in 100,000 congregations in all 50 states. The NCC has focused on ecological justice issues for over the last 25 years.

NCC Eco-justice contact: Cassandra Carmichael, 202.481.6928, info@nccecojustice.org. NCC News contact: Dan Webster, 212.870.2252, dwebster@councilofchurches.org. Latest NCC News at www.councilofchurches.org .

Saving energy is good for the environment, good for your budget     [8-30-06]

The National Council of Churches announces that its 2006 Earth Day Sunday resource is available for download at www.nccecojustice.org/KatrinaDownload.html.

Their announcement continues:

This year, the resource focuses on the just rebuilding of the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. So many congregations have been involved in relief and recovery efforts that we think this is a great way to affirm, honor and add to that ministry!

This resource provides the background information, sermon notes, bulletin insert, and study questions to plan an Earth Day Sunday (or any day) worship service.

Presbyterians for Restoring Creation has produced a new resource, "Living in Lent, Caring for Creation." It is a 12-page resource that includes a list of "40 ways to fast and feast for God's Creation" and a reflection for Lent, Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Great Vigil of Easter, and Easter Sunday.

It can be downloaded from www.prcweb.org.

John Shuck, the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Elizabethton, Tennessee, send us an essay recently characterizing the Theological Task Force report as "Not Justice, Not Progress, Just the Same Second-Class Status." He sent another brief note recently reflecting on another concern:

I have another issue. I would dare to say that other issues pale in comparison with this one. I am facilitating a study during Lent at my church in which we will watch two documentaries, "The End of Suburbia" and "The Corporation."

Both of these documentaries, especially "The End of Suburbia" (since I am a suburbia living kind of guy) were wake-up calls for me. I am afraid that it will be very soon (perhaps 10-20 years) when we in America experience the end of the world as we know it. That is the predicted peak of the supply of world oil resources according to "The End of Suburbia."

Since I saw this documentary a few weeks ago, I cannot get it out of my mind. Here are some of its insights. If every inhabitant of Earth consumed at the rate of the average North American, we would need four planets to sustain our consumption. There is no political will to change our American way of life which seems to be unlimited consumption. Consumption is based on an unlimited supply of cheap oil. The war on terror will never end because it is a war to control oil supply. Even so, this supply will end.

We presently have no alternative. We have no desire to find an alternative. We have a narrow window (one that is closing rapidly) to make some drastic changes (both in the way we live and in finding alternative sources of energy) yet there is little interest in doing either.

I am curious how many Witherspooners have seen either of these documentaries and if so, what Progressive Presbyterians could do to to wake people up. But then again, maybe all is fine and I shouldn't worry.

Peace,
john

Can you offer any response to John’s closing query? Have you seen either of these films? Do you share his concern? Any ideas about what to do about it?

Just send a note, to be shared here!

It’s far more serious than the President acknowledged in his State of the Union address, says Peter Sawtell, Executive Director, Eco-Justice Ministries. He offers a sharp critique of the president’s way of framing the problem, saying:

If Mr. Bush was really talking about breaking our addiction, he wouldn't look to technology for the solution. Any addict on the long path of recovery has to make very hard changes, and the President isn't asking us to change much of anything.

He isn't asking anyone to conserve – to drive less, or to turn down the thermostat. He isn't asking anyone to deal with efficiency – to improve fuel economy standards for cars, or to insulate homes. And he certainly isn't asking us to change our national self-image as an economic powerhouse.

The fact of the matter is, the phrase about our addiction to oil was a distraction. That unexpected word pushed a very short section about energy into the news, and made it sound like a dramatic change in policy. But the fairly minor proposals that Mr. Bush named have almost nothing to do with breaking an addiction to fossil fuels.

Eighty-six evangelical Christian leaders have decided to back a major initiative to fight global warming, saying "millions of people could die in this century because of climate change, most of them our poorest global neighbors." But the National Association of Evangelicals has refused to take a stand, in spite of the urging of some of its members, and in spite of its declaration last year of an Evangelical Call to Civic Responsibility.     The New York Times reports on the action against global warming >>

An "evangelical mutiny"?

Peter Sawtell of Eco-Justice Ministries reflects on those beautiful nature scenes in his new calendar – and ponders the assumptions they suggest about nature and humanity.   [1-2-06]

He writes:

In the world of nature calendars -- and the lovely Sierra Club ones are only one example of the genre -- the full beauty of nature is ruined if people are present. Within this iconography, "nature" and humanity occupy completely different realms.

The ongoing debate questions the aesthetic assumption of the calendars. Is "nature" something that is utterly different from the human, or should we acknowledge the interconnections between the two? At its most challenging form, the question asks if it is even misleading to use language that conceptually separates "human" and "nature." Ethicist Larry Rasmussen wrote, "We could learn to speak, for example, not of humanity AND nature, but of humans IN and AS nature. ... We could acknowledge that humans never rise above nature, never transcend it."

Read a short report on emagazine >>

Moderator Rick Ufford-Chase reports on the gathering of Presbyterians for Restoring Creation

Peter Sawtell of EcoJustice Ministries has provided a new resource for preaching on Genesis 1, just in time for its appearance in the lectionary for Trinity Sunday, May 22.   [4-26-05]

Matthew Sleeth, a former emergency room doctor who now helps lead the eco-evangelism movement, writes of his own faith journey and of the growing number of evangelicals who see caring for the creation as part of their responsibility. He notes that for evangelicals, such concerns must lead them to deal seriously with the realities of population growth. He says "The choice is simple: We either need birth control or to forgo the use of medicine to prolong life. It is up to the individual, society, or religion to choose one or the other."      [4-25-05]

Earth Day Turns 35
Celebrate our home

Utne Reader offers lots of good resources for celebrating Earth Day, which is today, April 22. But it’s never too late to love Mother Earth!

[4-22-05]

The environment has taken a backseat to modern living and not without cost. The temperature is gradually swelling, polar ice caps are melting, species are dying off, and in many places the water is too polluted to drink. There is no better time than the present to reverse the tide -- and no better day to begin than Earth Day. Fortunately, for those of us who need a push and some direction, there's a bevy of resources.

Earthday.net is a one-stop shop, where surfers can search for events in their area and learn how to get involved in community-based campaigns. For family-friendly tips, Kids Domain offers a variety of activities, including interactive, online games and songs inspired by Mother Earth. The Earth Day Groceries Project encourages students to decorate paper grocery bags with environmental messages.

The Environmental Protection Agency is pitching in with a heap of resources, including information on how to support cleaner electricity generation. You can also find out about the environmental conditions in your community and learn how to help your employer become more energy efficient. There's even a link to scout out volunteer opportunities and Earth Day events in your area.

Go there >> Earth Day!

Sharing the Waters of Life
June 9-12, 2005
Presbyterians for Restoring Creation
5th National Eco-Justice Conference
Silver Bay YMCA Center, Silver Bay, NY

"Sharing the Waters of Life" will gather people from throughout the U.S. to:

Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, warns that the price of our continued failure to protect the earth will be violence and social collapse.   [4-19-05]

He begins:

Too often in recent decades, the two big "e" words - ecology and economy - have been used as though they represented opposing concerns. ... But this separation or opposition has come to look like a massive mistake. It has been said that "the economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment". The earth itself is what ultimately controls economic activity because it is the source of the materials upon which economic activity works.

Peter Sawtell, Executive Director of Eco-Justice Ministries, reminds us of the important things being presented to us by the National Council of Church.  

Conservative arguments again "takings" clause in Constitution will challenge government's power to act for the common good

Seeking to limit government seizures, conservatives take the issue to court. The issue of "takings," or the government's authority to take private property for legitimate public use under the law of eminent domain, has been a matter of concern to the Presbyterian Church, which has affirmed the need for such authority so that governments can act for the broader public interest in protecting the environment.

With the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol for action against the emissions that are causing global warming, Worldwatch sees new economic opportunities as nations shift to new energy technologies, and living standards improve.  The US, of course, is staying out of it all.

Many friends have urged us to link to Bill Moyers' remarks upon receiving the Global Environmental Citizen Award from the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School. Arguing that evangelical Christians and their views now dominate the political scene in Washington, he warns that their expectations of the impending apocalypse (as expressed most widely in Timothy LaHaye's "Left Behind" series) lead to their passionate support of Israel as the best way to bring on the return of Christ. And these views also lead to a careless attitude toward the environment - since God will take care of it all anyway.

Researchers at Yale and Columbia Universities announced the results of their second "index of environmental sustainability," produced in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. Finland, Norway and Uruguay held the top three spots in the ranking, while the United States ranked 45th of the 146 countries studied, behind such countries as Japan, Botswana and the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, and most of Western Europe. The lowest-ranking country was North Korea, with Haiti, Taiwan, Iraq and Kuwait ranking near the bottom.

Blue Gold:  The Fight to Stop the Corporate Theft of the World's Water

Alfred Davies reviews a book that outlines that crisis building as private corporations gain ownership and distribution rights over more and more of the world's water.  [1-18-05]

Use it to fight mercury pollution.

Greenpeace and TrueMajority would like you to share some of your hair. They are collecting hair samples to be tested for mercury exposure, as a way of creating awareness and providing scientific data to support stronger public health protections in place of the weaker ones proposed by the Bush administration.

"It's an opportunity to reflect on the gift of God's creation and what we need to do to protect it," said the Rev. Bill Somplatsky-Jarman, associate for the PC(USA)'s Environmental Justice Office.

received from the Presbyterian Washington Office

Offered by the National Council of Churches, the Fellowship Program seeks to transform the faith-based eco-justice movement by training and supporting emerging practitioners engaged in faith-based environmental work. The program aims to nurture and train a new generation of leadership (age 22-40).

Deadline: May 15, 2004

Details: Participants will attend a two-day retreat (July 26-29) and a one-day retreat in May 2005 for skills-building, issue training, and collaboration.

To learn more and get application information: www.toad.net/~cassandra/fellowship.htm

The 214^th General Assembly called on Presbyterians to become informed on the health hazards of massive pollution generated by the nation's coal-fired power plants. It also urged that the government enforce and improve clean-air legislation.

Overture for population stabilization

BushGreenwatch provides accurate and timely information on the Bush Administration's assault on our environment and public health.

The site's creators say "We are dedicated to expanding media coverage and public awareness of the many vital environmental and public health issues affected by the administration's anti-environmental agenda, which consistently places the interests of corporate donors above the public good."

BushGreenwatch is a project of Environmental Media Services, a nonprofit communications clearinghouse, with support from MoveOn.org, the online advocacy group.

World Trade Organization and Free Trade Area of the Americas are pursuing policies that threaten existing environmental protections and give vast new powers to corporations - all through secret negotiations.

After the big blackout ... what about energy?
[8-20-03]

In June, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 8-2 to adopt the Precautionary Principle, consolidating the city's environmental laws into a single code to "create and maintain a healthy, viable Bay Area environment for current and future generations," reports Rachel's Environment and Health News.

According to the Environmental Research Foundation web site, the principle is the result of a two-year study of how to most effectively integrate city and county environmental policies. The study's findings concluded:

The five elements needed for the Precautionary Principle to succeed are summarized on Utne's Webwatch.

The Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) invites nominations of people to serve on a new resolution team charged with revising the denominational policy on energy.

The mandate for this work comes from an action taken by the 214th General Assembly (2002) (See Item 12-06 cited below).

'EARTH DAY SUNDAY 2003: WATERS OF LIFE'

Many congregations are seeking ways to make their buildings more energy efficient - both as an expression of their stewardship of the environment, and to save money. A Christian Science Monitor article describes specific efforts, and points to sources of information and financial help.

The Rev. Bruce Gillette, of First Presbyterian Church, Pitman NJ, sends this observation and suggests resources for the rising cost of heating

Congregations need to be concerned with the January 8th news headline "Consumers Brace for Higher Heat, Fuel Costs." The Reuters story reported "If temperatures remain normal the rest of this winter, the Energy Information Administration said home heating bills will be up 43 percent for heating oil, 34 percent for natural gas and 12 percent for electricity compared to last winter. The heating bills that consumers will have to pay are much higher than the agency predicted several weeks ago." See the whole report online.

Expensive increases for energy can impact church budgets two ways. First, more church funds will be needed to heat church buildings. Second, church members will be paying more to heat their own homes and drive their cars which will limit the funds they can give to support their churches.

Churches need to be emphasizing energy conservation as part of our faithful discipleship in caring for God's creation. Our overuse of energy is a major cause of global warming and air/water/ground pollution with many resulting health problems. Energy conservation can save on our church's fuel budget line items so these funds can be to benefit for missions or underpaid church staff.

The ecumenical think-tank Alban Institute's congregational resources web site and the U.S. Department of Energy both recommend the Interfaith Coalition for Energy (ICE):  ICE has many practical (often inexpensive) ways that churches can save on their energy bills. ICE publications include how to do an energy audit, conservation tips, how to calculate the real costs of building use by outside groups, and much more. Readers will find recommendations based on scientific studies done, such as the little impact of cold sanctuaries on pipe organs and whether it helps to run sanctuary ceiling fans when the heat is on (fans don't keep rooms warmer - they only create indoor "wind chill") You can contact Andrew Rudin, ICE Project Coordinator, at 7217 Oak Ave., Melrose Park, PA 19027 Phone: 215/ 635-1122 email: andrewrudin@earthlink.net

An excellent ecumenical web site for environmental stewardship for online resources for worship, education, congregational and personal life styles is http://www.webofcreation.org

Please share these resources with other churches in your community, online friends and church governing bodies.

Grace and Peace,

Bruce

Email: Bruce.Gillette@ecunet.org
Church website: http://www.firstpresby.org/

Criticizing Bush, Senators McCain and Lieberman would set deadlines     [1-9-03]

The Presbyterian Washington Office notes that Senators McCain and Lieberman plan to unveil a plan this week to require all U.S. power plants and industries to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, setting the stage for a conflict with the Bush administration and the new chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

While the good old reliable AAA may probably rescued lots of us, it appears that this powerful national organization is using our dues money for extensive lobbying at national, state, and local levels -- mostly for more highways, less public transit, less regulation of motor vehicle emissions, and so on.

The Rev. Bruce Gillette has sent an interesting reflection on next Sunday's text on John the Baptist, and a contemporary call for repentance in the face of global warming - a call which the Bush administration is greeting with a call for more study.

[12-4-02]

Concerned about fuel efficiency and those big ol' SUVs?  But not to worry: Chevy's got religion!

Chevrolet has hitched their current advertising campaign to the star of evangelical Christianity, with a tour featuring 16 evangelical concerts beginning in Atlanta on Nov. 1, and ending in Detroit on Nov. 23.

The 214th General Assembly in Columbus approved an overture from Baltimore Presbytery, asking for a study on the issue of "takings."

The issue is complex, and it is especially complex - and important - for the PC(USA) right now.

(1) Churches are often concerned about zoning and historic regulations, regarding any obstacles as an offense to religious freedom. As a result they inadvertently join the "property rights" ideologues who regard any regulation as a "taking" which ought to be compensated under the Fifth Amendment.

(2) The 2000 General Assembly, acting out of sympathy and unaware of broader consequences, approved a Commissioners' Resolution on the Klamath Basin controversy but in the process asserted that "taking water rights is taking private property." This was out of keeping with the General Assembly's longstanding support of environmental regulations, rejecting the simplistic argument that they constitute a "taking."

Bob Stivers, of Presbyterians for Restoring Creation, reported on the action of the 214^th General Assembly, examining the way it responded to an action by the 213^th Assembly dealing with a water crisis in the Klamath Basin.

Gene TeSelle, Witherspoon Issues Analyst, examines the way in which churches are being drawn into the campaign against "takings," in the name of "freedom of religion" and of their own institutional self-interest.

Charles Forbes, Stated Clerk of Baltimore Presbytery, has worked with the presbytery committee that wrote the 2002 overture. He traces some of the complexities of the "takings" issue, as individual interests and rights come in conflict with community needs and interests.

The "World Summit" in Johannesburg:
Observations from environmentalists   [9-3-02]

We're seeing lots of reports from Johannesburg these days, and your Witherspoon web site makes no pretence of outdoing them all.

If you're following reports on the World Summit on Sustainable Development, you may find these three resources helpful for yourself, or for interpreting the event to others.

These suggestions come from Peter Sawtell, Executive Director of Eco-Justice Ministries

Simple Ways to Preserve our EcoSystem this September  [8-8-02]

[8-2-02]

The Web magazine Grist offers a roundtable gathering of information on the ways many people are finding to deal with the threat of global warming and climate change: local networks enacting local climate change initiatives, corporations cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and schools building "green" dorms.

Among other good things, Katherine Ellison, an author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, examines the origins and implications of the trend toward local climate change initiatives. She notes the increasing strength of "religious activism on climate issues," as shown by the letter signed by more than 1,200 religious leaders last February, calling on U.S. senators to enact "specific measures to curb climate change."

She quotes Paul Gorman, director of the New York-based National Religious Partnership for the Environment: "In this case, the religious community has been led by science. And this is very noteworthy, considering that these two communities have been so deeply at odds in the past."

Ellison adds, "Indeed, not since the anti-Apartheid movement have so many priests and rabbis so concertedly urged their congregants to take political action, and nothing else demonstrates so clearly that global warming has become a mainstream concern."

Grist also leads you to lots of other good things, for example:

One local religious initiative is seen in the work of the Rev. Sally Bingham, a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of California, serves as environmental minister at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco and directs The Regeneration Project . Check out their web site, which greets the visitor with "Welcome to Episcopal Power and Light and the Regeneration Project."

And an excellent collection of links provides background information on climate change and efforts to combat it. - including a Smithsonian Institution site with vast stores of information (and lots of graphics, too)

Voices of Sophia blog

Heather Reichgott, who has created this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:

After fifteen years of scholarship and activism, Voices of Sophia presents a blog. Here, we present the voices of feminist theologians of all stripes: scholars, clergy, students, exiles, missionaries, workers, thinkers, artists, lovers and devotees, from many parts of the world, all children of the God in whose image women are made. .... This blog seeks to glorify God through prayer, work, art, and intellectual reflection. Through articles and ensuing discussion we hope to become an active and thoughtful community.

Witherspoon’s Facebook page

Mitch Trigger, Witherspoon’s Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!

You can post your own news and views, or initiate a conversation about a topic of interest to you.

John Harris’ Summit to Shore blogspot

Theological and philosophical reflections on everything between summit to shore, including kayaking, climbing, religion, spirituality, philosophy, theology, politics, culture, travel, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), New York City and the Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood by a progressive New York City Presbyterian Pastor. John is a member of the Witherspoon board, and is designated pastor of North Presbyterian Church in Flushing, NY.

John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive

A Presbyterian minister, currently serving as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton, Tenn., blogs about spirituality, culture, religion (both organized and disorganized), life, evolution, literature, Jesus, and lightening up.

Got more blogs to recommend?

Plan now for ...

GHOST RANCH PEACE & JUSTICE WEEK
July 27 - August 2, 2009

Now's the time to make reservations to be a part of the 2009 Peace & Justice Week at Ghost Ranch, July 27-August 2. There are eight seminars to choose among, including the Witherspoon-sponsored class “New Eyes for Peace & Justice from the World Church” led by Clifton Kirkpatrick.

If you like what you find here,
we hope you'll help us keep this website going ... and growing!

Please consider making a special contribution -- large or small -- to help us continue and improve this service.

Click here to send a gift online, using your credit card, through PayPal.

Or send your check, made out to "Witherspoon Society" and marked "web site," to our Witherspoon  Bookkeeper: