Churches care for the earth

Christian Century, Oct 13, 1993

BROAD COALITION of U.S. religious groups, with major funding in hand, is launching a program to put environmental concerns close to the heart of religious life. The $4.5 million program, called the National Religious Partnership for the Environment, was officially initiated October 4 with a worship service at Washington's Mt. Gilead Baptist Church and a subsequent briefing with Vice-President AI Gore. "A major new force--with enormous breadth and its own unique perspective--is entering the arena of environmental activity," declared Paul Gorman, the Partnerships executive director.

"Individual faith groups will craft their own respective contributions to this common effort," Gorman said. "Progress will be gradual and cumulative. But how people of faith engage the environmental crisis will have much to do with the future well-being of the planet, and in all likelihood, with the future of religious life as well." Two years in the making, the Partnership already has pledges of more than $3 million, giving it a financial footing that should guarantee an impact at the local as well as the national level.

The leadership of the Partnership comes from the National Council of Churches, the U.S. Catholic Conference, the Consultation on the Environment and Jewish Life, and the Evangelical Environmental Network. While evangelicals have often stood back from cooperative endeavors, Partnership leaders have seen a growing interest in the issue among theologically conservative Christians. "I believe the mainstream American evangelical community is now ready to proclaim and act upon a biblically based imperative to care for God's Creation," said Robe. Seiple, president of World Vision U SA.

The issue is not new for many religious groups that have been struggling with the issue since the first Earth Day in 1970--by making their local congregations environmentally friendly and more efficient in use of energy, and by articulating ecologically sensitive theologies of creation and stewardship. Most recently the 5'2'million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America adopted a wideranging social statement on the environment at its Churchwide Assembly in Kansas City, Missouri.

Local congregations, like St. Lukes United Methodist Church in Kansas City, have also expanded the mandate of their stewardship committees to include dealing with environmental issues. At St. Luke's the committee oversaw an energy audit of the church and as a result installed insulating blankets around the hot water heaters. Church grounds are regularly mulched, mowed and composted. Sunday school children saved enough money to plant two dogwood trees; they also built birdhouses to encourage nesting on church grounds.

The new Partnership will work to strengthen both the local and national efforts and also to underscore the links between environmental concerns and social justice. "We see in the Partnership a unique opportunity to address issues of environmental justice, which are moving rapidly to the center of Catholic social teaching and action," said Bishop James Malone, a former president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Among the Partnerships projects: distribution of education and action kits to 53,000 congregations, including every Catholic parish, for three consecutive years

* training programs to create "environmental ministries" for a new generation of clergy

* creation of public policy stances, legislative updates, testimony and action alerts, with priority for "environmental justice" issues

* setting-up of a "1-800 Green Congregation Hotline," describing and documenting grass-roots religious environmental activities

* joint educational initiatives with Nobel laureates and other scientists (the Partnership has already established a consultative relationship with the Union of Concerned Scientists)

* summit meetings for leaders of historic black and Orthodox Christian churches

* preparation of environmental curriculum for every Jewish seminary

"This is a mobilization of unprecedented breadth," commented Joan Brown Campbell, general secretary of the National Council of Churches. "People are tired of religious groups being insular or at odds. Protecting the environment provides a whole new context for cooperation."