BONIFACE ECO-STEWARDSHIP TEAM (B.E.S.T.)

WHY IS THE ENVIRONMENT A RELIGIOUS CONCERN?

(From the National Religious Partnership for the Environment)

“The environment” is only a pale reflection of a much richer word: Creation. Not simply what happened “in the beginning,” but the world that reflects the glory of the Creator here and now…through which we are sustained and enlivened…in which we meet the neighbor whom we are to love as ourselves. Creation is the world in which we daily encounter bread and beauty, majestic mountains and familiar neighborhoods, painful brokenness and solace for the spirit. Creation is where we stand as we hear the divine summons to care for our neighbor and for the earth. 

Creation invests the world with a depth of meaning not fully captured by the terms “environment” or “nature”. Creation means that all things in heaven and earth are related to the One who gives them their being. Creation means that our dealings with everything around us are bound up with our relationship to the Divine. Creation means that we are creatures, too; the healing of the earth and the healing of human persons and human society must go hand-in-hand.

At the core of Jewish and Christian ethics are the commandments to love God and one’s neighbor. Can we love the Creator without celebrating and caring for the creation? Can we love our neighbor without protecting the environment on which that neighbor’s life and health depend?

Stewardship is all that I do with all that I have after I say, "I believe".

• Diocesan of Southwest Florida Greenteam:
  FloridaGreen@YahooGroups.com
• Episcopal Ecological Network Online
• National Council of Churches of Christ Eco-Justice Programs: Justice for God's Planet and God's People

On September 20, the House of Bishops, while meeting in Quito, Ecuador, issued a pastoral teaching on the environment. You may read the full text of the letter at this link: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/newsline_129891_ENG_HTM.htm

Some excerpts:

"This is the appointed time for all God’s children to work for the common goal of renewing the earth as a hospitable abode for the flourishing of all life. We are called to speak and act on behalf of God’s good creation."

"This is why the Church prays regularly for the peace of the whole world, for seasonable weather and an abundance of the fruits of the earth, for a just sharing of resources, and for the safety of all who suffer. This includes our partner creatures: animals, birds, and fish who are being killed or made sick by the long-term effects of deforestation, oil spills, and a host of other ways in which we intentionally and unintentionally destroy or poison their habitat."

"Our churches must become places where we have honest debates about, and are encouraged to live into, more sustainable ways of living. God calls us to die to old ways of thinking and living and be raised to new life with renewed hearts and minds."

"Our current environmental challenges call us to ongoing forms of repentance: we must turn ourselves around, and come to think, feel, and act in new ways. Ancient wisdom and spiritual disciplines from our faith offer deep resources to help address this environmental crisis. Time-honored practices of fasting, Sabbath-keeping, and Christ-centered mindfulness bear particular promise for our time."