For much of the modern period in Western society—roughly the last three centuries—many Christians have imagined the realm of nature like a “stage” for the human drama, or more severely, as a “warehouse” of resources for us to use. This stands in stark contrast to more ancient Christian worldviews in which human beings are embedded in the wider world of God’s creation. In that older perspective, the natural world around us is the place of divine encounter, where we meet the One who made us as well as all those many “other creatures of the same God.”
Today, in the midst of not just climate change, but the runaway train of climate chaos, Christian faith communities can and must bear witness to our shared vocation to care deeply about this “fragile Earth, our island home” (a phrase that comes from Eucharistic Prayer “C” in The Book of Common Prayer). This calling will take a variety of forms, from public protest to writing letters to our elected representatives, and from tending damaged ecosystems to the many projects undertaken and currently planned by our own Creation Care team here at All Saints’ Parish.
All Saints’ is recognized as a Green Faith Congregation by Interfaith Action of SW Michigan.
Creation Care Contact: Lisa Baker – michigan.bakers@yahoo.com – 630-461-9686 (mobile) – 269-857-5201 (parish office)
“When nature is viewed solely as a source of profit and gain, this has serious consequences for society. This has engendered immense inequality, injustice and acts of violence against the majority of humanity and all nature… Completely at odds with this model are the ideals of harmony, justice, fraternity and peace as proposed by Jesus.”
— Pope Francis, Laudato Si’