Methodist Church and Environment - Winter 2010
2
©2010 by Morehouse education resources • all rights reserved • www.livingthegoodn ews.coM • 1-800-242-1918 Wr A • 2010-2011 John Wesley amously o nce observed that “cleanliness is indeed next to godliness.” And he wasn ’t just s peaking about personal hygiene. He was calling on England to clean up the open sewers, the squalor and the lth in which so many were orced to live. Tose who have come ater him have carried on his concern about care or the natural environment. Te United Methodist Church has a well-developed theology o environmental stewardship, and the church has been in the oreront o environmental activism in the aith community. Te Social Principles, as adopted at the 2008 General Conerence, called on all Methodist to “recognize the responsibility o the church and its members to place a high priority on changes in the economic, political, social and technological liestyles to support a more ecologi- cally equitable and sustainable world leading to a higher quality o lie or all o God’s children. ” Te 2008 document specically spelled out, among other things, support or policies to reduce and control industrial waste, or preservations o old-growth orests, or the preservation o endangered plants and animals, or mandatory reductions in greenhouse gases, or more rigorous ood saety inspections, and or the development o renewable energy sources. Around the country , this has played itsel out in a variety o ways as Methodist bishops, conerences, parishes and individuals have all struggled to nd ways to turn church teaching into church action. Some examples: In Caliornia, the United Methodist Church o Santa ◆ Cruz is building a new, environmentally-riendly building that will house three merged congregations. Te building will ollow the U.S. Green Building Council’ s guidelines to attain the highest po ssible rating. Its eatures include solar thermal and ground source heating, a cistern to capture rainwater or on-site irrigation, low-ow xtures and waterless urinals, a “living garden” roo, all o which are designed to result in zero electric costs over the course o the year. Te church will also be built to encourage the use o public transportation and bikes. In Kansas, Grace UMC in Olathe hosted a “Green ◆ Day at Grace” that included presentations rom master gardeners, composting and recycling tips, and canning and ood preservation advice. In Illinois, the First UMC o Downer’ s Grove hosted ◆ a day-long “Care or Creation ” seminar that included workshops on renewable energy, disaster preparedness and ood preparation. In Virginia, more than two do zen churches have ◆ signed the Virginia Conerence’ s “Green Church Initiative Covenant, ” and committed themselves to nding ways to care or creation. Te Wesley United Methodist Church in Winchester, V a., has planted a church garden. Te Drummondtown UMC taught youngsters about care or creation at its V acation Bible School this summer. Te Lebanon UMC in Hanover, Va., has created a Sunday School curriculum to raise awareness o the sacredness o God’s creations. Te Bon Air UMC in Richmond is celebrating a our-Sunday “Season o Creation” during which the liturgical theme will be environmental stewardship. In Massachusetts, Marla Marcum too k a year’ s leave ◆ rom her doctoral studies at Boston University School o Teology to work with the Leadership Campaign, a coalition organized by Students or a Just & Stable Future, which seeks to expand the use o “clean electricity ” throughout the s tate. Marcum, who chairs the climate change task orce or the United Methodist New England Conerence, told the United Methodist News Service, “It’s always been really clear to me that my aith calls me to look around (to see) who benets and who sufers under the conditions we’ve created in our society.” Marcum and other students have gone so ar as to sleep outside rather than sleep in dorm rooms “powered by dirty energy,” she said. In 2009, the United Methodist Council o Bishops, ◆ stating that they “cann ot remain silent while God’s people and God’s planet sufer,” released a pastoral letter to be read aloud in every United Methodist church calling on the church to recommit itsel to the principal o “envir onmental holiness.” Methodists and the Environment SR-00-WA-10-M-MethodiStS And the enviRonMent
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Transcript of Methodist Church and Environment - Winter 2010
8/7/2019 Methodist Church and Environment - Winter 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/methodist-church-and-environment-winter-2010 1/2
©2010 by Morehouse education resources • all rights reserved • www.livingthegoodnews.coM • 1-800-242-1918
Wr A • 2010-20
John Wesley amously once observed that “cleanliness isindeed next to godliness.” And he wasn’t just speaking
about personal hygiene. He was calling on England toclean up the open sewers, the squalor and the lth in which so many were orced to live.
Tose who have come ater him have carried on hisconcern about care or the natural environment. TeUnited Methodist Church has a well-developed theology o environmental stewardship, and the church has beenin the oreront o environmental activism in the aithcommunity.
Te Social Principles, as adopted at the 2008 General
Conerence, called on all Methodist to “recognize theresponsibility o the church and its members to place ahigh priority on changes in the economic, political, socialand technological liestyles to support a more ecologi-cally equitable and sustainable world leading to a higherquality o lie or all o God’s children.”
Te 2008 document specically spelled out, amongother things, support or policies to reduce and controlindustrial waste, or preservations o old-growth orests,or the preservation o endangered plants and animals,or mandatory reductions in greenhouse gases, or more
rigorous ood saety inspections, and or the developmento renewable energy sources.
Around the country, this has played itsel out in a variety o ways as Methodist bishops, conerences, parishes andindividuals have all struggled to nd ways to turn churchteaching into church action.
Some examples:
In Caliornia, the United Methodist Church o Santa◆
Cruz is building a new, environmentally-riendly building that will house three merged congregations.
Te building will ollow the U.S. Green BuildingCouncil’s guidelines to attain the highest possiblerating. Its eatures include solar thermal and groundsource heating, a cistern to capture rainwater oron-site irrigation, low-ow xtures and waterlessurinals, a “living garden” roo, all o which aredesigned to result in zero electric costs over the courseo the year. Te church will also be built to encouragethe use o public transportation and bikes.
In Kansas, Grace UMC in Olathe hosted a “Green◆
Day at Grace” that included presentations rom
master gardeners, composting and recycling tips, andcanning and ood preservation advice.
In Illinois, the First UMC o Downer’s Grove hosted◆
a day-long “Care or Creation” seminar that included workshops on renewable energy, disaster preparednessand ood preparation.
In Virginia, more than two dozen churches have◆
signed the Virginia Conerence’s “Green ChurchInitiative Covenant,” and committed themselves tonding ways to care or creation. Te Wesley United
Methodist Church in Winchester, Va., has planted achurch garden. Te Drummondtown UMC taughtyoungsters about care or creation at its VacationBible School this summer. Te Lebanon UMC inHanover, Va., has created a Sunday School curriculumto raise awareness o the sacredness o God’s creations.Te Bon Air UMC in Richmond is celebrating aour-Sunday “Season o Creation” during which theliturgical theme will be environmental stewardship.
In Massachusetts, Marla Marcum took a year’s leave◆
rom her doctoral studies at Boston University School
o Teology to work with the Leadership Campaign,a coalition organized by Students or a Just & StableFuture, which seeks to expand the use o “cleanelectricity” throughout the state. Marcum, whochairs the climate change task orce or the UnitedMethodist New England Conerence, told the UnitedMethodist News Service, “It’s always been really clearto me that my aith calls me to look around (to see) who benets and who sufers under the conditions we’ve created in our society.” Marcum and otherstudents have gone so ar as to sleep outside ratherthan sleep in dorm rooms “powered by dirty energy,”
she said.
In 2009, the United Methodist Council o Bishops,◆
stating that they “cannot remain silent while God’speople and God’s planet sufer,” released a pastoralletter to be read aloud in every United Methodistchurch calling on the church to recommit itsel to theprincipal o “environmental holiness.”
Methodists and the Environment
SR-00-WA-10-M-MethodiStS And the enviRonMent
8/7/2019 Methodist Church and Environment - Winter 2010
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/methodist-church-and-environment-winter-2010 2/2
©2010 by Morehouse education resources • all rights reserved • www.livingthegoodnews.coM • 1-800-242-1918
Wr A • 2010-20
In short, United Methodists are joining with people o aith across the globe to adopt sustainable liestyles, care
or creation and go green.
A good source for more information and resources for con-gregations and individuals is “God’s Renewed Creation:
Call to Hope and Action,” (hopeandaction.org/main/) aproject of the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist
Church. Te website contains many resources, study guides, news items and other congregations materials topromote environmental stewardship at all levels of thechurch.
Methodists and the Environment
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“All creation is the Lord’s,and we are responsible
for the ways we use and abuse it.Water, air, soil, minerals, energy resources,
plants, animal life, and space are to be valued and conserved because they are God’s creation
and not solely because
they are useful to human beings.God has granted us stewardship of creation.
We should meet these stewardship duties through acts of loving care and respect.”
––Methodist Social Principles Te Natural World (#160)
The Book of Discipline of Te United Methodist Church
