Part Three on a Theology of Creation
Becoming Caring Stewards of Creation
“There’s no use talking about the problem unless you talk about the solution.”
- Betty Williams
I recently accompanied my wife on a trip to Auto & Scrap Recyclers here in Milwaukee. In
tow we had an 11-year-old unrepairable dehumidifier, a burned out electric jig saw, and a
large bag of aluminum cans. I was doubtful that a large auto recycling yard would interested in
our minimal fare of metal. To my surprise when we arrived we were courteously told to drive
around to a small shed in back that dealt with small items such as ours. There, we were
helped in separating out little treasures into respective bins which were each weighed and
given a value. Turns out our items had a net worth of $3.00, and we were given that amount in
cash.
Driving home, I had this overwhelming feeling that we had just done something that really
mattered. I knew that we had established a habit that was going to forever be a part of our
lives. I also realized that my stewardship habits had a long way to go towards full
development.
That fact was confirmed by a “practicing simplicity” list that I just read about by Quaker Richard Foster. Of Foster’s ten suggestions,
the one that hit me the hardest was: Learn the difference between a real need and an addition. Then find support and accountability to
regain “sobriety,” freedom from addition. I’m addicted to stuff. Comedian George Carlin had a great routine where he poked fun of our
addiction to stuff. He said “we lock our homes so nobody will steal our stuff, so we can go out and buy more stuff.” He said, “We are
addicted to saving our really good stuff (like our old fourth grade math papers, and all the old gadgets we longer use – perhaps never
really needed); and so we have to move into bigger homes because we need more space to keep our stuff.”
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Becoming Caring Stewards of Creation, continued
In part one and two of this series, we were reminded how our Christian heritage has evolved to an understanding that our Creator is
actually enmeshed in the stuff of creation. We, God and our stuff are all connected into a kind of “one-ness.” The moral implication of
that is that nothing is ultimately disposable. We are all related in a common Eco-Creation that is somehow permeated with Divine Life.
This really is an amazingly new idea to our Western sense of dominance consciousness.
So what are the implications of this?
Last month Bob Pavlik gave the Green Team a helpful book entitled, Fostering Sustainable Behavior by Doug McKenzie-Mohr. The
Betty Williams quote at the beginning of this article is from his book. The book is about strategies to practically sustain sustainable
habits. He suggests that guilt based approaches, such as “information based campaigns,” and “environmental attitudes campaigns” and
“economic self-interest” approaches do not usually change behaviors.
Instead, McKenzie-Mohr advocates what he calls “Community-Based Social Marketing.” What he means by this is that to more
effectively actually change behaviors one must:
1. Select the particular behavior you want to change.
2. Identify barriers and benefits.
3. Develop strategies.
4. Initiate a pilot.
5. Do broad scale implementation and evaluation.
If we at Christ Church were to adopt such a process we could (for example) decide, with Green Team and Vestry and Clergy support, to
work at enabling all of us to begin recycling all of our no longer useful stuff containing metal to get recycled. Back in the 70’s Christ
Church did a massive glass recycling process that filled a downstairs room almost to the ceiling. Our youth then took responsibility for
trucking the glass to a recycling center. It was a highly acclaimed success. The problem was we only did it once; It did not become a
habitual part of our corporate life.
I wonder what creative strategies we might come up with in the months and years ahead. I believe we are at a tipping point with regards
to the future eco health of our earth. Is it possible that together we might continue to change our stewardship behaviors?
Below are a few more excerpts from our Episcopal Church’s Catechism of Creation which relate to our call to care for God’s and ours
created order.
Why is this a time in which Christians should be especially concerned with the state of God’s earth?
By the end of the twentieth century the human population had grown to six billion and by the mid twenty-first century it may increase to
nine billion. These huge increases and the economic development that accompany them are harming the earth’s ability to support both
the human population and the rest of God’s creatures. Thousands of species are dying off as they are being hunted or their habitats
degraded or destroyed. The earth’s air, waters, forests and soils are suffering more and more pollution and depletion. Less land for
farming is available to feed this huge and growing population, and disease, malnutrition and starvation are ever-present facts for
millions of people. Greatly expanding usage of fossil fuels contributes to global warming, with consequences not yet fully understood
but possibly severe for the whole earth. The very beauty of the earth is in peril. Furthermore, the vast majority of earth’s human
population is made up of the poor, those on whom God’s heart is especially fixed, as Jesus taught, and they suffer in greater
proportions from this “groaning” of creation (Rom. 8:22).
What has science taught us about our relationship with the earth and its other creatures?
Science has taught us two important facts. First, all creatures including ourselves; bacteria, archaebacteria, protists, fungi, plants and
animals; are genetically related. Second, all living beings are bound together in countless ecological communities of life. Therefore,
when we exercise stewardship, we are caring for an earth in which God has made everything interdependent. How we carry out our
vocation to stewardship has great consequences for ourselves and for all of God’s creatures on this good earth.
How can we as members of the Body of Christ act in all our caring for creation?
As individuals we can choose lives of voluntary simplicity, rejecting habits of wasteful consumption and making thoughtful choices for
decent living. As congregations we can practice conservation and care wisely for our church properties. As individuals and
congregations, we can become examples and provide leadership to our local communities of wise stewardship. Likewise, we can seek
to influence our governments to develop wise environmental policies.
God of all power, Ruler of the Universe
you are worthy of glory and praise.
Glory to you for ever and ever.
At your command all things came to be:
the vast expanse of interstellar space,
galaxies, suns, the planets in their courses,
and this fragile earth, our island home.
By your will they were created and have their being.
(Eucharistic Prayer C, Book of Common Prayer, p. 370)
Ed Leidel
Bishop (retired) in residence at Christ Church