Stories From the Field

Earth Month may be winding to a close, but the work of creating environmentally sustainable communities is picking up speed!

Over the past two Sundays I was privileged to visit St. James Cathedral and Wedgwood Community Church, both vibrant congregations in Seattle. On both occasions, I was struck by the incredible energy that seems to be moving people to create dialogue and action in the realm of faith and environment.

In the case of St. James, their Environmental Justice Group teamed up with the Health and Healing Ministry to host a very well attended Environmental Health Fair. The parish has held a health-specific fair for several years now, but this year they were able to raise awareness around the connections between the health of the environment and the wellbeing of all God’s creatures.

Yesterday I was able to contribute to the month-long “Sustainable Living as a Spiritual Practice” discussion happening at Wedgwood Community Church. Each of the four sermons during the month of April dealt with different perspectives on why Christians should care for the Earth. There have also been various congregation-wide discussions about Creation care during fellowship hour, including my presentation yesterday about ideas for individual, congregational, and systemic action. Finally, to bring it all together, next Sunday church members will gather for an Environmental Summit to create a plan for their community practice of sustainable living!

My stories are of just two among the many communities Earth Ministry staff have reached out to during the month of April—there are many other exciting stories of faithful people honoring the Earth and asking, “What can I do to help? How can I act to protect the goodness of God’s Creation?”

Go! Ask the questions! Create a new story in your faith community!