Taking care of creation

MICHELE MARR

St. Augustine, in his “Confessions,” recounts looking to the earth,

the sea, the sun, the moon and the stars and to all the creatures

that inhabit the earth and the sea, seeking God.

But, one by one, they told him, “No, we are not the God for whom

you are looking.” So Augustine replied, “Tell me something about my

God, you who are not He.” And all of God’s creation answered St.

Augustine, “He made us.”

The story explains why Christians do not deify nature; they

worship the creator, not what he created, which at times causes them

to view issues of environmental conservation and protection with a

measure of mistrust, suspecting their roots have grown from pagan or

animistic traditions.

Yet Christians, in worshiping the creator, are hardly exempt from

caring for his creation. When God created mankind, according to

Genesis, he created man “in his own image; in the image of God he

created him; male and female He created them.”

And then, “God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful

and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the

fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living

thing that moves on the earth.’” Genesis 1:27-28

God gave mankind dominion over these things, but the whole of

Scripture makes it clear that this dominion is a privilege, which

comes with the responsibility to be good stewards of God’s creation,

not a license to wanton misuse.

In this spirit, St. Wilfrid of York Episcopal Church will, on

Saturday, host the sixth annual “Caring for Creation Conference”

presented by the Orange County Interfaith Coalition for the

Environment.

Margaret Henke, one of three people who founded the interfaith

coalition six years ago, said, “Almost all faith communities have

something in their background about caring for the earth and being

good stewards, so we try emphasize this issue because it’s something

we all have in common and it’s something we can all work together

on.”

The coalition now has a mailing list of close to 700, said Henke,

who co-chairs the nonprofit organization with Sherri Loveland. “It’s

an idea that’s catching on.”

The conference consists of an address by a keynote speaker and

nine workshops, from which participants can select two, one for each

morning and afternoon session. It includes a continental breakfast

and lunch.

As keynote speaker for this year’s conference, Rabbi Daniel

Swartz, executive director of the Children’s Environmental Health

Network -- a national organization based in Washington, D.C., devoted

to protecting children from environmental threats through research,

professional education, public outreach and child-protective policies

-- will speak on children’s environmental health in faith, practice

and policy in his address, “Justice, Justice Shall You Pursue:

Environmental Health Across Generations.”

Swartz, who was previously the associate director of the National

Religious Partnership for the Environment, earned a bachelor’s degree

in environmental studies from Brown University and is the author of

“To Till and To Tend: A Guide for Jewish Environmental Study and

Action” and the essay, “Jews, Jewish Texts, and Nature: A Brief

History,” which appears in “This Sacred Earth: Religion, Nature,

Environment.” He also wrote the afterward for “The Lost Gospel,”

former California state senator Tom Hayden’s book on religion and the

environment.

Under Swartz’ direction, the Children’s Environmental Health

Network -- whose work led to the development of the Environmental

Protection Agency’s Office of Children’s Health protection and

Pediatric Environmental Health Research Centers of Excellence -- has

expanded its work in translating research to health care

professionals, policy makers, faith communities and community

leaders, targeting outreach efforts to those disproportionately

exposed to environmental health hazards.

“We feel [caring for creation] is a moral issue,” Henke said. “If

religious groups feel that God created the earth then we should

certainly be taking better care of it than we are. We try to

encourage environmental ministries groups starting up in different

congregations.”

Past conferences have offered a workshop on how to start a

ministry in a local congregation and, as a result, a number of

churches have established grass-root, environmental ministries.

Workshops at Saturday’s conference will include “Renewable Energy

Solutions for the Highway and Home,” presented by Bob Siebert of

Energy Efficiency and Linda Nicholes of the Earth Resource

Foundation; “Healthy Watersheds and Community Stewardship”;

“Children’s Environmental Health in Faith, Practice and Policy,”

presented by Rabbi Daniel Swartz and M. Jane Mueller from the

National Council of Catholic Women; “Our Human Future: Returning to

Wholeness”; “Drought Tolerant Plants,” presented by Tom Ash from the

Irvine Ranch Water District; “Our Synthetic Oceans” presented by

Charles Moore of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation and

Stephanie Barger of the Earth Resource Foundation; and an “Interfaith

Panel on the Environment.”

“Our Synthetic Oceans” will offer a showing of the acclaimed

environmental short film, “Synthetic Sea,” produced by Macdonald

Productions, an independent producer of televised documentaries.

Many exhibits, books, tapes and videos on environmental issues

will also be available at the conference.

A short tribute to the late Lou Smith, who for years served on the

board of Orange County Interfaith Coalition for the Environment, will

be presented by Rabbi Steve Einstein of Congregation B’nai Tzedek.

St. Wilfrid of York Episcopal Church is at 18631 Chapel Lane, near

Beach and Ellis. Registration is $30 at the door, $15 for students.

For more information on the one-day conference, call Margaret Henke

at (714) 731-6775 or Sheri Loveland at (714) 552-0333, or visit

https://www.ocice.org, for a downloadable brochure.

* MICHELE MARR is a freelance writer from Huntington Beach. She

can be reached at [email protected].