The
Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA)
The
Episcopal Church House of Bishops, meeting in Province IX,
Quito, Ecuador, issued the following Pastoral Teaching:
A Pastoral Teaching from the House of
Bishops of The Episcopal Church
Quito, Ecuador, September 2011
We, your bishops, believe these words of Jeremiah describe these times
and call us to repentance as we face the unfolding environmental crisis
of the earth:
How
long will the land mourn, and the grass of every field wither?
For the
wickedness of those who live in it the animals and the birds
are swept away, and because people said, “He is blind to our
ways.” (Jeremiah 12:4)
The mounting
urgency of our environmental crisis challenges us at this time to
confess “our self-indulgent appetites and ways,” “our
waste and pollution of God’s creation,” and “our
lack of concern for those who come after us” (Ash Wednesday
Liturgy, Book of Common Prayer, p. 268). It also challenges us
to amend our
lives and to work for environmental justice and for more environmentally
sustainable practices.
Christians cannot be indifferent to global warming, pollution,
natural resource depletion, species extinctions, and habitat destruction,
all of which threaten life on our planet. Because so many of these
threats
are driven by greed, we must also actively seek to create more
compassionate
and sustainable economies that support the well-being of all God’s
creation.
We are especially called to pay heed to the suffering of the earth.
The Anglican Communion Environmental Network calls to mind the
dire consequences our environment faces: “We know that . . . we are
now demanding more than [the earth] is able to provide. Science confirms
what we already know: our human footprint is changing the face of the
earth and because we come from the earth, it is changing us too. We
are engaged in the process of destroying our very being. If we cannot
live in harmony with the earth, we will not live in harmony with one
another.” (i)
This is the appointed time for all God’s children to work for
the common goal of renewing the earth as a hospitable abode for the
flourishing of all life. We are called to speak and act on behalf of
God’s good creation.
Looking back to the creation accounts in Genesis, we see God’s
creation was “very good,” providing all that humans would
need for abundant, peaceful life. In creating the world God’s
loving concern extended to the whole of it, not just to humans. And
the scope of God’s redemptive love in Christ is equally broad:
the Word became incarnate in Christ not just for our sake, but for
the salvation of the whole world. In the Book of Revelation we read
that God will restore the goodness and completeness of creation in
the “new Jerusalem.” Within this new city, God renews and
redeems the natural world rather than obliterating it. We now live
in that time between God’s creation of this good world and its
final redemption: “The whole creation has been groaning in labor
pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have
the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for .
. . the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:22-3).
Affirming the biblical witness to God’s abiding and all-encompassing
love for creation, we recognize that we cannot separate ourselves as
humans from the rest of the created order. The creation story itself
presents the interdependence of all God’s creatures in their
wonderful diversity and fragility, and in their need of protection
from dangers of many kinds. This is why the Church prays regularly
for the peace of the whole world, for seasonable weather and an
abundance of the fruits of the earth, for a just sharing of resources,
and
for the safety of all who suffer. This includes our partner creatures:
animals, birds, and fish who are being killed or made sick by the
long-term
effects of deforestation, oil spills, and a host of other ways
in which we intentionally and unintentionally destroy or poison
their
habitat.
One of the most dangerous and daunting challenges we face is global
climate change. This is, at least in part, a direct result of our burning
of fossil fuels. Such human activities could raise worldwide average
temperatures by three to eleven degrees Fahrenheit in this century.
Rising average temperatures are already wreaking environmental havoc,
and, if unchecked, portend devastating consequences for every aspect
of life on earth. The Church has always had as one of its priorities
a concern for the poor and the suffering. Therefore, we need not agree
on the fundamental causes of human devastation of the environment,
or on what standard of living will allow sustainable development, or
on the roots of poverty in any particular culture, in order to work
to minimize the impact of climate change. It is the poor and the disadvantaged
who suffer most from callous environmental irresponsibility. Poverty
is both a local and a global reality. A healthy economy depends absolutely
on a healthy environment.
The wealthier nations whose industries have exploited the environment,
and who are now calling for developing nations to reduce their
impact on the environment, seem to have forgotten that those who
consume
most of the world’s resources also have contributed the most pollution
to the world’s rivers and oceans, have stripped the world’s
forests of healing trees, have destroyed both numerous species and
their habitats, and have added the most poison to the earth’s
atmosphere. We cannot avoid the conclusion that our irresponsible
industrial production and consumption-driven economy lie at the
heart of the current
environmental crisis.
Privileged Christians in our present global context need to move
from a culture of consumerism to a culture of conservation and
sharing. The challenge is to examine one’s own participation
in ecologically destructive habits. Our churches must become places
where we have
honest debates about, and are encouraged to live into, more sustainable
ways
of living. God calls us to die to old ways of thinking and living
and be raised to new life with renewed hearts and minds.
Although many issues divide us as people of faith, unprecedented ecumenical
and interfaith cooperation is engaging the concern to protect our planet.
And yet, efforts to stop environmental degradation must not be simply
imposed from above. Those most affected must have a hand in shaping
decisions. For example, we welcome efforts in the United States to
involve Native American tribal leaders and to empower local community
organizations to address environmental issues. Similar strategies need
to be employed in myriad communities in various locales.
Our current environmental challenges call us to ongoing forms of repentance:
we must turn ourselves around, and come to think, feel, and act in
new ways. Ancient wisdom and spiritual disciplines from our faith offer
deep resources to help address this environmental crisis. Time-honored
practices of fasting, Sabbath-keeping, and Christ-centered mindfulness
bear particular promise for our time.
Fasting disciplines and heals our wayward desires and appetites,
calling us to balance our individual needs with God’s will
for the whole world. In fasting we recognize that human hungers
require more than
filling the belly. In God alone are our desires finally fulfilled.
Commended in the Book of Common Prayer, fasting is grounded in
the practices of Israel, taught by Jesus, and sustained in Christian
tradition. The ecological crisis extends and deepens the significance
of such
fasting as a form of self-denial: those who consume more than their
fair share must learn to exercise self-restraint so that the whole
community of creation might be sustained.
Sabbath-keeping is rooted in the Book of Genesis, where the seventh
day is the day in which God, humans, and the rest of creation are
in right relationship. In our broken world, keeping the Sabbath
is a way
of remembering and anticipating that world for which God created
us. Sabbath requires rest, that we might remember our rightful
place as
God’s creatures in relationship with every other creature
of God. Such rest implicitly requires humans to live lightly on
the
face of the earth, neither to expend energy nor to consume it,
not to work
for gain alone, but to savor the grace and givenness of creation.
The practice of Christ-centered mindfulness, that is, the habitual
recollection of Christ, calls believers to a deepened awareness of
the presence of God in their own lives, in other people, and in every
aspect of the world around us. Such spiritual perception should make
faithful people alert to the harmful effects of our lifestyles, attentive
to our carbon footprint and to the dangers of overconsumption. It should
make us profoundly aware of the gift of life and less prone to be ecologically
irresponsible in our consumption and acquisition.
In assuming with new vigor our teaching office, we, your bishops,
commit ourselves to a renewal of these spiritual practices in our
own lives,
and invite you to join us in this commitment for the good of our
souls and the life of the world. Moreover, in order to honor the
goodness
and sacredness of God’s creation, we, as brothers and sisters
in Christ, commit ourselves and urge every Episcopalian:
- To acknowledge
the urgency of the planetary crisis in which we find ourselves, and
to repent of any and all acts of greed,
overconsumption,
and waste that have contributed to it;
- To lift
up prayers in personal and public worship for environmental justice,
for sustainable development, and for help in restoring
right relations both among humankind and between humankind
and the rest of
creation;
- To take
steps in our individual lives, and in community, public policy, business,
and other forms of corporate
decision-making, to practice
environmental stewardship and justice, including
(1) a commitment
to energy conservation and the use of clean, renewable
sources of energy;
and (2) efforts to reduce, reuse, and recycle, and
whenever possible to buy products made from recycled materials;
- To seek
to understand and uproot the political, social, and economic causes
of environmental destruction and
abuse; (ii)
To advocate for a “fair, ambitious, and binding” climate
treaty, and to work toward climate justice
through reducing our own carbon footprint and
advocating for those most negatively
affected by climate change.
May God
give us the grace to heed the warnings of Jeremiah and to accept
the gracious invitation of the incarnate Word to
live, in, with, and
through him, a life of grace for the whole world, that thereby
all the earth may be restored and humanity filled with hope.
Rejoicing
in your works, O Lord, send us forth with your Spirit to renew
the face of the earth, that the world may once again be filled
with your
good things: the trees watered abundantly, springs rushing
between the hills in verdant valleys, all the earth made fruitful,
your
manifold creatures, birds, beasts, and humans, all quenching
their thirst and
receiving their nourishment from you once again in due season
(Psalm 104).
_________________________
(i) From “The Hope We Share: A Vision for Copenhagen,” a
statement from the Anglican Communion Environmental Network in
preparation for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCC),
December 2009.
(ii) We are indebted to the Episcopal Bishops of New England
for their earlier 2003 Pastoral Letter, “To Serve Christ in All Creation.” Several
of these “commitments” and other phrases herein are
quotations or adaptations of their work.
The
Lambeth Conference is a gathering of all bishops
of the Provinces and dioceses of the worldwide Anglical Communion,
which meets every 10 years at Canterbury, England.
See LambethResolution
on the Environment (1988, 1991) and “Affirm
Environmental Responsibility and Establish an Environmental Stewardship
Team” (1991) http://www.episcopalchurch.org/1829_ENG_HTM.htm
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr
Rowan Williams, head of the Church of England and leader
of the Anglican communion, tells us
that the climate crisis a chance to become human again. People
can use the climate change crisis
as an opportunity to set aside the addictive
and self-destructive behavior that has damaged their souls. Dr
Williams told
an audience at Southwark Cathedral that people had allowed
themselves to become "addicted to fantasies about prosperity and growth,
dreams of wealth without risk and profit without cost".
The consequences of such a lifestyle meant the human soul was "one
of the foremost casualties of environmental degradation".
See complete article
Anglican
position on Climate Change: The Hope We Share: A Vision
For Copenhagen A Statement from the Anglican
Communion Environmental Network In preparation for the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference Of
Parties (COP) Meetings, Copenhagen, Denmark, Dec. 2009
To Anglicans Worldwide (view
document)
Episcopal
Ecological Network: http://eenonline.org/
In
2005 the Committee on Science, Technology and Faith of the Episcopal
Church USA published
the Catechism of Creation for
study in congregations. It is written in question-and-answer
format, like traditional catechisms.
Part I builds upon the Bible’s basic doctrine of creation.
Part II outlines the contemporary scientific worldview, including
the Big
Bang and the evolution of life. Part III presents the biblical roots
for environmental care. The new Catechism offers a contemporary Christian
theology of nature, illustrating how faith and science relate and
are complementary.
Download the Catechism
Stewardship of Water Resources
Resolved, that the 74th General Convention urge dioceses, congregations,
and communicants to regard water resources as precious, and to recognize
that the right use of water is an explicit means to show love for
one's neighbor, since water connects people and all creatures throughout
the global community; and be it further
Resolved, that the 74th General Convention encourage dioceses, congregations,
and communicants to become active stewards of their water resources
through conservation efforts including reduction of consumption;
through examination of water discharge such that contaminated water
does not improperly leave church grounds; and through the creation
of environmental programs for stewardship of water and the whole
of creation and for the education of congregants in regard to good
and faithful stewardship of the earth's resources; and be it further
Resolved, that the General Convention encourage dioceses, congregations,
and communicants to undertake one or more of the following four stewardship
steps:
- When
and where possible, install water-saving devices, such as low-flow
commodes and aspirators on sink faucets.
- Replant
church grounds and home gardens with plants and trees that are
drought-tolerant and have low needs for water,
and
that are native to the region and therefore able to survive local climatic
conditions.
- Devise
drainage systems that allow rainwater to flow from gutters and
drain pipes to spread onto the lawn and landscaped
areas of church grounds and home gardens, thereby reducing water lost to
sewer systems.
- Pave
new or repave existing parking lots with materials that are pervious,
so that water penetrates into soil beneath
parking areas, thereby reducing the flow of oil and other auto fluids into
streams.
Source: General Convention, Journal of the General Convention
of...The Episcopal Church, Minneapolis, 2003 (New York:
General Convention, 2004), p. 314f
The Episcopal Church
St. James
Episcopal Church, Roanoke, VA
