Care for Creation: An Ecumenical Endeavor?

By Rev. Mary M. Finklea

At the National Workshop on Christian Unity, I recently attended a session entitled “Declaration and Call to Action to Care for Creation”. We read from the encyclical letter from Pope Francis, Laudato Si, and listened to speakers form Catholic Climate Covenant. Lutherans talked about our 1993 social statement, “Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope, and Justice”. Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists and the Orthodox all joined in on sharing recent work on caring for God’s creation. Notably, the dialogue kept circling back to caring for the poor, as environmental injustice seems to impact the poor and marginalized at a higher rate. The care, preservation, protection, and advocacy for the earth and its resources are grounded in the principle that God is Creator. God charged humankind with stewardship of the earth, and this is common ground for our Christian brothers and sisters. I would encourage you to think about ways you can partner with your ecumenical friends as you respond to the call to care for creation. Maybe you can Adopt a Highway with a neighboring congregation or host a litter walk together. Maybe you can share information about energy audits that save money and energy! Maybe you can share a plot at the community garden. Get creative and think about ways you can work smarter, together, in making a difference for the care of creation.

Contact Rev. Mary Finklea at pastorfinklea@bellsouth.net and check out www.elca.org/ecumenical for guidance and encouragement. Also, consider contacting Rev. Kris Litman-Koon at Pastor.KLK@gmail.com who is leading our synodical Creation Care Team for more information.