Creation in Education

The people of the United Methodist Church: Environmental Justice for a Sustainable Future.

2010-04-21T12:48:00.001-07:00

This social statement is not too unlike the ELCA’s own statement. It points out that we, as humans, are given dominion over the Earth by God in Genesis. It mentions that there are 1.2 billion people that live in poverty around the world. The statement lays out how we have gotten to this point. Over use and rapid population growth are among those reasons.
There is then a call for God’s forgiveness and confession of the transgressions against His creation. In this they claim that they have forgotten the good news that they are called to proclaim including the promise that Jesus Christ came to redeem all creation.
They say;
“We believe that at the center of the vision of shalom is the integration of environmental, economic, and social justice.
We are called to eliminate overconsumption as a lifestyle, thus using lower levels of finite natural resources.
We are called to seek a new lifestyle rooted in justice and peace.
We are called to establish new priorities in a world where 40,000 children die of hunger each day.
Therefore, we are called to a global sense of community and solidarity leading to a new world system of international relationships and economic/environmental order. In this way, the misery of 1.2 billion poor now living in absolute poverty can be alleviated and the living ecosystem be saved.”
“Principles for a Sustainable Future   The Social Principles of The United Methodist Church remind us that "all creation is the Lord's, and we are responsible for the ways in which we use and abuse it" (¶ 160). Development must be centered in the concept of sustainability as defined by the World Commission of Environment and Development: "to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." The Christian understanding of sustainability encompasses this concept. Fundamental to our call as faithful witnesses is the meeting of human needs within the capacity of ecosystems. This ensures the security of creation and a just relationship between all people. Sustainable development, therefore, looks toward a healthy future in three vital areas: the social community, the economy, and the environment.”
Much like the ELCA this statement calls for the people to get involved on an individual level, the churches to get involved at their level and for the big church to get involved. They stress that this is much more than a human issue but an issue about and around God’s creation. Over all it is a good statement, but like ours probably does not go far enough. The old adage of walk the talk, or put your money where your mouth is. In our denomination as well it is easy to do the politics but following through is another matter all together.
All quotes and paraphrases come from:
ADOPTED 1992, AMENDED AND READOPTED 2004
See Social Principles, ¶ 160.
From The Book of Resolutions of The United Methodist Church — 2004. Copyright © 2004 by The United Methodist Publishing House. Used by permission.

http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=4&mid=959

ELCA 1993 Social Statement

2010-04-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

Below is a one page rewrite of what the social statement says. I had to summarize it for conference that is on the 19th. If you read it before next week and find I should add something or there is any glaring mistakes please let me know so that can be done. Over all this social statement does a good job of stating why we need to practice care for creation, it gives suggestions on how as a church we should be going forward and more than that it gives some concrete ways that individual churches can get involved. Unfortunately it is a political document and does not quite go far enough and paint the true picture of the situation. Perhaps this is because it is 1993 or perhaps it is ...... Any way we need to be aware of what God is up to and how we can further this care for creation in our own context.

Food and Faith:
Ethical Dimensions of America’s Food System
An ELCA Perspective

“Given the power of sin and evil in this world, as well as the complexity of environmental problems, we know that we can find no ‘quick fix’ –whether technological, economic, or spiritual. A sustainable environment requires a sustained effort from everyone.
“The prospect of doing too little too late leads many people to despair. But as people of faith, captives of hope, and vehicles of God’s promise, we face this crisis.” (Social Statement on Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope, and Justice p. 12, ELCA 1993.)
We as a church take very seriously God’s command for humanity to have dominion over the Earth. This dominion is not dominance rather a responsibility to be good stewards of the land. We are to care for God’s creation in all aspects of our lives. We recognize that we can no longer look at the earth as a boundless warehouse that will continue to provide food and resources forever.
Our captivity and sin lie at the roots of this predicament. We have given into the temptation that more is better and in our push for more we have depleted our resources. Our wants have overtaken our needs. Our desire to have the best food and have it now have driven our economy and food production in such a way that keeping up with the demand has harmed the environment, and our constant push will eventually lead to an unsustainable system.
However, our tradition gives us hope. Hope that there is forgiveness of sins, hope that there is new life and hope that there is salvation. This hope comes through the precious blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross and through his resurrection. In Christ we are justified by grace through faith. This grace is a gift from God freely given out of His love for humanity and requires no effort of our own.
In this we are born into new life. It is with this new life that we find hope in our current situation. We are called to serve and keep the earth, trusting its bounty can be sufficient for all, and sustainable. For this to happen changes need to be made. The ELCA calls for a system of justice through participation, solidarity, sufficiency, and sustainability. We pray that we may be a place where differing groups may assemble and discuss the tough issues and that common good be pursued. We pray also for humility to stand with creation and the wisdom to care for it in proper ways. We pray that we may find the courage to change our ways public and private so that there would be enough. Finally, we pray for the inspiration and fortitude to treat our dominion with care and compassion.
To accomplish this we must commit as a church to act on many levels, as individuals, as worship and learning communities, as a committed community, as a community of moral deliberations, and as an advocate. As individual we can make care of creation choices in our own homes, things such as recycling, or buying locally grown products. As a worship community we must dedicate time to the education of care for creation practices, provide education and communication and provide and support programs throughout the year. As a committed community we will work toward sufficiency and sustainability through audits and evaluations. Through moral deliberation we will provide space and time that will allow differing viewpoints to come together for discussion. Finally, as advocates we will support those who work towards the goal of a sustainable food system both privately and publicly.

(All material and paraphrasing in this document are taken from Social Statement on Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope, and Justice, ELCA 1993)

Orr Book

2010-04-07T20:24:00.001-07:00

As I started to read “Earth In Mind” by David Orr all I could think of was, “The sky is falling, the sky is falling!!!!!!” It screamed of alertist rhetoric. All I could think is what have I gotten into, this leftist is going to rant for the next two hundred plus pages. But, I plodded forward none the less and I am glad that I did. Being from the conservative side I can appreciate much of what Orr has to say.
For starters Orr is a big picture guy. He has spent his life looking at the issues and gives an idea of what the world could look like. Orr not only gives a big picture but he also gives some practical ideas that would be important cogs in the system. For example his idea about ranking schools on things other than grad standards or ACT scores we should look at the waste they produce and how environmentally effective they are, this would cause for systematic change and also ensure that the students and teachers are aware of the issues at hand.
Orr posits that the problem with the system is the way that we educate. Not only is the system of education that is implemented not working we need to upset the apple cart and start over, before it is too late. As a former educator I can appreciate what he is saying. As teachers we are given a subject to teach and seem to fall into the textbook and what that says. You get into a grove. You concentrate on classroom management as much as content. Not only that, with things like No Child Let Behind and other state standards teachers are almost forced to teach to the test so that students can perform on the test. This, along with tenure, and what I call laminated lesson plans, leads to a lack of moving with the times.
We certainly have a need for the education to change. Another thing that I appreciated was that Orr points out that most of us live indoors most of the time and do not get out and appreciate God’s creation. Educational experiences like what we experience through Shalom Hill Farm, are exactly what he is talking about. It is interesting reading some of the blogs and how influential and formative our short weekend together was. For those that have not experienced it they will never know. It is why as a kid I always enjoyed when the flat-landers from St Louis churches would come to Colorado and experience back packing in the mountains. There is something to be said for being in God’s creation. I personally am at peace when I can spend some time with God in his place, mountains or prairies. While teaching I always try and remember that there are several learning styles and that those need to be attended to so that all learners can take the information in the most helpful way.
God created with just his words, God spoke and it was. This Creation he handed over to humanity to take care of. We are responsible for it and Orr, I believe, wants his readers to realize that the same old same old is not cutting it. We need radical change, and at the same time be attentive to the long range goals.
Over all a good read and informative.

Earth Care part 5

2010-04-07T19:15:00.000-07:00

Well the earth care has been slow in my house this last week or so. We have been doing a pretty good job of recycling but it seems that we must be using more of the materials that can be recycled because it seems that the kitchen is filling with cardboard boxes, plastic containers, paper and the like faster than it ever did when it was all going into the garbage. My son continues his practice of picking up the school yard and feels proud because of it. He does this in spite of all the people that were helping telling him it was getting boring and that they were going to do something else. He has a great heart and natural ability for these things. My daughter is becoming more and more attentive and does not truly understand still but knows that it is good for the fish in the lakes that we like to catch. This is the one who said to me on Good Friday, "it is ok daddy, Jesus had to die, so he can come alive on Sunday." From the mouths of babes.

Another practice that we soon will be adopting in down sizing and simplifying what we have in our storage and in life in general. I was placed as the next intern at Prairie STaR Ministries in Windom so we will be headed "South" for the next year. It is our hope between now and the time we move there to consolidate our vast network of storage units and take what we pear down with us. Please pray for us as we open boxes that I am sure have not been opened for over 3 years. our hope is to give what we can to families and individuals that need it and discard the rest. We are also committed to trying to be more attentive to care for creation practices. Once we are there we plan to buy part of a holy cow and I know my wife hopes there is a garden she can get her hands dirty in. Speaking of Holy Cows, Deans letter is very good and gets to the heart of the matter and if you have not already agreed to do so you should let him know you will sign on.

This should be my last post on this issue so I thought that I would summarize things. This task of recycling was a good one for us as a family. it provided something tangible that all could participate in. It will help as we move to the Prairie and adopt the care for creation practices there. Unfortunately, I have not expanded as much as I had hoped with this, but life has gotten in the way. Picking up trash around our building was an eye opener in how much waste can accumulate when we are not looking or paying attention. Mostly, it has just opened my eyes to the amount of reusable stuff that goes into the landfills on a daily basis and how relatively easy it is to take the extra step to help out, even my 4 year old can do it, or if you prefer it so easy a caveman can do it. So I sign off for now and hope to have my reviews of social statements and the Orr book review done soon.

Earth care

2010-03-25T09:13:00.000-07:00

As I reflect on the weekend at Shalom I am grateful for the time spent there and the people it was spent with. The variety of view points and our ability to discuss things was great. Linden was right when he said we need to come together and listen to each other.
Looking at my earth care practice the recycling is not yet a habit but it is getting nearer as I have my sons voice in my head and foot at my backside every time he catches me in the act of not recycling. My wife and daughter are also fully on board and we find ourselves looking for things that have been made from recycled goods. We do not purchase them often but it does bring up new discussion for us.
As a second grader it is not unusual for my son to come home and tell me what his recess group is for the week, it ranges from the cool group, to I am just playing with one person this week, or I just follow some friends around. Since the snow is gone I am proud to say that he is in the litter pick up group formed by him. He has been doing this about a week and what started as 2 is now 8. Last night he was complaining that two of the boys were trying to be captians of the group. I asked him what was more important being the leader or doing good for the Earth and he did not even think about it, he said earth. I think he is ok with knowing that he started it. He truly is a servant leader in the world and I could not be prouder.
As I cleaned out my car the other day, after 6 months or so, it struck me how easy it is to just throw stuff in the trash can. I found my self scrutinizing each thing I went to throw away and found my self thinking about the landfill it would go to. That scared me because those are not my thoughts. Even though I have had environmental science class, I have other things to be contemplating, like Moltmann. What is this class doing to me???????
Just joking I am very much enjoying the learnings that are taking place. Until next Blog.

Rick

Downstream

2010-03-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

Living Downstream

As I read this book I could not help but think how interconnected we all are. It took me back to, “for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction.” In college I was required to take two sciences, for my first I took physical science where we studied the basics of life forms. My second choice was environmental science. I mainly took it because I heard the professor was good and a B was pretty easy to get. As I read the book many of the things that we learned in that class came back. As she finishes the book she says, “Dust, Soil, Air. What I see are contours of home.”p272 In that class we studied the Oxygen cycles, Nitrogen cycles and how soil was a part of them. The purification process that God has in place is quite remarkable. However, as the author points out humans have stepped in and mucked it up. By adding all of the chemicals and other things to the ecosystem we have started something that we may not be able to control.
As an overall read I was skeptical coming into it. I figured it would be all statistics and how big government was to blame. But, what I got was a well thought out book that explains some of the problems and uncovers others, within government as well. The fact that we had knowledge of so many chemicals and did nothing for so long is alarming. My father was a cancer survivor for 20 years before the effects of the treatments finally did him in. I have had a friend and two grandparents die of the “C” word and am still left with the question, Why? In the book Steingrababer does a good job explaining how what is released can effect people all over. She uses technical terms but does not speak over the reader.
In relation to this class she opens my eyes to what pesticides are capable of doing. As a future rural pastor I am then in a conflicting place. I want to support the farmers in their chosen vocations, but I also need to be on the look out for the people. SO how do we do this? Very carefully. As Mark says do a lot of listening, do not count the farmer as dumb, and know that the farmer too is looking out for the interest of others. We are not experts in the area. We know that scripture informs us of how the land is to be kept and that we are to be stewards of the land. We know that we have a responsibility to God and our neighbors to see that good practices are being used, but we must not forget that this is the lively hood of people, it is more than that, for those like Arland it is a calling, something they just can’t get out of, when times are rough. They plod through and have a connection to the land to their place.
Overall I thought the book was a good read and will recommend it to friends. In my opinion it is not a liberal take on things, it shoots it straight out. I would expect no less from a former scientist as that is how their minds work. Next time I go camping and fishing I am sure as I stand at the stream these learning’s will surface.

Simpler living

2010-03-08T12:21:00.000-08:00

As I started to read this book I was open to the possibilities of what was to come. For years, dating back to before our move to Seminary and actually before Seminary was a thought in my mind, I have been telling my wife that we need to “simplify our lives.” By that I have always meant get rid of crap that we have accumulated over the years. To that she would respond where would we start? All I could respond is, “look around and pick”. Was it the kids toys that they had to many, thanks to us and relatives? Was it in the teaching materials that I still have from 99-00, my last year of teaching. Or perhaps it is some of the craft materials that we have. The list could and does go on and on.

As I read the book and the statistics I marveled at the fact that the average food items travel 1200 miles to get to our table. That is a shock. We get so used to going to the store and buying and not even thinking about the where and why. I have an allergy to MSG and so for 13 years now have been very cautious as to what we buy so that the food does not contain it, but that is the extent to the thought put into the food we buy. Definitely something we will have to start thinking about.

The stats on the over consumption in the US alone should kick us in the butt. Capitalism is not a bad thing. The fact that we call ourselves a country founded on Christian values should mean something. In that, the people with the money should be giving back and quit spending on unnecessary things. As a white middle class man I will say that we have lived a privileged life. Before Seminary we had a pretty secure life, roof, food on the table, new toys for the kids. Since moving here we have been forced to simplify things as money would allow and it has been a humbling experience. Trips to the food shelf are especially eye opening. But we have learned to do more with less. We get by because we have simplified much, but there is still work to be done.

What I appreciated from the book the most is the theological take on the issues. The scripture references are great and lend light on just how God wants us to care for creation and how creation is caring for us. Calvin DeWitt’s six principles for applying are great because they get to the heart of simpler living and what we must do. Ultimately, “we must practice what we believe” p.179. He simply lays it out and supports it with scripture. Richard Foster follows those up with is own ,“The outward expression of simplicity”. These are 10 things to consider that show our outward simplicity. As I see them if we consider these when purchasing items we will be able to determine if they are needs or wants. Foster warns against making them 10 commandments rather they should be used as guidelines.

Finally, I really liked the focus throughout on how we are to do this and care about our communities and how that includes local and global economies as well. It is often easy to get caught up in our own day to day stuff and feel like we cannot have an impact. “Every action has an opposite and equal reaction.” “Energy is neither lost nor gained it is merely transferred.” Two axioms from science that apply quite well here. We can never know our impact, however if we do nothing that we are sure nothing is accomplished.

I will finalize this post with a thought that has been rattling in my brain since last August, feel free to use it in sermons it is not copywrited. Everyone is so focused on our “carbon footprints” right now. How big a carbon footprint did the president make attending the Olympic meetings stumping for Chicago and such? I would like us to think about it in a different light. What about worrying about what kind of “Christian Footprint” you are leaving behind. Are you loving others? Are you taking care of your neighbor? Are you caring for God’s creation? Are you living simpler to do these things? Or are you consuming and not caring? When all is said and done what will your "Christian Footprint" look like?

More musings

2010-03-08T11:48:00.000-08:00

Well trash clean up did not go as planned this weekend, my son wanted to help but was “busy”, my daughter turned up her nose at cleaning up in the mud, and my wife’s schedule did not allow her to help. I was able to pick up some, ½ a bag full before life got in the way. As I picked up I did not really see a difference as everywhere I turned there seemed to be more and more trash that had migrated our way this winter. I suppose if I had the time to truly devote to the task there would have been better results. Just pondering here, is this the cycle that we live in, we are diligent about keeping things picked up in the spring summer and fall when the white stuff hits we all seem to forget about those things. Is it the same in our homes? Is that why there is spring cleaning? Out with the old? How hard is it to keep up these practices year round? Does it become habbit? One of my college coaches used to muse that it took 75,000 reps to make it a habit so we should just keep doing it and then it would become natural. I wonder if that is true. Something to think about. So we go about our cycles and try and break out of those that we can and put others on new orbits.

Recycling update. Wow there is a lot that can be recycled and I would say that our garbage has been cut by at least 1/3 as that 1/3 goes into recycling bags. It also has occurred that there is a little more work that goes into it as the separation cause multiple trips to the containers. But this is good because it is exercise. I wonder though as we rinse out all the cans, bottles, soda containers with water, how much water are we wasting trying to have less messy recycle areas? Surely, the cost is worth it just pondering the cost analysis. “For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction”, I think about this as we do the little things to help out.

I wonder the same about global warming and the hype that has surrounded it lately. Truly, it is a concern especially for future generations and our actions today will affect tomorrow, but is it an eschatological issue right NOW? I honestly do not know, the right says, “ you are blowing it out of proportion.” The left says, “the sky is falling, the sky is falling.” So what does that leave for those of us in the middle? Are we to become alertist for either side or should we be the voices of reason? I ask again because I do not have the answer. Frankly, I do not have the time to ponder it to much in the day to day thing we call life. Which leads me to my next post on living life more plainly…….

Basic musings

2010-03-04T09:10:00.001-08:00

Hello all, just a quick update on this week and what has been going on. Recycling has been going pretty well. My son and daughter have both at separate times had to remind dad, but that is ok because they keep us focused. The note from Carole in housing is both encouraging and disheartening at the same time. The face that there are those that are recycling is great, the fact that we cannot get them in the right bins or correctly is not so good.

Reading the book on simpler living is going much slower than I expected and I hope to have a review to post by Monday so that I am somewhat on track.

Those that know me know I am a more conservative, Confessional Lutheran, meaning, yes that I am also a Republican. So as you read my post know that that is where I am coming from, but also realize that we are all not radical and closed minded most of us on this side are also capable of learning and adapting our lifestyles so that they are more environmentally in line with where they should be. I do read my Bible and as such see areas that God wants us to take care of as stewards of the gifts that he had given to us.

So as I read the material and process the facts it is not hard for me to see that we, personally, locally, globally, need to make some changes. I enjoy the outdoors and like to be able to fish and eat the fish I catch and acknowledge that as a whole we are shutting those areas down. It is encouraging to see that MN legislators are also aware of this. As the snow rapidly melts I am slapped in the face with the fact that my brothers and sisters in the world, as well as myself, are pigs. Just take a look at the ground when you get out of your car or if you are walking on a sidewalk and see how much garbage is lying around. Do I have a solution? Not really, perhaps funding for a competent maintenance, housekeeping staff at the Seminary would be a good start, but I digress. My solution is to get some industrial sized rubber gloves and pick up garbage in the lot and around our building with my family. My family does not know of this yet but I am somewhat sure that I will not be the only one out there Saturday. I know that my son spent most of the second semester last year, at recess, with a few of his friends, picking up garbage around the playground.

During the winter months it is easy to set inside and become complacent. I do it every winter. Now that Spring is right around the corner I want to be more active. I want to do more. If I let the kids go then I have no choice. As Spring comes I want to open my eyes and see the brown turn to green, reds, blues and the like. I look forward to this time of year. Days are longer and nights shorter. We start to come into the light and there is salvation in the light.

Beware to those of you who are new to MN. High School sports tournaments are just around the corner and they usually bring with them a good sized snow storm, so we may not be out of the weather yet. Hopefully posting this will stave it off, but do not count on it.

Two weeks and we shall be in SW MN. Take care and have a Super Fantastic Day.

Bloggin on the Earth

2010-02-23T15:25:00.000-08:00

Practice of earth care
One of the primary elements that both environmental education and religious education have in common is their goal of inviting people into beliefs and practices that are not supported in the larger culture – indeed, in some instances they are actively counter cultural. During the spring term I am asking that you choose a practice of earth care that is new to you and attempt to make it a habit. The list of possibilities is potentially endless, with several that have been identified by national organizations as helping to reduce your ecological footprint. The Simpler Living, Compassionate Life text is also full of ideas. Please email me by February 22nd with your choice of practice. I’m happy to be in conversation with you if you’d like to brainstorm about what practice to choose.
My goal in this assignment is to provide an experience of embodied learning that is connected to the ideas of the course. Please be assured: I am not in this way implying that faith requires particular practices. Rather, I am suggesting that faith invites response, and that that response is always embodied, always by Christian definitions incarnational. Religious educators need to know how to support such responses, and how to do so in sustainable ways. We can learn a lot from our environmental educator colleagues about how to support and nurture responsive practice.

So this is the task at hand. Chose a practice and do it. I must say it was my goal at first to have a book read at this point and be writing about that but life what it is has not allowed that.

Being the family guy I am I try and include my wife and 2 kids in my school work as much as I can, being at a Seminary there is a lot that I do not because quite frankly it is over my head and am often times working it out well beyond the semester. Although I must say I learn a bunch about theology when I talk with my kids. So when I read about this assignment I was excited because this was something that we could do as a family. As we discussed the earth and environment and what we could do my son said that we could recycle. It was something that they had studies in school last year and he was excited. My daughter was just as excited about it as they feed off each other. I know at this point you may be saying, recycling that is so 20th century, I have been doing that for years. And yes I agree it is and many have but this is the way my family can start to develop a habit that still can impact the Earth and our environment.

So our plan is to keep each other accountable and make sure that we are doing our part. We have set up paper bags for plastic, cardboard, paper, glass and cans.

It has been a little over a weeks since we have committed to this and I would say that things are going good. I have found myself carrying my plastic soda bottles across campus so that they can be put in a container rather than the trash. Have I missed a few things? Yes. Do I generally catch myself and dumpster dive, only at home in my own garbage. I find that my kids keep me most accountable as the little details of life do not seem to escape them, unless of course it is their backpacks for school, lunch bags, shoe, ect when we are trying to get out of the house.

As part of our plan for this I hope to point out the recycling post where ever we go. I am also compiling a list of websites that have information on recycling and its impact on the environment. I also hope to look for movies that can teach us and still be entertaining. So if anyone out there has any suggestions the kids are 7 and 4, so they should also be age appropriate.

Well I suppose that is all for now. The reading continues for all classes and the world keeps turning. I am thankful for my family and thank God every morning that my feet hit the ground the O2 CO2 exchange happens in my lungs. Ah the oxygen and water cycles are so interesting, but that takes me back to 1993 and environmental science class in undergrad, perhaps more on that in another entry. Take care.

2010-02-16T19:33:00.000-08:00

Hello all my name is Rick Hall and I am a member of the ED3530 class Religious Education in Relation to Creation, Spring 2010. This is a test to see if this is going to work.