Ecotheology

God’s To Do List for One Week:
           
   #1: Create Light and Day and Night

   #2: Separate the Land from the Waters

   #3: Make some stars and a sun and a moon

   #4: Fill the skies with birds and the waters with fish

   #5: Cover the land with plants and animals

   #6: Create humankind in my own image and give humans dominion over "every living thing that moves over the earth!”

            Pretty busy schedule! There are some people who think that maybe God should have taken a coffee break after number 5 when a beautiful world had already been created and before humankind was created with “dominion” over the earth. These people believe that the “dominion” granted by God to imperfect humans gave us too much power to destroy God’s creation. However, another way of thinking of the concept of “dominion” is stewardship rather than control. God in granting humankind dominion is giving us not only the power to change our environment, but the responsibility to preserve it for ourselves and just as importantly for the rest of God’s creation.

            The Presbyterian Book of Order (W-7.5001-3) calls on all members of the church to obey God’s mandate to be stewards of God’s creation and to “use and shape earth’s goods to create beauty, order, health, and peace in ways that reflect God’s love for all creatures.” Following this mandate, First United has its own Stewardship of God’s Creation committee and this spring will be offering a series of faith education classes, films and other activities to enhance our church’s advocacy of environmentally sound policies by our government, corporations and in our personal lives. The committee is working with a group from RPI and with TAUM in sponsoring a large march and rally on April 14 in downtown Troy in support of the nationwide StepItUp campaign in the battle against global warming.

            Resources abound for religious people interested in environmentalism in the United States. The Presbyterian Church has a grassroots organization, Presbyterians for Restoring Creation. Many other churches of all denominations, including both the progressive and evangelical faith streams, are becoming involved in environmental issues locally and nationally. If this interests you, check the Internet for sites related to religion and environmentalism; and you will be overwhelmed with the number of “hits.” If you really want to do research in this topic, there is a large literature available; one web site has an Ecotheology Book List that is 39 pages long! The FUPC stewardship committee is preparing a green binder of articles and newspaper clippings about ecotheology and other environmental topics that will be available for reading in the Bradt Room sometime about April 1.  The committee also has its own bulletin board in the lobby outside of the church office, so take a peek at it when you are able.