Becoming an Eco Church
Recently at the special assembly held in Christchurch and Online, the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand agreed to a number of measures regarding the environment and our care for creation. Some of those decisions have an effect at local level.
Yet this call to care for creation actively is not something that is new. The Presbyterian Church’s mission statement declares: The Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand believes it is called by God to work with others in making Jesus Christ known through –
Teaching and nurturing people in Christian faith
Loving service responding to human need
Proclaiming the gospel
Seeking to transform society
Caring for God’s creation
This mission statement has been around for at least 20 years, and yet it hasn’t really become embedded in the life of the church. In particular the focus on caring for creation has often been forgotten. And yet scripture clearly states that God considers the world in which we live to be integral to our existence. Both on this earth and the earth that is to come. The bible clearly states that we began in the garden, and then end will be in the garden.
The decisions that were agreed to were: to promote initiatives to reduce our carbon emissions by 5% per annum, adopt a framework to monitor those emissions and to report back to each assembly until 2030. We agreed to become a denominational partner of the Eco Church NZ, and we are required to undertake the A Rocha Eco Church survey:
A self-assessment tool that helps us to focus on the areas of worship and teaching, church buildings, church land, community engagement and sustainable living. With regards to our buildings a separate proposal is looking at the sustainability of our building network nationally.
Returning to the story of God as expressed in the bible.
Genesis 2 a beginning in the garden
Our beginnings are found in the garden. And remember that the world that God created was considered good. God considers us to be very good. That is the story of the first creation narrative. And it follows that familiar telling from our Sunday school days: New Day, God Creates, declares it good – all for 6 days and ending with the seventh day in which God rested.
In Genesis 2 is also a creation narrative, a second one in fact. In our bible we are told of two different ways in which God created the world and existence within it. Within that telling of creation God puts Adam, into the garden to till and to keep it. In other words, we are called by God to take care of the Garden of Earth. We should see our relationship with the creation of one of interconnectedness and service.
But if you’re sitting there thinking about the telling of the first Genesis account of creation you may have read that God gave dominion and asked us to subdue creation? And you would be right. From Genesis 1: 28 we read:
God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.’
Having dominion is not the same as “domination.” God entrusted the world to human beings, recognizing the power they have. That power is not to be abused but exercised with the utmost care. "Exercising royal dominion over the earth as God's representative is the basic purpose for which God created man.... Man is appointed king over creation, responsible to God the ultimate king, and as such expected to manage and develop and care for creation, this task to include actual physical work.” Our work in God’s image begins with faithfully representing God.
As we exercise dominion over the created world, we do it knowing that we mirror God. We are not the originals but the images, and our duty is to use the original—God—as our pattern, not ourselves. Our work is meant to serve God’s purposes more than our own, which prevents us from domineering all that God has put under our control. As they say with great power comes great responsibility.
Today we have become especially aware of how the pursuit of human self-interest threatens the natural environment. We were meant to tend and care for the garden. Creation is meant for our use, but not only for our use. Remembering that the air, water, land, plants, and animals are good reminds us that we are meant to sustain and preserve the environment. Our work can either preserve or destroy the clean air, water, and land, the biodiversity, the ecosystems, and biomes, and even the climate with which God has blessed his creation.
Dominion is not the authority to work against God’s creation, but the ability to work for it.
The ending in the garden:
Revelation 22:1-7. The river and the tree of life.
The Bible begins in a garden. Christ’s resurrection occurs in a garden. And the Bible ends in a garden. The last chapter of Revelation contains one of the most vivid images of what the prophet sees in his vision of Christ’s reign. The angel shows him “the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the lamb.” This river flows right down the middle of the street in the midst of the city. The city – where industrial pollution, storm run-off, and trash often destroy the beauty and health of rivers. God intends for every part of this Earth – including centres of human population – to be as clean and refreshing as when water first flowed in Eden.
The other striking image is that of the “tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit.” The abundance of these trees is found not just in their fruits, but in the leaves themselves which are “for the healing of the nations.” In other words, trees have healing properties.
I wonder how you can make Christ known by your care for creation…
I look forward to your responses.
Blessings as you worship God in Creation this week.
Rev Andrew Howley