– Jim Galloway
All Scriptures CEB (these from a chain what gives us identity and guidance for Creation Care in Christ).
–The LORD God took the human and settled him in the garden of Eden to farm it and to take care of it. (Gen. 2:15)
…The first human, Adam, became a living person, and the last Adam became a spirit that gives life. (1 Cor. 15:45)
–There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Gal. 3:28);
–If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your human bodies also, through his Spirit that lives in you. So then, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation, but it isn’t an obligation to ourselves to live our lives on the basis of selfishness. (Rom. 8:11-12);
–“You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself. (Matt. 22:37-39).
“And who is my neighbor?” (Lk. 10:29)
–Might our neighbor include poor and oppressed people whose homes are found in floodplains? -Creation Justice
–Might our neighbor include future human generations not yet conceived, that they might live in a healthy world?
–Might our neighbor include nonhuman creatures we must protect, (the Noah covenant, Gen 9:9-10)?
Purposes – To serve individual churches of the Capital District by:
Stewardship: Called by God to protect creation, in a manner that preserves & regenerates it.
Creation Justice: To form a diverse partnership in Creation Care-related antiracism efforts.
Education: Creation is endangered, and all of us with it, especially the least of us, and future generations.
Yet there are practical, specific ways that US UMC churches are educating adults and youth to make their individual lives, homes, and church campuses more energy efficient & creation friendly, with a smaller carbon footprint. We want to learn from all of you, even as:
–We will serve as a clearinghouse for the Conference Creation Care team and wider UMC efforts.
–We will make ourselves available to speak in churches, sharing our own church’s creation care activities.
Worship: To give awe and praise to our Creator, who in Christ has shared creaturely mortality with us, yet lives!
We will share worship materials used across the connection.
We also will share Scriptural and theological reflections from the wider UMC.
Service: To plan and implement practical collaborative events and projects by district churches, in collaboration with and witness to our neighbors.
Advocacy: We will share advocacy opportunities that impact our District and conference, yet our primary efforts for now will be in education, worship and service.
We will flesh out the above by biweekly articles in the District newsletter, and on the Conference website, keeping all our work under the general leadership of our Bishop and District Superintendent Chris Brady.
Initial Team:
Jim Galloway (Chair, Soapstone; retired commissioned deacon), Leigh Williams (Cary First), Randy Senzig (St. Andrews) — (all members of NC Conference Team). We are eager to have more on the team!