Winter 1999

"God's gorgeous Garden"

Editor's column
Butterfly gardens
Three gardens of the Bible by Vera Shaw
Interview: Backyard Wildlife
Family Time: getting back in touch (*) by Fred Wiechmann
Healthy food (*) by Bronwyn Schweigerdt
From the Boiler Room by Andrew Rudin
Public Policy: constructive engagement?
Sabbath Keeping by Brian Cole
Small Group News by Scott Althouse
Inspiration by Gary Fawver

(*) Full text not available online

Editor's column

I have spent some time reflecting on the importance of the garden in Christian theology. That's the kind of thing you get to do in seminary. Maybe it's not as exciting as I think; maybe I'm just easily amused. Or maybe I'm onto something big.

The garden is where our part of the great story of God's creation begins. The garden called Eden, at the confluence of two mighty rivers.

This is the place God made for our home. The place where God plants the tree of life, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I can't help feeling joy, and a strange sensation that might be a kind of nostalgia, as I picture Adam walking in the garden in the cool of the day. Walking with God. Talking with him. How blessed he was to be so close to the Almighty.

The words of God spoken in that garden have become central to our work as stewardship advocates. God gave the garden to Adam, and by extension to all humanity, and gave Adam the first vocation in human history: To work the garden and take care of it (Gen. 2:15). The people of EENpeople like youare folks who want to serve God in an ancient and righteous way by caring for God's creation.

So it seems right to devote an issue of Creation Care to God's gorgeous garden, and by this we mean more than just that wondrous land left behind by Adam and Eve after the fall. We see the garden and its fruits all around us. In our backyards. In our grocery stores. On a small island off the coast of Maine. In the forests beside the great rivers of the earth. I hope you'll share some of the excitement I feel as you leaf through this winter issue. Together, those of us whose gardens lie sleeping under the frost can look forward with confidence to the great thaw of spring.

On an organizing note, I want you to know that I am leaving full-time employment with EEN to take a position with Habitat for Humanity International in Americus, Ga. Beginning with this issue of Creation Care, EEN Director Stan LeQuire becomes Editor of Creation Care. As you'll see in the masthead, I'm going to continue serving EEN, and this great Christian cause, as a volunteer. It means that much to me. I think you'll see very few changes in this quarterly, because Stan and I have been working closely on it for almost a year, and we rarely disagree on the hundreds of decisions that go into each issue.

Blessings to you, my brothers and sisters!

Butterfly gardens

Letter to the editor

Dear friends:
I am all aflutter with the idea of using butterfly gardens to inspire, teach and renew Christian stewardship towards God's creation. I would like to invite all Christian churches to participate in planting butterfly gardens on church premises and to join the initiatives to use the butterfly as a symbol of our own metamorphosis into more loving, compassionate and peaceful creatures of God's creation.To become involved in this butterfly garden initiative is as easy as this:

Order your butterfly bush and/or plants.
Plant the butterfly bush and/or plants on your church premises.
Form a volunteer group or butterfly committee.
Have the volunteers plan events, hold fundraisers or teach about the butterflies.

Butterflies are fascinating creatures and are wonderful indicators of how well the environment is doing. In this way, they teach us about God's miracle of interconnectedness.

You can also sell butterfly products and contribute the profits to local or global butterfly initiatives. Two bumper stickers are available: "I Brake for Butterflies" and "Butterflies, Not Bombs." There are many other butterfly products available and a catalog is in the works. The list of butterfly initiatives is growing every day and ranges from environmental issues, social issues, health issues, peace events, cultural events, religious events and millennium events. You can also add your own Christian stewardship event to the list. The possibilities are endless!

Please join us and plant a butterfly garden on your church premise and help us renew and encourage further Christian stewardship towards all of God's Creation. Please contact me Angela Cameron at (201) 265-2790 or send email to me at Ecolady@aol.com for more information and support.

I am working on this Butterfly Gardens - Christian Stewardship Initiative in conjunction with The Butterfly Gardens Association, a non-profit organization, which exists to foster appreciation of butterflies and other creatures. The Butterfly Gardens Association emphasizes the need for conservation of natural habitats in our communities and around the world. If you would like to contact The Butterfly Gardens Association directly, please call Alan Moore at (510) 528-7730 or e-mail: bflyspirit@aol.com.

Thanks and Blessings!

Angela Cameron (ecolady@aol.com)

Three gardens of the Bible

Vera Shaw

The heritage of Scripture includes a love for the whole creation.

The psalms overflow with a sense of the beauty and grandeur of the creation and the Creator.
Paul maintains in Romans 1 that since the creation of the world God's invisible qualitieshis eternal power and divine naturehave been clearly seen, being revealed from what has been made.
God's delight in his creation in Genesis is carried forward in the garden theme throughout the Old and New Testaments and culminates in the book of Revelation, when access to the Tree of Life is restored.
The Creator's care for the creation is seen in the three gardens in the Bible: the Garden of Eden, a garden of beginnings; the Garden of Gethsemane, a garden of suffering and cleansing; and the garden of the Resurrection and new creation.

Each garden tells its own story. In each garden, the Creator, who gives us life and responsibility, engages us in a dramatic dialogue which reveals our relationship to himself, the earth, and our neighbor.

Eden: The Garden of Beginnings

The story of Eden gives insight into the cause of our environmental problems God gave man, male and female, the wonderful responsibility to till and keep the garden [KJV] (the Hebrew for "keep" can also be translated "preserve ")It is a beautiful imagethe sovereign Lord created his masterpiece and then created man and woman "in his image" to preserve and care for the garden and to walk in deep friendship with himself God established the Sabbath as a day to rest, a day to remember, and to recognize the Creator's care with joy. The Sabbath celebrates creation in the renewing power of rest And the Sabbath was for the land as well, affirming the Creator's concern for the preservation of the earth Yet while surrounded by the abundance of the perfect environment of Eden, enjoying all its wonderful resources, man decided that no restrictions should limit his control Man believed all creation was for his satisfaction and he alone should decide how to use it His fascination with evil polished the forbidden fruit. God honored man's free will In Eden, man's choice to turn from God's love in order to become his own god, in turn, polluted the garden's perfection and destroyed its harmony.

Gethsemane: The Garden of Suffering, Obedience,and Cleansing

In Gethsemane, God through his Son, Jesus Christ, prepared to pay the enormous cost of cleansing and renewing all creation The first Adam represents all mankind in turning away from God and placing his own will at the center of his life The Second Adam, Jesus, represents the new man as he comes to the garden in communion with God, seeking to put God's will at the center of his life He shares with his friends the fruits of the earth, bread and wine, which are his "body and blood." He prayed not only to know God's will but to do God's will, which was to become the suffering servant. From that garden he is taken to Jerusalem, where he is crowned with thorns and nailed to a forbidden tree to die for our sin, that we would be forgiven and free to live again in friendship with God.

The Garden of the Resurrection

And finally, near the cross and the empty tomb, the garden of the resurrection makes known the possibility of redemption and renewal for man and earth. With this strength we work to bring the kingdom of God to earth. While in one sense "the kingdom of God is within you," we also look forward to a "new heaven and a new earth," where once again we will live in deep fellowship with God, where "he will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things [will have] passed away" (Rev. 21:4). The apostle John tells us that what started in a garden will end in a "heavenly city" filled with people from all nations, praising God:

[I saw] the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Rev. 22:1-2

These meditations help me begin to recognize God's redeeming care for the whole world, his provision to deal with the thorns both within us and in our world, and his promise to make all things new. Environmental responsibility is part of the core of Christian life and faith. From Eden onward, the story of the Bible is the story of a God who seeks to fully redeem and re-create that which, and those whom, he made and loves. Indeed, the Christian message offers hope for the alarming pollution of the planet by first redeeming and recycling the human heart and spirit. But how is this practical in our daily lives?

With the mind and spirit of Christ, we become gardeners, or stewards, of the earth in its fullness. Transformed lives are marked by maturity, wisdom and self-control. We reject the driving, groping pace of consumerism and careerism. We name and constructively solve real problems. We develop the capacity to love, and to share with those in poverty so that they are not forced to use the earth's resources in unsustainable ways. We seek to understand and live out an ecology of life that preserves both interior and exterior environments. We develop the vision to see dumping grounds as gardens, and then roll up our sleeves. We can no longer afford to focus on the present at the expense of the future.

When we look into the New Testament, we see that Jesus not only lived a profound ecological ethic but he created a redemptive community to live out creative solutions to any challenge the world could offer.

In 1962, just as Silent Spring was published and the environmental movement was in its infancy, Harvard professor of church history George Williams wrote and lectured on the biblical mandate for conservation and stewardship of natural resources. He asked, who "can better mount the watchtower and sound the alert for the care of the earth?"

Christians, with their sense of nature as a creation (which implies the Creator), strategically located with their ministries, properties, educational programs and publications, can be especially effective if they remind the world of the call to stewardship of the creation. We must be reminded of the importance of daily choices and habits.

Do we buy products that protect the environment?
Do we diligently recycle?
Do we encourage projects that deal effectively with toxic waste, water and air pollution, and conservation of resources?

Williams asks, "Are we in the end conquerors of the cosmos or carers for our fellow creatures, stewards of creation or exploiters, ruthless like some of the beasts or redemptive of them all and therewith mankind, manipulative or reverent toward life in all its mysterious plenitude?"

These are deep questions raised in the biblical tradition and deserving of examination in the present environmental and moral crisis. After developing a multitude of recommendations, the final words of the 1992 Earth Summit were fitting: "Let's begin!"

But where do we begin? Donald Conroy, president of the North American Coalition on Religion and Ecology, challenged the great assembly of the Global Forum with these words:

"Begin where you live. Tend your corner of the garden planet. Learn the environmental history of the area where you live, and what influences are protecting or destroying its natural beauty. Then learn to be among those who work together, as neighbors around the world, to preserve the beauty of life in the threatened garden planet."

Vera Shaw is a faithful supporter of EEN and a member of the Creation Care editorial advisory board. This essay was excerpted with permission from her watershed book, Thorns in the Garden Planet, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1993.

Interview: Backyard Wildlife

Craig Tufts directs the well-known Backyard Wildlife Habitat Program for the National Wildlife Federation, an environmental organization. He was interviewed for this article by Michael Crook.

Creation Care: Describe the essence of the Backyard Wildlife Habitat Program.

Craig Tufts: It's an educational effort on the part of NWF to give people some direction, some guidance and acknowledgment for the efforts they make towards improving habitat for a broad variety of wildlife species where they live, where they work, where they worship and where they go to school.

CC: How do you help people make wildlife habitats?

Craig: We give people information on providing the basics for wildlife: food, water, cover and places to raise young. We also ask people to look carefully at how they might make changes in the way they landscape to benefit not only their immediate environment, the site they have become steward of, but also to enhance environmental quality in their neighborhoods. This could involve taking on habitat projects outside their home, for example, to lessen the pesticides they use, to restore some of the diversity to the landscape to make it richer, to look at ways to keep excessive nutrients out of our surface waters and ground waters, or to look at ways that we might cut back on the noise and sound pollution that often affect wildlife.

CC: So this is about more than bird feeders.

Craig: Most of the people who take their first steps to bring wildlife into their life probably will put out a bird feeder.

It's the easiest way to get the quickest response. But we want people to know that's only one of the four critical elements of wildlife habitat. Wildlife also need water, cover and places to raise their young.

And you know, just getting people to look around them and notice wildlife is a big part of our program. Many people report seeing more bird and animal species after they get into providing habitat. Part of what is going on there is that you are spending more time learning from that environment.

CC: How many yards in America are certified now?

Craig: Almost 23,000.

CC: Aren't there some churchyards certified?

Craig: There's a number of churches and a number of schools affiliated with places of worship as well. There's a significant number of people who see their efforts as part of the way they are taking care of what God has given us.

CC: Talk about some of the things people of faith are doing on their properties.

Craig: One of the oldest faith-directed habitats that I know about is one that Kent Dannon put together out in Estes Park, Colo., a meditation trail at their community church. There are a number of stops on the trail that people can pause at, with signs where they can read a Scripture that's pertinent or perhaps the writings of someone who feels very strongly about the role of nature in their faith.

We see a number of preschools that are tied to churches as well as elementary schools that are doing wildlife habitat to broaden educational opportunities for children.

Across the street from (NWF offices) in Vienna, Va., there's an Episcopal church that did a meditation garden. It's close to the sanctuary, with a beautiful flower garden brings in butterflies and hummingbirds, and a number of memorial plaques commemorate people who've given to the church.

Then there's Community Lutheran in Sterling, Va., the church I attend. We felt that we wanted to really let others know that we think seriously about God's creation in the church, and that we have responsibility for what goes on in the land. We've developed what we call the Hedgerow Habitat Trail, and we've used it for Christian Education classes and for stations of the Cross, among other things. It's not just people getting out once a month and pulling out Japanese honeysuckle and switchgrass and checking the bat boxes. It's all tied into education and caring for creation and also, more broadly, community outreach.

CC: Did you always connect your concern for wildlife and the environment with your spiritual life?

Craig: Five or six years ago people who knew me well suggested that I was a very spiritual person, even if I didn't understand it or realize it. They suggested that maybe I should look for a home for that spirituality and tie it to something that was always a part of my life. I thought I was an atheist for many years. But I came to see, after thinking and talking with others, that there was a home, a place where I could tie a number of things in my life together.

CC: What kinds of things do you hear from people who connect their spiritual life to gardening for wildlife?

Craig: I think people are beginning more and more to understand that they have the responsibility to care for creation and there are things they can do in their own yard.

When I give presentations to garden clubs and other organizations, I'll mention that caring for what God has given us is something I feel a lot of joy in, and it's a place where also others can do something. After those types of presentations I'll often get a note from someone in the group, saying, "I'd really like to know more about what you're doing at your church; and are there other places where I can get more information?"

CC: How does one start?

Craig: We really want people to make that connection with what is out there in the natural world, to get them away from the TV set. Basically they need to go out and see what's around them. Look at what's up and down the street, across the street, the trees, the marshes. Then look at what is on their property. Jot down on paper a quick sketch of what's out there. Is there a possible spot for pond? Is it shady or sunny, dry and hot or cool and wet? Try to get an idea whether landscape is providing the four critical elements: Is there water available? Is there cover? Are there places where wildlife can hide, such as shrubs, a brush pile or a rock outcrop? How can wildlife raise young? After you've done this assessment and sketch, see about providing some water with a birdbath or saucer. If there's no feed, place a bird feeder where you and your family can watch it from a window. Think about putting up a nest box for birds to raise young. If you decide you're spending a lot of time behind your lawn mower, consider putting in shrubs or trees. Grow into it over time. This isn't a project that we feel people should take on, plan, plant and then forget about. It takes commitment. A habitat project isn't something you take on as a whim; create it one year and destroy it the next. Hopefully you'll become a steward of it and encourage others to do it.

For more information, contact:
National Wildlife Federation
Backyard Wildlife Habitat
8925 Leesburg Pike
Vienna, Virginia 22184-0001
www.nwf.org

From the Boiler Room

Andrew Rudin

We Americans busted our energy diet, and Allen R. Myerson described the resulting energy orgy in an article published on the front page of the Nov. 2, 1998 New York Times. Allen Myerson does what I do... he counts energy input. While I measure how much energy congregations use, Allen Myerson measures how much America uses.

Since increased fuel prices made our wallets wince in the 1970s, our government passed all kinds of codes, standards and guidelines for businesses to improve the efficiency of cars, appliances and buildings. The American market, guided somewhat by government, is supposed to keep us on the right track. Yet, in the past 25 years of hype and improved technology, Myerson reports that:

The size of the average American household shrunk by one sixth, while the size of the average new home grew by a third, containing more and more energy guzzlers.
Next year, the average American will burn more fuel than in 1973.
Almost one in five households has three or more cars, and the average commuting distance grew by more than a third from 1983 to 1995.
The average car horsepower increased from 99 in 1982 to 156 in 1996, and the time needed to zoom from zero to 60 has fallen from 14.4 seconds to a road-rageous 10.7 seconds.
Improved efficiency in buildings, appliances and cars has not reduced energy use.

So, if we cannot count on free markets and government to change energy trends, who can we count on?

I count on people of faith because they intelligently don't put all their trust in rational advice. Ironic, isn't it?

People of faith are people people, not oil-gas-electricity people. They don't fall for the latest trendy fad of utility rebates. They don't line up to lobby their legislatures for lower energy costs, and they are not likely to install cutting-edge technology.

Historically, our church buildings testify to this huge masonry walls enclosing high vaulted ceilings, chips of colored glass in leaky lead strips, monster boilers and pipes larger than your neck, property committees whose schedule seems to operate by generations rather than days, spiritual leaders who have never had one hour of training in facility maintenance, and on and on. Yet, I call these saving graces.

The cool cutting edge stuff, the neat quick stuff... the stuff that utilities pay rebates for, and all the free energy advice are what caused our energy use to go up.

The modest, humble, simple, frugal, honest efforts of volunteer property committees... slowly trying to figure out what to do... mostly ignoring outside energy consultants... seems to me a better process. People of faith are more likely to think of our grandchildren's future than the next quarter's bottom line. They are more likely to do what is right than what is expedient. Churches are oases of inefficient quiet in the machinescape. No matter how you scan, sort or file, God is analog, not digital. As congregants hear scientific debates, they know that God is in control of everything, global warming included.

Good examples abound. Pastor Leroy Hedman in Seattle sent me an article he wrote called "Saving Energy for the Lord's Work." I love that title! The article is about a "dollar-conscious pastor and his Seattle congregation laughing all the way to the mission field with the thousands they have saved in energy costs."

Pastor Hedman says, "Hey! For the sake of missions, why not turn it down, turn it off, or replace it with a more energy-saving product!" Nice priorities!

He also transformed church property into an organic garden called the "Kids Victory Garden" complete with onsite composting. A newspaper photo he sent of the church is exquisitely beautiful with that garden in the foreground.

Business and government understand growth, but people of faith understand fasting, abstinence, discipline, appreciation and community. To quote Pastor Leroy Hedman, "Conservation and missions go together."

How does your congregation see it? What can you do? How does conservation match your mission?

Public Policy: constructive engagement?

This is not the easiest public policy report we've ever tried to compile. What can we say about Washington that is constructive and proactive, two words describing the opposite of the predominant attitudes in our nation's capital?

Well, we're going to try.

The first thing we need to convey is a sense of uncertainty about environmental policy in Washington as the new Congressional year gets under way. The picture is complicated by the start of presidential campaigns in both political parties. Neither party will want to carry the weight of environmental controversy into the elections next year. All smart politicians read the polls, and therefore they know that support for environmental protection is a strong, enduring value held by Americans across all political and ideological fences.

So we expect no up-front, public attempts to weaken or repeal our country's most important environmental laws: the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act or the Clean Air Act. What remains to be seen is whether members of Congress who want less environmental protection will again use the budget process as a back-door route to their goals. Last year, readers will remember, we publicly opposed this tactic. When it came down to the final debates between the White House, Congress and the American public, the anti-environmental budget "riders" were stripped out of the budget bill. We won.

Our advice on the budget process this year, in one word is: vigilance. We promise to watch the process closely, and we hope you will monitor the situation with us.

Turning to other issues, we provide here a snippet of a report written by EEN program associate Scott Althouse:

"1998 saw evangelicals engaged in ongoing and new environmental debates.
"Certainly our efforts were affirmed by the victory over "takings" legislation in the Senate, as well as our continued advocacy of endangered species protection.
"The evangelical community was also instrumental in helping to bring about the first major forest victory for environmentalists in three years, with the defeat of the so-called Forest Recovery bill, H.R. 2515.
"Our support for responsible stewardship of U.S. forests was solidified this past October with the unanimous passage of the CEC resolution on forest ecosystems.
"The formation of the Evangelical Climate Campaign provides us with hope that we can continue to influence and shape the debate concerning ratification of the Kyoto Protocol. The EEN encourages your support of the Campaign."

As you can see, there is no good reason for us to ignore public policy in Washington this year. In the absence of active legislation, your calls, letters and visits to your members of Congress may actually achieve better long-term results. Our experience has been that, in the heat of a legislative battle, members and their staff are sometimes overwhelmed with the sheer volume of information they receive from special interests and from their constituents. A visit from a "back home" voter who wants to gracefully declare a Christ-centered message of God's mandate for Creation Care may pleasantly surprise the people we elect to represent us in Washington.

Addressing your letters

For names and local office numbers, check the blue pages of your telephone book, or go to http://thomas.loc.gov.

More information

The Library of Congress runs a spectacular website loaded with information. Visit http://thomas.loc.gov.

If you'd like to join our Public Policy Team, get in touch with us! Write to EEN:

10 E. Lancaster Ave.
Wynnewood, PA 19096-3495
or email: een@creationcare.org

Sabbath Keeping

Brian Cole

Have you noticed that over-worked folks are achieving new levels of status in our society? Numerous recent profiles on young up-and-coming workers mention in passing (without alarm!) that 80-100 hour work weeks are the norm for them.

The information is offered almost with a sense of pride. They want to go beyond all limits. In fact, too many of us are obsessed with exceeding limits. We want more work, more exercise, more items to consume, more gadgets to speed up already manic lifestyles.

Such obsessions are not only harmful to us, but in light of the Creation story, they are also sinful, too.

For Christians committed to caring for God's creation, we need to remember that God is the Creator of good creation and the first keeper of Sabbath (Genesis 2:1-3). Sabbath has often been ignored by modern Christians or structured so as to be a day of negations - like a spiritual game of freeze-tag. I have memories of purchasing an odd array of grocery items on Saturday evening in order to observe Sabbath on Sunday.

However, I believe if we re-examine the Creation story, we encounter not a call simply to evacuate the Sabbath of things, but rather a call to be about the positive work of remembering that God is Creator of a good, complete creation and original Celebrator of creation.

The work of Sabbath?

Yes, there exists in the Creation story a paradox that God calls us to remember the work of creation and to celebrate and reflect on God's goodness. There's work to be done - the celebrating kind. God does not rest on Sabbath because God is tired. God pauses to acknowledge that creation is complete, good and worthy to be blessed and celebrated. While we finite creatures need to find ways to recharge and care for ourselves, we model Sabbath by celebrating creation and God's act as Creator.

It is this "work" we are to be about.

Later, God also instructs the Hebrew people to remember the Exodus event from Egypt each Sabbath. God's deliverance of the people from slavery and into freedom is a Sabbath act. They cease being used by others who see them only as slaves and not as God's creation. The Exodus restores a portion of God's people to their created status as human beings in whom God delights.

In remembering the Exodus, we also recall the lengths God will take to restore creation and redeem his created order in this case, the humanity of slaves who had become things in the eyes of others.

Sabbath should not serve as a day completely disjointed from the rest of our life. Our work, our lives should flow into and out of Sabbath keeping. If our work and habits negate or do damage to creation, then the celebration of Sabbath is nullified by our lives. Many folks who tithe report that their commitment to tithing informs how they spend and use the rest of their money, too.

Those of us who keep Sabbath and celebrate creation should find the rest of our lives informed by this commitment to remember God's good work. Keeping Sabbath has numerous positive outcomes for usresting from consuming, from working, an admission of our finitenessbut primarily should be remembered as our time to celebrate God's rest from the work of creation.

We often forget that God observed Sabbath first.

Our time of Sabbath marks our connection to the Creator who kept Sabbath. The image of a resting, reflecting God who delights in the goodness of creation should guide Christian environmentalists who desire to connect their passion for creation care to the Biblical story.

Committing ourselves to keep Sabbath by celebrating a Creator who rests could go far in offering a powerful witness to those in the Christian community who are slow or even resistant to the idea that creation care is an integral part of our discipleship. The God of Creation ceased labor on the seventh day because the work of creation was done. A complete, whole, good creation was blessed and celebrated.

Our observance of Sabbath is an act of remembering God as Creator, but also serves to witness to the wholeness of creation that has been marred by human hands. Keeping Sabbath reminds Christians who are committed to creation care what our hope is for creation: a return to wholeness, a chance for creation to experience God's Sabbath again as we allow God's creation a "pause-for-breath" (Exodus 23:12, Everett Fox's translation).

Brian Cole, of Black Mountain , N.C., is program director for the Appalachian Ministries Educational Resource Center (AMERC), based in Berea, Ky.

Small Group News

Scott Althouse

We've got lots of good news to share about EEN's small group ministry, which we call Fellowship and Stewardship. We'll start with a note from Cindy Verbeek:

Life has been rather exciting. The Creation Awareness Committee at Covenant Christian Reformed Church here in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada started up again in October and we are madly working away at researching ideas for "creation conscious" ways of building a church facility.

Our congregation is in the planning stages and we have made it our goal this year to put together some ideas and encourage the congregation to implement them into a new building (rather than having to change a building once it's already up.) Any suggestions or example of church facilities that have taken on a project like this would be most helpful. Unfortunately most of the decisions will be based on finances ... if anyone out there could give me an example of how much money you saved by implementing some of the ideas that are environmentally conscious your help would be most appreciated.

It seems that numbers talk wonders around here. We are excited though at the growing interest and wholehearted acceptance of our mission in our congregation. We will also be doing Cal DeWitt's Earthwise as a Bible study during our church-wide adult bible study classes.

That will begin in March so we still have a bit of time for that. Tere's also growing interest in a city-wide, interchurch Creation Care group and I am very excited. PLEASE PRAY FOR US! We need all the help we can get as all of us are very busy, but I really see this as an exciting opportunity and know that if it is God's will He will provide the strength, enthusiasm and time that is needed for a group such as this. Any word of encouragement and wisdom would be much appreciated. Stay tuned for more...

Fellowship in brief

Airville, Pennsylvania: McKendree United Methodist Church is developing a small group ministry, including a new boys club that has purchased several acres of rain forest and rescued an abandoned cat.

Canadensis, Pennsylvania: Members of Spruce Lake Fellowship have formed a small group, "Pocono Friends of Creation." For their next meeting, they plan on skiing out to a fireside discussion on plans for a springtime tree planting and cleanup project of a nearby state park.

Grinnell, Iowa: The EEN small group at Grinnell First Friends Meeting has works on prairie restoration with the local chapter of the Audubon Society. The group is planning an excursion to observe a gathering of bald eagles at a nearby dam.

Holland, Michigan: The Creation Care Committee at 14th Street Christian Reformed Church raises awareness of the phosphate pollution and the Lake Macatawah watershed.

Kingston, Ohio: A student group at Ohio University meets regularly for prayer, fellowship, and bible study.

Lakeland, Florida: Students at the Lakeland Christian School explore God's majesty and love for creation through their monarch butterfly garden.

Bellingham, Washington: A small group within the Northwest Ecosystem Alliance sponsors lectures on caring for creation.

For more information on starting an EEN small group in your church, camp, school, or neighborhood, or about anything on this page, contact Scott Althouse at (610) 645-9395 or althouse@esa-online.org.

Inspiration

Gary Fawver

Francis was born of nobility in the castle of Sales in France. After switching from the study of rhetoric to theology at a Jesuit College in Paris he said: "I studied many subjects to please my father; but I studied theology to please myself." He became a priest in 1593.
He then volunteered to be assigned in Geneva as a missionary, where he "fought" Calvin and other first-generation Calvinists with the weapon of Christian love. The Calvinists not only debated him, but thought nothing of ambushing mission priests, and therefore he had a number of encounters and miraculous escapes. For several years he took another assignment away from Geneva for the church, but in 1602, he was made Bishop of Geneva, staying there until his death in l622.

An able bishop and popular preacher, de Sales wished most to be seen as a "director of souls." And in fact his correspondence of spiritual counsel was enormous, from 15 to 20 carefully written letters a day for years.

His Introduction To the Devout Life began as a series of letters of guidance to the wife of an ambassador. Instead of calling her by her real name, Mme. de Charmoisy, when the book was published he called her "Philothea" (Lover of God). It was immediately recognized as one of the truly great masterpieces of devotional literature. This book has always been significant because de Sales' stated purpose was to influence ordinary people, not Church leaders. It asserts that holiness is possible to those whose lives are entirely in the world: in towns, households, at court, and in ordinary circumstances. In many ways this work is the best primer for those who would attempt a mastery of the devotional life.

"Conclude your meditation with humble thanks and an offering of yourself to God. Offer prayers and then gather a devotional nosegay. Let me explain what I mean by that. When people have been strolling through a beautiful garden they usually pick four or five flowers to take with them through the day. They smell them from time to time to cleanse their nostrils of foul odors. When our souls have roamed in meditation through a spiritual garden, we can choose two or three ideas that seemed most helpful and think about them occasionally all day long.

"Birds have nests in trees and can retire to them when need arises and stags have bushes and thickets where they take cover, hide, and enjoy the cool shade during the summer. So also, Philothea, our hearts should each day pick and choose some place, ... as a retreat where they can retire at various times to refresh and restore themselves during their exterior occupations. There, as in a stronghold, they can defend themselves against temptations.

"Genuine devotion is simply honest love of God. When this love becomes so much a part of us that we automatically do deliberate good, then it can be labeled 'devotion.' Ostriches are not flying birds, chickens fly short distances with much effort, but eagles, doves, and swallows fly high and far. Sinners are like the ostrich and are earthbound. Good people who have not quite reached devotion are like the chicken. They fly in God's direction, but inefficiently and awkwardly. The devout soar to God with regularity. Devotion, then, is a natural agility of the spirit.

"Don't sow weeds in the soil of your heart. Your garden space is limited."

Teresa was born to a prominent and prestigious Spanish family. She had six brothersall knights. As a child she read incessantly, first of the lives of saints and then books of chivalry. At age 21, she became a Carmelite nun in her hometown. Plagued with very poor health for many years, Teresa was encouraged to make prayer a priority. At age 40, after 20 years of physical and spiritual struggle, she experienced a conversion, and at that point God began to use her. She reformed her Order and founded 14 other monasteries. Teresa quite easily handled multiple administrative details, putting in days that began with prayer at 5 a.m. and that often kept her at her desk well past midnight. One of the greatest contemplative spirits in history, she was always aware that she was living her life in the presence of God. She is an outstanding example of a thorough blending of the practical efficiency of a Martha, and the calm devotion of a Mary. People are impressed with her writings because she is so practical, terse, alive, and she speaks to us in vivid metaphors that illuminate her message. Her best-known works are A Life of Prayer and The Interior Castle.

"A beginner in prayer must look upon himself as making a garden. There our Lord may take His delight, but in a soil that is unfruitful and full of weeds. His Majesty roots up the weeds to replace them with good plants. Let us take for granted that this is already done when a soul is determined to give itself to prayer and has begun the practice of it.

"As good gardeners, we have by the help of God to see that the plants grow. We should water them carefully so that they will not die, but rather produce blossoms. These will send forth much fragrance which is so refreshing to our Lord that He may come often for His delight into this garden and take pleasure Himself in the midst of these virtues.

"Let us now see how this garden is to be watered. How much trouble will it cost us? Will the gain be greater than the trouble, or how long a time will it take us?

"It seems to me that the garden may be watered in four ways. The first is taking water out of the well, which is very laborious. The second is water raised by means of a water-wheel, which manner I myself have drawn water sometimes. It is a less troublesome way than the first, and it yields more water. The third is by a stream or a brook, whereby the garden is watered in a much better way, for the soil is more thoroughly saturated, and there is no necessity to water it so often. Moreover, the labor of the gardener is much less. And finally, by showers of rain, our Lord Himself waters the garden without any labor on our part. This way is incomparably the best of all those which I have spoken about."

Applying the readings

Can you find a beautiful and pleasant-smelling flower? It need not be picked to enjoy, but if many of them are around, pick it and keep it with you for a time. Read again the statement of de Sales about the spiritual bouquet. Can you think of a verse or two that you can take with you throughout the day to remind you of God's love and faithfulness? Perhaps you can find one in your daily Scripture reading. Or maybe you would like to pick one of these Scripture flowers: "The Lord is my light and my salvationwhom shall I fear?" (Psalm 27:1); "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." (Psalm 119:105); "Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom." (Psalm 145:3).

Refer to de Sales' second quote. What is your place of daily retreat where you can go for refreshing and restoration? Do you have a favorite place in the house to meet with the Lord? Can you talk with him while out for a walk? Can your car be that stronghold where you can cry out to Him even while driving through town? Can you, as you sit at your desk, take a minute or two to retreat with the Lord for a short time of respite from the cares of business? Is there, where you now are, a place of quiet retreat where you can meditate on Psalm 62:1-2: "My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him; He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken." Perhaps Psalm 131:2: "But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me." Some people have designated small rooms in their homes as "Quiet Places," which are used when the need or desire is present to spend time with the Lord.

Have you watched hawks or eagles, wings outstretched, floating on the thermals? Perhaps you have watched swallows doing their aerial acrobatics. Are you in a location where you can do that now? If not, close your eyes and imagine the soaring birds and then, using your sanctified imagination, picture yourself soaring to God with regularity, not pulled down with the cares of the world. "Oh, had I the wings of a dove! Then I would fly away and be at rest." (Psalm 55:6) "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles...." (Isaiah 40:31)

Go outside to the yard, garden, roadside, field. Look around for some weeds. Are there few or many? How much work would it take to bring them under control? Now pull a few. Is it easy or difficult? Does it make a difference in the look of the surroundings or not? Do you have thoughts, relationships, habits and attitudes that are "weeds" in the soil of your heart? Are some rooted deeply, and hard to pull out, while some are shallow and easily taken out? Do the weeds seem to spread rapidly and is weeding an ongoing process? Aren't you glad that God the Master Gardener can tend your garden? Will you offer Him a soft, willing heart?

Water is an image that Teresa dwells upon. Its scarcity in the arid steppes of Castile and the irrigation practices Spain inherited from the Moors were familiar to her. Water, too, is a primordial image of life frequently used in Scripture.

She thinks of it as an image of the entire life, saying, "I do not find anything more appropriate to explain such spiritual experiences than water."

Teresa compares prayer to watering a garden. Getting the water may or may not be laborious. One way is to lower a bucket into a well and then to raise the bucket and carry its limited contents to the garden. A second way employs using a water wheel that carries the bucket to the water. A third way, through a ditch, channels water from stream to the garden. The last is to let the rains come. Like watering a garden, prayer can take many forms, from hard work to grateful satisfaction. The important thing is that the garden gets watered.

As you work your way through Teresa's garden and watering analogy, what can you learn about your prayer life? Is prayer hard work for you, or are there times in your life when you experience the refreshing presence of God, not because you attempt to pray, but simply because you sit expectantly in His presence?

When you pray, does your mind wander? Do you find it difficult to concentrate while you pray? Perhaps writing your prayer thoughts and requests would be like using a bucket. It may be a tool to engage your mind and heart in dialog.

Later, perhaps God's quiet presence will set in, and the stream will flow easily and gently.

Read Isaiah 55:10-13, and be reassured that God's Word, as rain and snow, accomplishes its purpose.

Isaiah 55:10,11 says, "As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

Gary Fawver is a member of the Creation Care Editorial Advisory Board, a professor of outdoor studies at George Fox University, and a regular contributor.