education

In your congregation’s education programs, you can help others explore connections between their faith and God’s broader creation. These programs can also help members understand how threats to God’s creation are a primary concern for people of faith. Such educational experiences can provide reflection, support, and on-going learning for people who share this concern.

Many congregational organizers have helped to incorporate creation-honoring elements into a variety of educational offerings, such as:
·        Sunday school classes for children, youth, and adults
·        Vacation Bible school and other children’s events
·        Youth and adult study groups
·        Lecture series, forums, and other educational events
·        Retreats
·        Library materials

Some creation-awareness/care resources that organizers have used in these educational times include the following:

Our list of Recommended Curricular Aids and Congregational Resources highlights some of the most useful curricular resources for children, youth, and adults. The content of these curricula ranges from general creation-awareness, to more specific topics (e.g., food and land sustainability, climate change). For example, Earth Ministry’s Simpler Living, Compassionate Life: A Christian Perspective has been especially helpful for people who want to explore issues of global economic justice, ecological degradation, and use of time and money in the context of their faith. This anthology and study guide provides groups with an opportunity to build community in the process of learning together. Many groups find this sort of study (with this curriculum or many of the other books in the Annotated Bibliography) to be ideal for nurturing understanding and a sense of connection with others.

One congregation’s experience …
“Education that Builds Community”

Darla O’Brian, an Earth Ministry Colleague from Seattle First Baptist Church, helped to coordinate a marvelous eight-week, adult education series called “The Land, The Sea, The Air – A Sacred Trust.” The series included in-church presentations by an Earth Ministry staff person, a speaker from the Department of Natural Resources, a panel of church members, a local atmospheric science professor with expertise on global warming, and others. In between most of these presentations, the series included field trips: a hike in the rain forest (on the Olympic Peninsula), a trip to a local farm, and a Native American blessing ritual at a local park. The series provided a healthy balance between talking about God’s creation and actually going out and experiencing it.

At the end of this stimulating series, a group of people emerged who a shared a general interest in making sure that creation awareness and care continued to be an ongoing part of the church’s life. While they shared this common interest, each member held his/her own specific environmental and eco-justice concerns. The group wondered how to best appreciate their shared vision and their diversity. During a group meeting prior to worship, they decided that they wanted to study Earth Ministry’s Simpler Living, Compassionate Life – an anthology and community-building study guide. Currently, the group meets twice a month, on Monday evenings, for study, conversation, and a potluck. When talking about these evening gatherings, Darla said, “I’ve known many of these people for years, but never have I experienced such a high level of sharing with them.” Their sharing is helping to hone their personal and common vision, and has increased their resolve to care for creation in tangible ways. For example, they’re dedicated to engaging in stream restoration projects in the coming months and practicing deeper simplicity in their daily lives.

For children, a session simply taken directly from a curriculum will probably not fully engage their God-given curiosity about creation – a sense of wonder that should be nurtured over the course of many years. Several of the curricula listed in the Appendices of this handbook try to cultivate such wonder by suggesting taking children out into the natural world, or at least bringing parts of nature into the Sunday school room. If you find a curriculum to be thin on the natural and tactile, consider enriching your time with some of the creative exercises found in Sharing Nature with Children (by Joseph Cornell) or Earth Child: Games, Stories, Activities, Experiments and Ideas About Living Lightly on Planet Earth (by Kathryn Sheehan and Mary Waidner). You can read more about these resources in the Annotated Bibliography. Of course, most children love having a good story read to them. Several such faith-based books exist for children – please refer again to the Annotated Bibliography for a sample of these.

Building on a foundation of wonder, youth leaders and teachers can gradually introduce youth (ages 12-18) to fairly in-depth ecological realities and concerns. Raising these intricacies too early can inhibit younger children from enjoying and developing deep respect for God’s creation. Youth are better able to sort out complex issues and challenging feelings, but also need to know that they can make a tangible difference in the face of challenges. No one likes to be weighed down by the enormity of ecological concerns – especially youth who have the desire and energy to help confront these concerns. Many congregational organizers and youth leaders find hands-on restoration and conservation projects to be an enriching complement to indoor study and a meaningful way to deal with the weight of concerns. An example of a curriculum for youth that balances study/reflection with hands-on activities is Protecting God’s Creation: A Resource Manual, produced by the National Catholic Youth Initiative (see our Recommended Curricular Aids and Congregational Resources guide for more information on this resource).

One congregation’s experience …
“Children’s Creation Awareness Day”

Barb Adams and Ken Miller, Colleagues from Seattle Mennonite Church, host an annual Children’s Creation Awareness Day at their home in the woods. Every year, a “group of awe-stuck and inspiring kids” (to use Barb’s words) and parents from the church come for a day full of prayer, storytelling, and energy-packed exploration. After one of these events Barb wrote: “we explored the woods, dug around in rotted logs as if we were woodpeckers searching for insects, spotted lots of birds, talked about how we are all connected as God’s creatures, and signed the [following] promise to care for this precious gift”:

The Earth is my home, a gift from the Creator God.
I promise to keep it healthy and beautiful.
I will love the land, the air, the water, and all living creatures.
I promise to do my part to take care of the Earth.

Signed ____________________
Date ________

The Annotated Bibliography lists a variety of resources on topics ranging from “The State of the Earth” to “Christian Environmental Theology” to “Food and Agriculture.” In addition, Earth Ministry staff can help organizers do basic research on current environmental topics (e.g., global warming/climate change and energy conservation, salmon and water quality, toxics, poverty and environmental degradation, forestry issues, etc.).

Also, Earth Letter, Earth Ministry’s mini-journal of ecology and spirituality, has been a valuable resource for individuals and groups who want to explore ecological topics from a theological and ethical perspective.

While some congregations have clergy, staff, and lay leaders who can skillfully address dimensions of creation awareness and care, congregations should not overlook other excellent speakers in their midst. If you’re planning a class, forum, or other event, consider who might best address these dimensions. Perhaps your congregation has professors, gardeners, lay ministers, scientists, concerned parents, health care workers, grassroots activists, and others who can speak articulately on various creation-awareness/care dimensions. Or you may know of other articulate people in your broader community who would be honored by an invitation to speak to your congregation.

One congregation’s experience …
“A Mouthpiece for Creation”

Jim DiPeso, an Earth Ministry Colleague from Unity Church of Kent, is a long-time environmental advocate who currently works with REP-America (Republicans for Environmental Protection). With his pastors, Marshall Norman and Shanti Devi, he wanted to bring environmental interests to a church movement that historically has largely concerned itself with inward spiritual development. In partnership with his pastors, he now gives a brief “justice making” presentation at the end of the church service once or twice a month. This is a time when Jim helps people to think beyond the boundaries of their personal lives and into various dimensions of social and ecological justice. Jim often uses the “justice making” moment to talk about issues such as global warming and forestry, and why these issues are relevant to the faith community.

Jim has also designed and offered an excellent adult class drawing upon his personal passions and expertise. One class, called “Sacred by Design,” looks at how a variety of religions revere all of creation and how the latest scientific discoveries about the natural world complement this reverence. He has also given an easy-to-understand presentation on persistent, bio-accumulative toxins using a slide show from Physicians for Social Responsibility. In 2002, he hopes to offer his congregation additional presentations on climate change, biological diversity, and other important issues, including a showing of the excellent video Keeping the Earth (visit the Union of Concerned Scientists’ web site to learn about this video).

At least three ingredients clearly help Jim to be an effective voice in his congregation: the support of his pastors, his awareness and use of excellent resources, and his own confidence in articulating ecological concerns and hopes.

We can talk about the awe-inspiring nature of creation and our concerns about its well-being, but creation can speak volumes on its own behalf. When you invite fellow members to explore an urban garden (or mountain trail, recycling center, toxic waste site, local farm, etc.) you invite them to open not only their minds but their hearts, senses, and spirits (their whole selves!) to times of learning. Such field trips can allow times for presentations (from botanists, local activists, etc.) and prayerful reflection or complete silence – all of which can add to people’s learning and experience of the Holy.

Many congregations organize their own field trips, meditative hikes, etc. while other choose to work with local naturalists, environmentalists, Earth-care and outings groups, etc. If such experiences appeal to you, consider balancing the intellectual/learning moments with more meditative ones -- striking a balance between the two often opens participants to new levels of understanding.

· Discover whether or not your congregation would find a particular ecological topic to be timely and relevant. For example, you may discover that your congregation already has strong concerns about hunger issues; consequently topics such as economic injustice/justice and sustainable agriculture will help them look at root causes of, and responses to, world hunger. By leading members to such topics, you also help to expand their circle of compassion to encompass God’s broader creation.

· In some congregations, no specific creation topic may emerge as central. For congregations who want to learn more about creation awareness and care in general, refer to our Recommended Curricular Aids and Congregational Resources page.

· If you are part of a creation-awareness/care group, you may first want to study a particular topic or curriculum prior to introducing it to your congregation. Taking part in a study will not only strengthen your knowledge, but also build a sense of community. In the process of your study, consider which approaches (e.g., use a curriculum, hold a potluck and watch a video, or invite a speaker) would best suit your congregation.

· Meet with the person(s) who directs the education programs at your congregation to learn if she/he has interest in using any of the educational resources mentioned above. You might also want to meet with your congregation’s librarian to look for and review creation-focused resources in your library. You can recommend materials to your education leaders and librarian from the Recommended Curricular Aids and Congregational Resources and the Annotated Bibliography.

Be sure to check in (meet with, call, write, etc.) with these folks from time to time to see if they need additional resources or if they have questions for you. This communication continues to let them know that you would like to see creation awareness/care incorporated into education on an ongoing basis.

· The Web of Creation’s Education page has many helpful theological and topic-oriented resources including bibliographies, articles (e.g., “The Faith Community as Green Zone”), and other materials for teaching.

· “American PIE” (American Public Information on the Environment) provides resources for a myriad of environmental topics. You can go to or call their toll-free number, (800) 320-APIE, to ask specific environmental questions. In a similar vein, the Union of Concerned Scientists’ web site provides up-to-date educational information on some of the most pressing ecological concerns.

Your Congregation | Greening Resources | Education

Return to top