While we encourage our congregations to thank God for creation, we must also become involved in the gratitude. It is through the intentional teaching, preaching, care and advocacy that clergy honors God for creation. If the church desires to remain a transformative force for generations to come, it must get serious about preserving resources. God’s house must care for God’s world.
When Florida Avenue Baptist Church became the first solar powered Black Church, in 2011, the discussion of the role of African-American congregations in environmental issues was revisited. Black churches have historically been at the forefront of calls for social justice and they are now being presented with an opportunity to become even more involved in environmental justice causes. Earlier this year, author and pastor Dianne Glave issued a clarion call to the African-American religious community to “fall in love with the planet and meet the environmental needs of those who are impoverished.” In her book, Rooted in the Earth: Reclaiming the African American Environmental Heritage, Glave enables Black churches to find their voice in environmental justice and conservation efforts. As clergy and church leaders, we are faced with environmental challenges every day. We’re asked to pray for someone suffering from a nutrition-related illness. We see obesity conquering our congregations. Asthma and other respiratory illnesses are at record highs in urban areas. We cannot escape the impact of the environment on the lives of our parishioners. If we choose to do so, are we failing to preach and teach ways to be good stewards over all of God’s creation? If 3 John 1:2 is to be made manifest in the lives of the people we lead, then we must lead in innovation. Robust ministries that collaborate with community health agencies in order to defeat diabetes, hypertension and the like are only the beginning. Churches must examine their own ecological footprints to identify where we step too heavily or where we have yet to travel. Do we use too much electricity? Can we cut back on our usage of printed-paper? How do we begin to overcome the shortages of healthy food in our neighborhoods? Have we taken seriously the threat of climate change and encouraged our elected officials to do so the same? These questions and more must be answered if the church is to become a critically engaging voice for those who do not have one. While we encourage our congregations to thank God for creation, we must also become involved in the gratitude. It is through the intentional teaching, preaching, care and advocacy that clergy honors God for creation. If the church desires to remain a transformative force for generations to come, it must get serious about preserving resources. God’s house must care for God’s world.
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