We are still in the beautiful state of Colorado but my conference has come to a conclusion. The theme was Earth care, and I attended because of two presenters whose writing I admire. They both proved to be gracious, accessible individuals and I enjoyed conversing with them. Others were a delightful surprise.
While my wife Ruth was not part of the conference she was with me at Highlands and joined us at meal times. She was struck by the intelligence and passion of the participants. The majority were lay people who were there because of their commitment, as Christians, to a healthier planet. Many of them are on Earth care teams in their congregations.
We ate out on the deck of the conference centre with an architect who was part of the design team for the building we were in, which was deliberately adjacent to a wetland. Another day we had lunch with a woman who runs a state wildlife centre, and her husband who is a psychiatrist. Another sprightly elderly woman is a retired university professor. and at our last meal we were at the table with a marine biologist. Intelligent, educated, motivated people.
Away from the table we talked about our increasingly secular Canadian society where Christians are often viewed with contempt as deluded and ignorant. It was refreshing to be in that environment where we were stimulated by the presentations and the other participants.
What about the notion of Earth care teams in our congregations?Any thoughts or observations about the shift in our culture toward suspicion and outright hostility toward organized religion? Any reaction to our observations about the folk we were with?
2 comments:
I have had moments of what I thought was environment fatigue as I heard of yet another way modern life was harming the earth but as I have thought more about it I have realized my fatigue is more frustration at my inability to understand in depth the scientific support that comes after the environmental campaign slogans. The volume of information that is released daily is more than I can keep up with, yet my intuition (which has served me better than my (non) scientific mind) urges me into supporting the wisdom of caring for creation. I admire those of whom you spoke.
I can see why organized religion draws suspicion at times, but find it such narrow thinking to assume that the few bad eggs taint the bunch..... Sometimes can't help wondering if life is just "easier" without the expectations of an organized creed or belief system so folks allow the bad eggs to be their easy out .....
Have just begun to read Darwin, Divinity and the Dance of the Cosmos (Sanguin) and find it a rich perspective on understanding our place in creation and how that interpretation is central to everything else we do and are in this world.
I'm sure that as a mother you see the importance of keeping your eyes up in anticipation of a better world rather than a trashed planet for them. This conference reminded me not to lose hope, no matter how dark the days may seem and to ask God for courage.
Thanks Laura.
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