Creation Care, Texas Style

I presided at two family weddings in July which meant visiting with relatives I haven't seen in years, even decades. My cheerful, smart cousin from Texas spent a couple of nights with us and we caught up on her life. She began as a woodworking shop teacher, moved into banking, decided to become a lawyer, left her practice to be a full-time marathon running coach, worked for her church, and is now considering going back to school to study engineering! She is also very involved in her suburb of Dallas, helping to coordinate the community garden program and offering seminars on water conservation and other ecological issues. At home she actually changed the "rain gutters" (eavestroughs) to divert water to large water reservoirs, bigger than our modest Canadian rain barrels.

She is also an enthusiastic evangelical Christian, attending a "bible church" with 3,000 in attendance on a Sunday morning. There are actually several larger congregations nearby, a reminder that the Southern States has a very different religious landscape than secular Canada.

When I asked whether her congregation has a ministry to promote earth-care she seemed a little taken aback. No, there isn't an emphasis on practical ways to honour and sustain the world God has brought into being. Obviously she is committed and believes it is an aspect of her Christian faith. But personal salvation is the emphasis of her church, not "for God so loved the world."

Do you "connect the dots" between your faith and creation care? Is it important for congregations to encourage practices which are earth-honouring, or is this a distraction from the real Christian message. Does the list of my cousin's activities exhaust you?