An incoming e-mail announces an event of interest for members of the Episcopal Ecological Network (EpEN). The EpEN’s communicator reads the message and decides to send it to all network members. With a few mouse clicks, the e-mail’s contents are sent to recipients in some 25 diocesan-level and five congregation-level environmental commissions, committees, and working groups. These leaders, in turn, send the message to their members. In a matter of a few hours, more than 1,000 passionate and interested Episcopalians in the United States and overseas will have received word about the event.
Before the explosion of the internet, dissemination of such information would have taken days, if not weeks, to reach the same number of people. If the event were time-sensitive, such as a request to call a congressional representative or a notice about a special seminar, many individuals would not hear about it until it was too late.
Timely communication is one way that EpEN members are involved in caring for God’s creation, led by a working group of 14 individuals from 12 dioceses. But what is it about caring for God’s creation that keeps these individuals and groups talking and working together?
For some, it is scripture’s reminder that every element of creation is a gift and a revelation of God. Further, they believe that our relationship with God is part of a symbiotic connection among all of God’s creation. Most members strive to deepen their knowledge of the theological, spiritual, scientific, and practical ecological issues in our world. EpEN members seek to understand today’s complex ecological issues and search for realistic faith-based solutions. For others, the imperative to act in ways that protect, heal, and honor the integrity of God’s creation leads to intentional changes in personal and corporate lifestyles, and/or in engaging the political process. Through participation, EpEN leaders and members also find an understanding community within which they gain strength for a journey that can sometimes be hostile or uncaring.
Five years ago, EpEN identified “priority areas of concern” that include promoting energy efficiency and conservation, protecting resources, encouraging sustainability, and integrating a respect for creation into liturgies and promoting “green” awareness in churches, camps, conference centers, and meetings. The EpEN is the grass-roots voice of The Episcopal Church on matters of environmental spirituality, and this voice is heard in ways like these:
Joyce Wilding (Diocese of Tennessee) has established a network of contacts throughout Province 4 that works on addressing local and regional issues. She also established Environmental Ministries at Sewanee: The University of the South, a three-year program to explore the science-religion interface through an examination of local environmental problems. Ms. Wilding speaks often around The Episcopal Church about environmental spirituality.
The Minnesota Episcopal Environmental Stewardship Commission has focused its environmental ministry through a website that provides action resolutions and various liturgical materials, including reflections on lectionary readings, environmental liturgies, and materials for the “creation season.” The commission’s website is expected to attract nearly 750,000 visitors this year, of which 80,000 will come from outside the United States. The commission also operates the Mary Brown Environmental Center in Ely, Minn., as a spirituality-based environmental education and retreat center.
The Rev. Bruce MacDuffie (North Dakota) has led organizing efforts to educate political leaders about matters of environmental concern. He does this through public forums, and through letter-writing campaigns to politicians and the media.
Hall Hammond and the Environmental Stewardship Committee in the Diocese of West Texas work to keep Earth Day on people’s minds throughout the year. They promote a cooperative buying program with Office Depot that emphasizes green products, and have produced a Green Building Primer for Church Buildings for use by churches remodeling existing buildings or planning new construction. They also established an environmental stewardship management program at the diocesan offices in San Antonio.
In the Diocese of Arizona, Phyllis Strupp has been leading desert hikes that refresh mind, body and spirit and build community. She also leads discussion groups of the diocese’s nature and spirituality program, and a Celtic Connection Program, designed to guide individuals on a journey through the mysteries of Celtic Christian perspectives that lead to a deeper meaning of food, family, and fun for 21st-century Christians. Diocesan Bishop Kirk Smith provides space in his weekly E-pistle newsletter for environmental news.
Technology has helped bind together EpEN’s members. Leaders use e-mail and teleconferencing to communicate with each other, and email lists disseminate information across the larger network. Websites allow the organization to be a resource for laity, clergy, and political leaders. Electronic lists enable members to discuss matters of concern or get assistance from others. In these and many other ways, electronic communications are making our world closer and more in tune than ever before.
People of faith are seeking solutions that have no walls and are not bound by geographic constraints. Electronic communication, according to Phyllis Strupp, has been “key to shaping my views on what others are doing, what we should be doing . . . and communicating [this] with my bishop. Knowing what’s going on around the church . . . has helped me be more effective with him.” ❏
Charles Morello, Jr., is the communicator for the Episcopal Ecological Network. He can be reached at theiceismelting@yahoo.com.
For More Information
Province 4 Environmental Ministries
Minnesota Episcopal Environmental Stewardship Commission
Environmental Stewardship Committee, Diocese of West Texas
Green Building Primer for Church Buildings
Diocese of Arizona Nature and Spirituality Program
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