In a time of increasing uncertainty regarding the health of our planet, pastors and church leaders need the theological and practical skills to lead their congregations in responding to the ecological challenge. This course offers an overview of the theological and spiritual background regarding our personal and corporate responsibility to be stewards of creation, then emphasizes the very practical ways that our stewardship commitment can be carried out in the local church setting.
Readings:
Students are expected to complete all of the required readings listed below. Please read Ecology at the Heart of Faith (Edwards), Eco-Faith (Hosenfeld), Genesis 1-2, and scan Earth’s Echo (Hamma).
Ecological Autobiography: Each student will prepare a three-to-five-page (double-spaced) autobiography describing your formative experiences in the outdoors, reflecting on your experience of God’s presence in the outdoors, and detailing how these experiences have shaped your understanding of the relationship between God, humanity, and non-human creation. No independent research please, just your own reflections on your experiences with the natural world.
Journaling at a Sacred Place: Each student is encouraged, but not required, to find and adopt a convenient outdoor place conducive to reflection, and visit it regularly, each day of the week of the class. (Given that the class is taught in the middle of winter, you might want to find an indoor place, looking out instead.) Get to know your sacred place. What does it look like, sound like, smell like? What lives there? Is God present in this sacred place? How does it change throughout the semester? How do you change in relationship to the place throughout the semester? Write down your thoughts and feelings about this place. Make sketches if you feel so inclined. This assignment will not be graded nor collected but will add significantly to your understanding of the course material. We will be discussing these experiences of sacred place during the class.
Field Trip:
Students are expected to participate in one class field trip during the week to an area church that has made progress in greening its congregation. Details will be added as they become available.
Final Project:
Students will be asked to choose one of the following for a final project:
A 20-30 minute sermon, (2,000 to 3,000 words), describing some aspect of the Scriptural and Ecological Imperatives to care for the Earth. Please okay your topic and Scripture with the professor in advance.
A detailed overview, (5 to 8 double-spaced pages or equivalent), of how you would organize, (or expand, if you have an existing effort), a creation care program at your church. Include a discussion of the following:
- Overall strategy
- Elements (education, worship, buildings and grounds, etc.)
- Existing opportunities
- Anticipated obstacles
Each paper will be graded on the extent to which it meets the assigned criteria, engages the student’s congregation, and has the potential for changing the way the church relates to the Earth. More details on this project will be given during class. It is strongly suggested that you begin this project prior to class since you will have only a couple of weeks to complete it.
Class Schedule
Lesson 1: a.m. Meditation; Course Introduction; Ecological Imperative/Living Within Creation; p.m. Meditation; Developing a Creation Care Program-Overview and Strategy; Assignment-Read Genesis 1-2
Lesson 2: a.m. Meditation; Theological Imperative-Hebrew Bible; p.m. Meditation; Developing a Creation Care Program-Elements; Assignment- Review www.earthministry.org/programs/greeningcongregation, www.nccecojustice.org, www.webofcreation.org, Fretheim and Trible
Lesson 3: a.m. Meditation; Theological Imperative-New Testament, Ecojustice and Environmental Racism; p.m. Developing a Creation Care Program – Energy; Guest Speaker (tentative) – Greater Washington Interfaith Power and Light; Assignment-Review www.gwipl.org, www.energystar.gov/congregations; Cone, Macy
Lesson 4: a.m. Meditation; Theological Imperative-Christian Tradition and Role of Church; p.m. Developing a Creation Care Program-Putting it all Together; FIELD TRIP (tentative date); Assignment-Review Denominational Statements on Creation Care at http://fore.research.yale.edu/publications/statements/index.html, www.seasonofcreation.com, Oelschlaeger, Berry, White
Lesson 5: a.m. Meditation; Theological Imperative-Spirituality in Nature; p.m. Developing a Creation Care Program-WRAPUP; Assignment-Review website www.greenseminaries.org, Louv, Read one chapter of your choosing in Hamma
Reading List
CM-138 Greening Your Congregations
Major Texts
- Edwards, Denis. Ecology at the Heart of Faith; The Change of Heart That Leads to a New Way of Living on Earth. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2007.
- Hamma, Robert M. earth’s echo: Sacred Encounters With Nature. Notre Dame, IN: Sorin Books, 2002.
- Hosenfeld, Charlene. EcoFaith: Creating & Sustaining Green Congregations. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 2009.
- Berry, Thomas. The Great Work. New York: Bell Tower, 1999.
- Cone, James. Whose Earth is it Anyway? Cross Currents, Spring/Summer 2000, Vol. 50, Issue 1-2.
- Fretheim, Terrence E. God and World in the Old Testament: A Relational Theology of Creation. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2005.
- Louv, Richard. The Nature-Child Reunion. National Wildlife Federation Magazine. June/July: 22-30, 2000.
- Macy, Joanna. WorkingThrough Environmental Despair. In Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind, eds. Theodore Roszak, Mary E. Gomes, Allen D. Kanner. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1995.
- Oelschlaeger, Max. Caring for Creation: An Ecumenical Approach to the Environmental Crisis. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994.
- Trible, Phyllis. Ancient Priests and Modern Polluters. Andover Newton Quarterly 12, No. 2:74-79, 1967.
- White, Lynn, Jr. The Historical Roots of the Ecologic Crisis. In The Care of Creation, ed. R.J. Berry. Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 2000.
This syllabus pertains to when the course was offered in 2011