“Are you a person of faith? Do you have a deep love for creation? Are you concerned about the health of God’s Earth and the future of your children?” Those questions are asked on the front of a brochure for The Interfaith Environmental Alliance (IEA) in Texas.
IEA’s founder Gary Stuard was the guest presenter for “Creation Care” — the second in the Films & Forums series sponsored by the local organization CORE — on Friday evening, October 24th. Gary first reminded the group of the Bible’s call to be “good stewards of creation” then showed vignettes from the documentary film “RENEWAL.”
The first story introduced us to evangelicals in Appalachia organizing against the practice of mountaintop coal removal that is ‘raping’ the place where they live, causing flooding, and polluting the water they use. In one touching moment in the film, we heard a mother relive the moment she learned that the water her young daughter bathes in now contains arsenic – runoff from the mines.
We then watched how an interfaith coalition in New Jersey helps “... houses of worship make their buildings more environmentally sound and the members of their congregations more spiritually in tune with becoming better stewards of Creation. From workshops that invite people to explore their personal impact on the environment, to implementing recycling and composting, on up to the installation of solar panels, congregations [in that state] are making remarkable strides.”
Following these encouraging examples of good stewardship of God’s creation, local church members were led in small-group meetings to find out what our personal environmental concerns are for Fannin County and the surrounding area. Led by Amy Hoffman-Shehan, Marla Loturco, and Scottie Johnson (members of the Grayson County chapter of IEA) the conversations allowed us to see that we all share similar concerns. Three dominant issues emerged from the conversations: 1) the many environmental and social losses that would result from building the Lower Bois ‘d Arc Reservoir, 2) the need to have locally grown foods, and 3) the lack of a recycling program for Fannin County.
As one participant, Father Bill Dalton, stated, “We all need to take our responsibility for the care of God's creation more seriously. There are many needs and I think that it makes sense to start easy and work up to the more difficult. Recycle is an easy way to start. We do not have the program here in Bonham but if we all let it be known that it is important and needed, it can happen. Recycling saves landfill space, takes less energy to remake items and reduces our need to destroy our natural resources at such a fast rate. I plan to encourage the members of the Fannin County Ministerial Alliance to consider congregational involvement.”
For more information on The Interfaith Environmental Alliance, go to www.iea-ntx.org. You may contact Gary Stuard directly at garstu@mymailstation.com.
RENEWAL “…was produced and directed by veteran filmmakers Marty Ostrow and Terry Kay Rockefeller, using the compelling storytelling and high production standards that have been the hallmark of their work for NOVA, American Experience, Eyes on the Prize, and other PBS series.” To learn more about the Renewal Project or to order a DVD, go to www.renewalproject.net
CORE (Citizens Organizing for Resources and Environment) is 501(c)(3) non-profit that organized in November 2006 in response to the coal-fired power plant that TXU was requesting to build near Savoy. After the buyout of TXU that plant was removed from its plans. CORE will continue to provide a means for citizens to learn about local environmental issues and to provide basic environmental education on wider issues. To contact CORE, e-mail info@texomaCORE.org or mail to P.O. Box 86, Ravenna, TX 75476.
If you or your congregation are interested in connecting with others in our county to talk about local stewardship issues, please contact Father Bill Dalton at (903) 640-0928.