Re: [pf] where I am coming from

by Betsy Barnum

19 December 2000 18:49 UTC

Priscilla, Vicki, Diane, Jill and all,

The question about movement-building is a really provocative one. I have lots of
thoughts, and will try to organize them and be as brief as possible.

One of the most exciting potentials that I'm seeing and feeling is the 
involvement
of the faith community in environmental and social issues. As I said before, I 
was
in Seattle in December 1999, and I saw the significant presence of people of
faith, and not just the traditionally activist denominations and the peace
churches, but the mainline ones, the Middle America ones.

There has never been, as you point out, Priscilla, a well-organized "left"
religious movement, for many reasons, I'm sure. It would be interesting to 
analyze
those reasons. Why is it that Evangelicals for Social Justice, Bread for the
World, Sojourners and the other organizations of Christians concerned about
poverty, hunger and justice have not become a nucleus of a faith-based political
movement, like the religious right has done around their issues?

But what I see happening now, as I work with a number of different churches who
are becoming interested in voluntary simplicity and in more Earth-centered
understanding of their faith, is that many churches and many people sitting in 
the
pews are becoming concerned enough about the ecological crisis to want to act.
Maybe it is that the cognitive dissonance is finally becoming too loud for them 
to
ignore.

A couple of weeks ago, I was a workshop presenter at an event sponsored by the
Minnesota Council of Churches about educating in congregations on the issue of
global warming. There were teams of pastors and parishioners from a number of
Lutheran synods throughout the state, as well as Presbyterian and Methodist
judicatories and some Catholic parishes. The event got front page coverage in 
the
second section of the Minneapolis newspaper, an excellent story about ecological
issues becoming faith issues. The article has generated at least 40 phone calls 
to
the Council, as well as to the pastors and organizers who were mentioned in the
article.

I'm also involved in a faith-based initiative that gives me a huge amount of 
hope.
It's called the New Earth Partnership, and started in one small Lutheran
congregation whose pastor and administrative committee became passionate about 
the
need to address the ecological crisis as an issue of faith. They invited other
churches as well as environmental organizations (how I got involved) to help 
them
think through what this might mean, and to become resources. (We're developing a
web site--when it's up, I'll let you know the address.)

The mission involves responding to the environmental crisis in faith through
worship, education and care for place. We hope (I'm co-chair of the steering
committee) that the partnership will soon become an Interfaith effort, not 
limited
to Christian churches, and that it will be a source of encouragement for pastors
and parishioners to find support for care of creation in their scriptures and
traditions, to educate themselves about how to reduce their ecological impact, 
and
to examine and manage their facility and its ecological impact as well as
connecting to the ecology of their location as they respond in faith to the
critical need for humans to learn to live in harmony with the Earth.

The key here, to me, is a somewhat elusive but very powerful concept, and that 
is
what it means to see care of the Earth as a faith issue -- it's different from 
an
ethical issue or moral issue, not the same as conscience. I'm not sure how to 
say
it better than that, because faith may feel different to different people in
different traditions. For some it's about obedience, for others love, I think 
it's
about relationship, and about power but not in the same way for everyone.

In any case, it seems to me that the mainstream faith community is a "sleeping
giant" that is beginning to stir, and that I think can and will be a significant
force in the battle for sustainability. In my workshop, I challenged the
participants to think about the intrusion of corporate power  into almost every
institution of our economy and society -- every institution except the church.
Some of them told me that even the church has been influenced by corporate
messages, but they agreed that it is certainly less influenced then other
institutions that educate -- schools, universities, the media, the political
system, those who control the public discourse. I've come to think that the
communities of faith can and perhaps must take the lead in providing accurate
information about ecological issues and about issues relating to the global
economy, and that they can and must engender the discourse about these issues 
that
is missing in our society.

I didn't intend to go on this long about the faith communities. So I'll just say
one more thing about it, and comment on other aspects of movement-building in
another post.

I think the church has been left alone by corporations because it has been seen 
as
passive, removed from politics and protest. I think the church needs to take
advantage of this and begin to speak truth to power. In addition, since people 
who
are part of a community of faith also have jobs and live in neighborhoods and 
are
subject to all the other institutions of society, they can take what they learn
and understand as people of faith into the world at large -- just as the 
religious
right has done so effectively.

There are very, very many people of faith with deep concerns about what is
happening to the Earth and to people because of the global economy. If it is 
true
that about a quarter of Americans are cultural creatives, and if they are spread
equally throughout society as the research seemed to show, then every fourth
person in the pews, on the prayer rugs, sitting meditation, etc. every week is a
cultural creative, convinced that change is needed, ready to try new ways, 
looking
around to see who else is thinking like they are. If efforts like the New Earth
Partnership begin to spring up, and I have to believe that they are or will be
because I'm sure this little Lutheran church is not the only one moving in this
direction, than a powerful force for change is about to be unleashed.

Betsy




--
Betsy Barnum
bbarnum@wavetech.net
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/1624

**************************************
The Constitution was designed to ensure that the majority of
citizens (without property) would not have a real voice in
political affairs and it is no coincidence that that is the case
today. And the Constitution was designed to ensure that real
political power in this country would always be held by the
handful of very large property owners and it is no coincidence
that that is the case today.

--Jerry Fresia, Toward An American Revolution