Pastoral Care for the Climate

Greetings from Beaufort, NC. I am attending the Pastoral Care for the Climate retreat at the Duke Marine Lab. It is put on by Creation Justice Ministries, Anabaptist Climate Cooperative, and Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment. Day one included lectures from Jerusha Matsen Neal, Doug Kaufman, Toddi Steelman, Nina Balmaceda, and Lisa Campbell. Each one gave a fascinating presentation about place and various iterations of the question, “Where do I stand?”

As I listened to their presentations, I thought about how easy it is to connect scripture to caring for God’s creation. When we reduce our emissions, we reduce our contribution to climate change, and by reducing our contributions to climate change, we care for our neighbors (Luke 10:25-37). When we use reusable bags instead of plastic ones, we reduce plastics in our waterways, and we undermine the false prophets (2 Peter 2, Jude) that tell us it doesn’t make a difference. When we care for the environment, we become active participants in solutions instead of bystanders (Obadiah).

In between sessions, again and again, my mind raced to passages that do not seem to connect to ecotheology, but they do. In addition, they don’t require interpretative acrobatics to make the connection. Lisa Campbell’s presentation looked at the role of social networks in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence. Churches played an integral role in recovery. In Toddi Steelman’s research with wildland firefighters, she found churches and religious leaders were instrumental in disseminating information and providing a place for people to gather. We have a valuable role to play as we respond to the current climate crisis and promote a message of hope for the future.

On Monday evening, we worshiped together using resources from the Wild Church Network. The experience was unlike our weekly gatherings. We gathered in a circle at dusk, and Doug Kaufman provided some instructions. Someone read some scripture, Doug said a liturgy, someone prayed, and then we spent 15 minutes walking around the natural area on Pivers Island. We reconvened when someone started singing, “This Little Light of Mine.” Doug invited people to share what nature said to them during our time of reflection. People shared different things, but a pod of dolphins interrupted us. Our worship service paused as we watched the dolphins. Then, I spoke, and when I was done, a dolphin exhaled in a loud “Pfff” sound right behind me. I said, “That was dolphin for ‘Amen.’”

The world speaks to the presence of God’s glory. If we open ourselves, we can hear the world proclaim the goodness of the Lord. God invites us to be co-creators and stewards of this planet. What we do with this invitation is up to us.