Creation Care
We call our environmental mission, “Caring for Creation,” but in church lexicon it also is known as ecojustice, environmental stewardship and environmental justice. Since the late 1990s, “Caring for Creation” has been a vital mission of First Presbyterian Church that is embraced by our members and is fully integrated into our worship, actions and outreach to our community.
We are guided by our denomination’s policy actions, in particular by:
- Restoring Creation for Ecology and Justice (1990)
- Call for Presbyterian Institutions to Go Carbon Neutral (2006)
- The Power to Change: U.S. Policy and Global Warming (2008)
Creation care is based on three theological principles:
- The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof” (Psalm 24). Theologically speaking we human beings don’t own anything. We’re merely stewards, caretakers of a creation that belongs to the Creator.
- As wonderful as the creation is, it has its limits. We cannot exploit the earth’s resources with abandon. When we do, we disrupt the balance God built into creation from the beginning. That, more or less, is the lesson Adam and Eve learned when they ate the forbidden fruit. Without limits, the whole system goes haywire.
- Human beings are made in the image of God to live in community with one another. The answer to the question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” is “Yes.” We cannot love God without also loving our neighbors. I cannot honor God without honoring God’s image in my neighbor. Hence, it’s not enough for me and mine to flourish. I must see that my neighbor flourishes as well, living in dignity, freedom and justice.
These basic theological principles prompt a moral mandate to care for the earth not merely for our own sakes, but also for the sake of others. “Caring for Creation” is not just a choice. It’s a vocation, a calling, the will of God for humankind.
We strongly believe that we can’t expect others to change their lives if we are not willing to change our institutional lives first.
Please join us in this vital mission. For additional information please contact Pam McVety at pammcvety@hotmail.com.
A Brief History of Environmental Stewardship at First Presbyterian Church
Seeking Faithful Justice in a Climate Crisis (Fall 2023 Series)