EARTHKEEPING NEWS
A NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COALITION FOR CHRISTIANITY AND ECOLOGY

Volume One, Number One
September/October 1991

SHARING AND EMPOWERING

WHY THIS NEWSLETTER?

Auschwitz - nukes out of control - the earthrise - wonder filled nature documentaries - new nations - 6 billion people - fleeing populations - save the trees - save the whales - save the planet !

Images of our 20th century world in revolution have thrown into turmoil most of the familiar institutions of family, government, education, economics and religion. If communities of faith have not experienced this chaos, friends might ask why not?. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the faithful remnant people of God have always found themselves on a journey, struggling, between the No Longer and the Not Yet, working with God in an ever renewing creation.

This is a difficult spot to be in, and churches sometimes turn in upon themselves to escape the sheer burden of decision making in the midst of conflicting traditional convictions and enlarging ethical demands. Preoccupied with self, we become powerless and irrelevant to the secular forces ruling society.

The Apostle Paul in the first century AD was well aware of this phenomenon as he journeyed through Asia, starting little house churches in the hostile environment of places like Antioch, Corinth, and Ephesus. He spent the latter part of his life writing letters to these small communities of faith, exhorting, challenging, encouraging, comforting, strengthening, and keeping them in touch with each other. James, Peter and several writers named John engaged in the same kind of constructive networking.

The NACCE

In 1986 an ecumenical group of Christians concerned about the environment incorporated as the North American Conference on Christianity and Ecology (NACCE). Its goals are:

  • to articulate the ecological dimension already present in Christianity;
  • to assist every church to become a witness to Christian ecological understanding and action;
  • to help every Christian become an ecologist.

To this end, since 1987, NACCE has initiated or co-sponsored 20 conferences and workshops in various parts of the country. Its journal, FIRMAMENT, is published through the NACCE central office in San Francisco.

We want the EARTHKEEPING NEWS to be a regional exchange newsletter. Corporately written by you, the contributors, and us, the editors, it should challenge, encourage, comfort, strengthen, keep us in touch with one another, and generally stir up the People of God to contribute to the profound spiritual and ethical dimension of the ecological revolution in which we find ourselves. We hope you join us. The number of pages of this newsletter will grow as the membership and contributed articles increase.

Please, on behalf of Christians around the country, do share with us what earthkeeping means to you; what your community of faith and regional colleagues are doing to celebrate the whole of God's creation. How are you working with others to renew the earth? Your story may have just the models readers in another part of the country are looking for.

The types of NEWS we would like to publish:

  1. Events (well in advance), with date, place, topic, cost, name and phone number.
  2. Recommended Resources: books, book reviews, journals, educational materials ö and how readers can get them.
  3. Progress reports, or new activities, among churches and denominations; descriptions of what you are doing.
  4. Stories of sustainable economics, and calls to action in defense of God's creation.
  5. Humor ö we need the light touch.
  6. Art and poetry, litanies, and prayers.
  7. And, of course, letters to the editor.

We need your contributions!

Can you volunteer to be a regional 'anchor,' news gatherer, or contributing editor? Please note this on the membership form and send it in with your membership contribution, to NACCE EARTHKEEPING NEWS, 1522 Grand Ave, #4C, St. Paul,MN 55105.

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