EARTHKEEPING NEWS A NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COALITION FOR CHRISTIANITY AND ECOLOGY Volume Seven, Number Four May/June 1998 Eco-Church Ministry -- A Practical and Spiritual Approach to Healing the Environment "Those who seek only the God of redemption and forget the God of creation are not serving Jesus, the life of the world." from At Home in the Web of Life, a Pastoral Message from the Catholic Bishops of Appalachia The Eco-Church Ministry of the Diocese of Knoxville, Tennessee, was launched in 1994 by its office of Justice-Peace-Integrity of Creation (JPIC). It provides expertise and resources to local parishes that wish to become "eco-churches." This multi-disciplinary team (which includes architects, engineers, environmental educators, biologists, and ecologists) responds to requests for help from local parishes and schools that wish to "model sustainability....and promote a spirituality that expresses sincere love for planet Earth and marginalized people." (At Home in the Web of Life, endnotes) The eco-church ministry teams, organized in three of the four deaneries, try to meet with parish councils and other parish ministries and liturgy committees as well as people ministering in the religious education field. Some members of the deanery eco-church teams form a diocesan Resource Assessment Team which performs an essential part of the eco-church ministry's work, conducting environmental resource assessments with parish members, using the assessment tool developed by Fr. Al Fritsch from Appalachia Science in the Public Interest. The assessment is a practical means of identifying ways a parish can improve its expression of the harmony that exists between God and creation. Through efforts of the eco-church ministry, the requirement for an environmental resource assessment has been written into the Diocesan Guidelines for future building and renovation. The ten areas of a Resource Assessment that are studied in detail include: physical facilities, edible landscaping, water resources, wildlife encouragement, energy conservation and alternatives, food selection and preparation, waste management, transportation and parking, indoor environment, and community relations. The Resource Assessment Team has assisted eight parishes and institutions with resource assessments. JPIC and the deanery eco-church teams have provided educational materials, Earth Day liturgies, and brochures to all the 45 parishes in the diocese, as well as retreat and workshop opportunities to many parishes and ministries. From Glenda and Marcus Keyes, Co-Directors, JPIC Office of the Diocese of Knoxville, 119 Dameron Ave., Knoxville TN 37917; 423/540-8348. For more on the Environmental Resource Assessment tool, write Resource Auditing Service, 50 Lair St., Mt. Vernon KY; 606/256-0077. Home     Table of Contents