EARTHKEEPING NEWS A NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COALITION FOR CHRISTIANITY AND ECOLOGY Volume Nine, Number One November/December 1999 Sabbath Project Bridges Gap Between N.C. Churches and Environmentalists "Tell me about your mother's baptism," says Brian Cole, a lay Episcopal preacher, in conversation with a member of a conservative church in the Appalachian region of North Carolina. He is looking at an old photograph of a traditional baptism in the river, common all over the South in the 1930s. Now baptisms are conducted in a fiber-glass tank in the church sanctuary, with water at 72 degrees. The conversation continues. Cole wonders if some enterprising company sold the church the tank first (marketing health and convenience?); or first, did the contamination of the creek drive baptisms indoors? And what are the implications of this? Cole uses oral history to put environmental issues in the context of cultural history of the churches and the region. It is a way for conservative church folk to engage with others in the environmental movement, from the perspective of their own faith tradition. Since early in 1999, Cole has been working full time with the Sabbath Project of the Western North Carolina Alliance (WNCA) to build bridges between environmental organizations and faith communities. So far, two churches have joined the Alliance. In addition to taking oral histories, he has led workshops, preached in adult forums, conducted "Blessing of the Animals" services, and led day hikes that end in a "Blessing of the Troubled Creek." The two-year Sabbath Project is recruiting interns from Warren Wilson College and Montreat College to help organize ecology workshops for clergy persons. Two such events are scheduled to take place before Holy Week/Earthday 2000. From Brian Cole, 10 Briar Branch Rd., Black Mountain NC 28711 brianlc@buncombe.main.nc.us 828-669-8366. Home     Table of Contents