EARTHKEEPING NEWS A NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COALITION FOR CHRISTIANITY AND ECOLOGY Volume Ten, Number Two January/February 2001 WAKE-UP CALLS TO CHURCHES IN JAMAICA AND INDIA Kingston, Jamaica A recently published document, Community and Environment: Imperatives for Survival, by the Jamaican Council of Churches, comprising 14 denominations, deals with theological perspectives, social ethics, economics and stewardship, and calls for a response by the church. The response of the Church must first arise from the biblical vision of peace and justice for all (not just a few) of God's people; from the biblical idea of wholeness and the unity of all God's people. Secondly, the Church must insist that true development has to do, not with Gross National Product, but with the quality of life of people. The Church should press for "sustainable development" which is progress that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. A third response of the Church must be to resist, and to condemn as idolatrous, threats to life from the unjust economic order, the misuse of science and technology, the destruction of the environment, and from the inhuman practices which sustain poverty. From John Surette, SJ, Spiritearth, spiearth@mail.infochan.com, PO Box 276, Kingston 6, Jamaica, W.I. Kerala, India In December, the Kerala Council of Churches, a confederation of non-Catholic churches in the Indian state of Kerala, in its effort to intervene effectively in the eco-problems of the state, has constituted an Environmental Commission which will have local units in the churches and parishes, joining with other environmental groups to fight for clean earth, water and air. Representatives of more than a dozen churches (including Mar Thoma Syrian Church, Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church, Jacobite Church, Church of South India, Church of Malabar, Salvation Army, Church of God in South India, and the Chaldean Syrian Church) attended the first meeting in Kottayam. Punnackadu said that though the church had always been in the forefront in the fight against social evils, no serious effort had been made for the equally serious environmental problems. The Commission will conduct a series of environmental awareness campaigns, with a stress on eco-theology. They will also organize conferences, and give Green Parish awards to those parishes with programs such as Eco-club, organic farming, waste reduction, less use of plastics, and cooperation with other environmental groups. From Prof. Mathew Koshy Punnackadu, Malayil Punnurathu Grace Bhavan, Punnackadu, Kozhencherry 689652, Kerala, India kosh@md3.vsnl.net.in Home     Table of Contents