EARTHKEEPING NEWS A NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COALITION FOR CHRISTIANITY AND ECOLOGY Volume Fifteen, Number Five Winter 2006-07 Form An Earthkeeping Circle! By Finley Schaef, Upper Hudson Bioregion Earthkeeping Circles are an offspring of the grandiose project we called “Eco-Church.” A lot of hard work brought us down to Earth and a much more practical, monthly meeting. Each meeting consists of 3 parts: [1] We go around the circle and each person shares an experience of nature. This is the fun part of our gatherings, as people tell stories about eagles, boating on the mighty Hudson River, menacing bears in our backyards, buffalo roaming nearby (really!), and so on. [2] The 2nd part is Bible study. Not a great amount of material can be found discussing in what sense the Bible is nature-friendly. But we have managed to keep the search alive for 3 years! We began, of course, with the statement: “The Earth is the Lord’s.” What does it mean for us 2-legged critters to have this faith -- that our planet was brought to us by God and belongs to God? [3] Finally we focus our attention on our bioregion, namely, that part of the world which is our true home -- a natural biological region, such a mountain range or a plain. We found a long essay by Thomas Berry called The Lower Hudson River Basin As a Bioregional Community -- a document which became our reflection piece for many meetings. We always end with this benediction:     The mountains are God’s majestic thoughts.     The stars are God’s shining thoughts.     The flowers are God’s fragrant thoughts. Home     Table of Contents