How Did NACCE Come About?

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

Volume Fifteen, Number Two
March / April 2006

In 1979 I founded with Rev. Vincent Rossi the nation’s first religious organization concerned about ethics and the environment. It was called the Eleventh Commandment Fellowship (ECF) and it emphasized that there was an implied religious mandate to protect the earth that was scattered throughout the Scriptures. The summation of that ethic was succinct: The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof; thou shalt not destroy the earth nor despoil the life thereon. Through this ethic, we could address every issue dealing with a right relationship to God and creation. By 1984 the ECF had over two dozen chapters across the country and a movement was underway.

At the same time David Haenke, coordinator of the North American Bioregional Congress, in discussions about how to move a national ecological agenda forward, concluded that without participation by the churches, environmental concern would never become a deeply entrenched national view. Acting on this insight, David invited the formation of a national organization to address the failure of institutional religion to address issues of the environment.

A steering committee was formed. Catholic clergy Thomas Berry and Al Fritsch, SJ, were the first individuals to respond and support the proposal.

We developed a written call for a North American Conference on Christianity and Ecology and invited seventy-five thought leaders from across Christianity to participate. Forty accepted and in May 1986, we held the first gathering to plan a strategy at the Christian Conference Center in Syria, Virginia. That group determined that the need was great and we should move forward with all deliberate speed to provide a national forum for Christianity and ecology.

The group which convened incorporated and asked me to serve as the first executive director and to organize the first great continental conference.

Our first event was the great 1987 congress of Christians on the environment. At the time there was no money, no staff, only an idea and the will of a dozen board members to see this great conference come about. Each board member was active in making this event happen. We identified the demographic center of America and placed the conference in the Land of Lakes region of northern Indiana. One super size conference center plus shuttles to three additional conference facilities and a network of local motels was required to handle the volume of participants.

The plan was for more than a great conference. We would plant ecological concern into the heart of American Christianity. This event would be a film festival, a demonstration of alternative living, a youth program and an attitude toward food. Over one hundred speakers participated in five areas of concern. A daily newspaper reported on each talk and chronicled all the different events taking place. About 500 participants came from 45 states, seven Canadian provinces and many nations. The airport shuttle service logged over 20,000 passenger miles between airports in Fort Wayne, South Bend and even Chicago. Musicians and liturgical dancers volunteered their talents. Seven different art shows graced the grounds. A large circus tent was erected for organizational displays and demonstrations of appropriate technology. The press conference was filled to capacity and the event made front page news on regional papers.

As a result of this event, many Christian denominations opened offices concerned with the environment.

For 1988 we planned to replicate in six sections of America regional versions of the continental conference. Then, as a follow-up, we began Firmament magazine, the quarterly of Christian Ecology. This magazine provided 32 pages of information and articles about Christians and the environment plus news of the continuing growth of a movement. It published on a quarterly basis for about three years.

After a few years, key members of the NACCE formed the Christian Society of the Green Cross. It would do for air, land and water through the churches, as the Red Cross did for people. Some board members left to steer the new Green Cross and after that, the NACCE began a period of rebuilding from which it is now emerging.

I should note that evangelicals have always been part of the NACCE. There is nothing new in the participation of conservative churches on the environment.

Ahead of us lies the continuing challenge of applying the mandates of scripture and theology to our own lives as they interface with the environment.