A New Vision for a New Time

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

Volume Fifteen, Number Five
Winter 2006-07

In 1986 when NACCE was formed, very few people of faith in North America considered the destructive exploitation of planet Earth to be a religious issue. Twenty years later there are hundreds of denominational and interfaith religious organizations (with websites) that consider the Care of Earth, or Care of Creation, as a central tenet of their faith. Regional networks of faith communities are forming across the country to nurture earth-healing ministries, linking the Integrity of Creation to Justice and Peace.

Does this mean NACCE’s work is done? Not necessarily. A Board meeting in November considered the question and decided to use internet technology to encourage people (especially young people) to integrate Earth-care into their faith-related activities. Our proposed mission will now be something like “networking activists of faith to move our human-centered culture to a more earth-centered culture.”

Two possible names, keeping our acronym, are “Network of Activists and Congregations Caring for Earth” or “Network Alliance of Congregations Caring for Earth.”

Please help us! We welcome your suggestions for a name and mission that reflects the demands of our times, whether or not they fit our current acronym.

We ask you as readers of Earthkeeping News and members of NACCE to help us decide our future course; to identify areas that are not being addressed as well as those exciting new initiatives being taken everywhere to move our human-centered consumer culture to one that reverences and cares for Earth.

We intend to issue an annual paper edition of Earthkeeping News, probably issued about this time each year. To receive upcoming Earthkeeping News updates which we expect to issue on a bi-monthly basis, you will need to be on our list of email subscribers. If you would like to receive bi- monthly updates from NACCE, please forward your email address to nacce1@verizon.net.

As part of this transformation we also intend to upgrade our website to make it more accessible, more appealing graphically and more useful as a means of communicating with Christians concerned about the environment.

We are making these moves towards the internet for a variety of reasons. Not the least of which is that the internet has much less impact on the environment than traditional paper communication. No trees are cut to make paper and no postal trucks burn gas driving about delivering paper newsletters. The internet will also make us more productive. No longer need we spend hours folding paper, stuffing paper, sealing paper, etc. Instead we can spend the time much more creatively seeking out news of interest to Christian environmentalists.

Finally, we believe that our readership, like many church memberships in general, is aging. By shifting to the internet we hope that we can attract new, younger members to our audience. After all, the future belongs to the young and it is really they that have the most to gain from preserving and maintaining the integrity of God's creation.

So... send us your email address and stay in touch. If you have any feedback on our name change or comments on our proposed shift to cyberspace, again we may be reached at nacce1@verizon.net.