Eco-congregations are raising awareness of Christians' obligation to look after God's own earth, writes Sylvia Thompson
Speak to any priest in the Catholic, Anglican or Protestant faiths in Ireland and most will somewhat shamefully acknowledge that they have rarely if ever preached on environmental issues. This is in spite of the many references in the Bible to how Christians should take care of God's creation.
Fr Sean McDonagh, an Irish Columban priest, has long decried the apathy of Christian churches on environmental issues. In his latest book, Climate Change: The Challenge to All of Us (Columba Press), he examines the somewhat poor response of Christian churches to global warming to date.
"In order to tackle global warming," he says, "the churches should be at the forefront, striving to understand the magnitude of this issue and the urgency with which it must be faced."
In the UK, the well-established Christian Ecology Link quotes both Pope John Paul II and Archbishop Rowan Williams in its rationale as to why Christians need to act on environmental issues. "For the Christian, there is a moral commitment to care for the earth so that it may produce fruit and become a dwelling of the universal human family," said Pope John Paul II.
And, in a preamble on "living liturgically", Archbishop Williams said, "Our liturgy is both the adoration of God for God's own sake and the service of a world distorted by pride and greed. It is expressed . . . in the passion for the whole material world, which continues to suffer the violence involved in sustaining the comfort of a prosperous human minority at the cost of our common resources."
Sr Catherine Brennan, a nun from St Louis, Missouri now based in Dublin, is a founder member of a new Christian environmental movement in Ireland which aims to encourage churches to embrace the environmental message.
"Unfortunately, our record in the churches has not been very good when it comes to our connectedness with creation," she says, "but, through Eco-congregation Ireland, we offer churches a way to move towards more sustainable living."
Eco-Congregation Ireland is an ecumenical environmental movement whose founders include members of the Church of Ireland, the Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church and the Catholic Church. The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) has since joined the co-ordinating committee.
Building on the experience of similar movements in England and Scotland, Eco-Congregation Ireland offers churches a free web-based environmental programme to follow. The programme includes 12 modules in total which deal with environmental issues theologically (linking creation and Christianity), practically (caring for Church premises), financially (purchasing environmentally friendly equipment, funding environmental projects) and on a community and global level (supporting local and global projects in harmony with the earth).
"The first thing a church should do is form an environmental committee and carry out an environmental audit to identify good environmental practice and prioritise areas for development," says Sr Brennan. Eco-Congregation Ireland provides churches with an environmental check-up in the form of a questionnaire which includes questions on energy efficiency in church buildings, environmental issues covered in children's worship, environmental bible studies and ethical investment. From that start point, churches can then choose three modules to concentrate on in the first year.
TO DATE, CHURCH projects within Eco-Congregation Ireland have included the installation of wind turbines at the Parish of the Nativity Catholic Church in Poleglass, west Belfast, the installation of photovoltaic (solar) panels on St Oliver Plunkett's Catholic Church, west Belfast; the installation of a woodchip burner at Edenderry Presbyterian Church in Co Tyrone and the promotion of recycling of cans and Christmas cards in the Methodist Church in Dundrum, Dublin.
St Molua's Church of Ireland church in Belfast won an Eco-Congregation Award for Environmental Stewardship in 2002, following various environmental projects carried out in conjunction with the UK Eco-Congregation group before Eco-Congregation Ireland was formed.
Rev David Humphries, rector of St Molua's, explains: "It all started with a talk by an environmental manager of the Northern Ireland housing executive. There was great interest, especially among the young people in the parish. We did an audit of everything - water, oil, electricity, paper - and we were appalled at the amount of waste we were unknowingly creating.
"So then we put in low-wattage bulbs. We started using recycled paper. We gave out over 200 water hippos (gadgets used to reduce the amount of water used when a toilet is flushed) free. We turned an area behind the church into a wildflower garden."
Rev Humphries adds that church services at St Molua's now include regular prayers and hymns linked to environmental stewardship and our ecological footprint.
So, does Eco-Congregation Ireland expect churches throughout Ireland to take up the environmental crusade with such gusto? "We hope so," says Sr Brennan. "We are members of the European Christian Environmental Network (ECEN) and have seen from meetings with people on continental Europe that things are much further ahead there. For instance, a recent ECEN report recommends a shift in theological perspective from an anthropocentric viewpoint to a creation-centred viewpoint, which is still slow to happen in Ireland."
Starting this autumn, Eco- Congregation Ireland will encourage Christian communities to follow the European initiative on "creation time" by dedicating a specific period in the church calendar from September 1st to the Sunday after October 4th (the feast day of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology) to celebrating the creation.
Sister Brennan adds, "we also hope to set up an Eco-Congregation Ireland Award scheme. We are grateful for initial funding received from the Irish Inter-church Committee on Social Issues. But what we need now is funding for a part-time worker who will travel throughout Ireland on behalf of Eco-Congregation Ireland. To date, all of this work has been done by volunteers."
Good earth Christian ecology online
www.ecocongregationireland.orgThe relatively new site for Eco-Congregation Ireland includes downloads of the 12 modules in the environmental programme for churches in Ireland.
www.ecocongregationscotland.orgMore than 140 churches in Scotland have undertaken environmental projects. Recent events include a carbon-neutral bike ride to encourage communities to reduce their carbon footprint. Also, check out the climate change prayers.
www.ecocongregation.org/englandwalesThis Eco-Congregation site for England and Wales includes free resources to encourage churches to take action.
www.christian-ecology.org.ukThis organisation is for Christians concerned about the care of the environment. Check out Operation Noah and the extensive programme of eco-Christian events across the UK.
www.arocha.orgAn international Christian organisation whose main emphasis is on nature conservation and environmental education.
www.ecen.orgThe website of the European Christian Environmental Network includes information on the initiative to designate the period in the churches' calendar from September 1st to the Sunday after October 4th as Time for God's Creation. The site includes extensive reports from the last ECEN Assembly in Flamstatt, Sweden.
www.reep.orgA website with learning resources on religion and the environment for schools.
www.wcc-coe.orgThe website of the World Council of Churches, which recently endorsed the global framework to combat climate change.