Policy: We seek to learn about the biblical, theological, and ecclesial traditions concerning creation, including the mandate from God for us to care for the earth. We will seek also to learn about the present degradations of creation due to human activity, how we as religious people are implicated in this degradation, and what we as Christians can do to heal and restore creation for future generations. We will seek to train people to be leaders for the church and the community in their efforts to care for creation.
People: Academic Dean; curriculum committee; faculty members; adjunct faculty; library director and staff; field education director and staff; contextual education supervisors; internship supervisors; leaders of workshop/experiences.
Goal: To incorporate “care for creation” into the academic program and educational opportunities of the seminary.
Actions: Here are some actions that carry out these commitments.
A. Incorporate eco-justice education in the academic program
1. Create an Eco-Justice Emphasis or Concentration: Many seminaries offer opportunities for students to specialize in an area such as Bible or Urban Ministry. Here is a proposal to have an “Environmental Ministry Emphasis,” which might include courses, papers on the environment in standard courses, field education experiences, senior project, and hands-on work at the seminary. One example is from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
2. Offer an introductory course: This course, required or elective, could cover an introduction to all the basics: ecology, theology, ethics, biblical resources, green worship, organizational skills, and greening the parish. See the section, “What Every Seminarian Should Know.”
3. Offer specialized elective courses in various fields: Ecology and Justice; Theology of Nature; Nature in the Bible; Earth Ethics; Spirituality of Place/Nature; Native American Spirituality; Eco-Therapy Pastoral Care; Creation Care Worship; Preaching the care of Creation; Greening Your Congregation; and so on. To these can be added opportunities for Independent Studies.
4. Care-for-Creation Across the Curriculum: Engage in faculty development to include eco-justice and care-for-creation concerns as a component in many courses—Bible, theology, ethics, church and society, pastoral care, worship, preaching, and so on. Make use of the book edited by Dieter Hessel, Theology for Earth Community: A Field Guide ( Maryknoll: Orbis, 1996), which includes articles on each subject in the seminary curriculum. On Biblical studies, see also the Earth Bible page, hosted on this site.
5. Field Education:
B. Faculty Development:
1. A faculty retreat with training in the environment, along with opportunities to commune with nature.
2. Faculty Colloquies: to read and discuss a book, such as Plan B: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble, by Lester Brown. Or request each faculty to present a brief description of how they might incorporate eco-justice concerns into their courses. Or read and discuss the social statement on the environment by your church body. (Denominational Statements) Study the Earth Charter.
C. Educational opportunities for the seminary community as a whole:
1. Provide workshops introducing care for creation or training to green congregations. Consider the educational materials for small groups available from the Northwest Earth Institute (www.nwei.org).
2. Speakers for the community: Community organizers, local farmer, scientist, corporation representative, or a seminary or college faculty member.
3. Brown bag discussions: informal conversations over lunch or coffee.
4. Newsletters and bulletins: Make use of student and faculty in-house publications to keep the issue before the community—with articles, relevant scripture quotes, excerpts from books, environmental tips, announcements of events, and reports of environmental actions by the seminary.
5. Meetings of the Creation Care Committee can be open to everyone and include an educational component.
6. Where appropriate, hold meetings or retreats in a natural setting and use the opportunity to connect with nature.
D. Library resources: Keep relevant environmental books and periodicals in many academic fields of the seminary up to date in library offerings.
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