friendly practices, designing courses geared toward the environment (for example, “Nature in the Bible”) and pub- lishing a “Greening Your LSTC Apartment” brochure for seminarians.
Speaking of his latest endeavor, Rhoads said: “The goal of Lutherans Restoring Creation is to integrate care for creation into the full life and mission of the ELCA. This translates to our congregations, synods, colleges, camps, members’ homes … so creation care can become part of the ethos of who we are as Lutherans.” LRC, Rhoads added, is grounded in theology. “Luther- ans have a strong theology of creation. We have a strong understanding of the sacramentality of all of life. We have a strong ethical commitment to people who are vulnerable,” he said. “Everything is in place for Lutherans to encompass this ministry.”
The movement enlisted five initial pilot synods: Ore- gon, New England, Greater Milwaukee, Texas– Louisiana Gulf Coast and Southeastern Minnesota. Its training coordinator, Alycia Ashburn, who attends Advent Lutheran Church, Madison, Wis., led a workshop that equipped pastors and other leaders to train their synod con- gregational leaders in creation care.
At the center of this training is networking. LRC encourages congregations new to environmental work to connect with churches that have been doing it for a while so all will be encouraged by sharing ideas and resources. Currently, LRC is looking to partner with additional synods in hosting trainings.
Taking ownership
“When we work with congregations, our model encompasses five areas we highlight in our training manual: worship, educa- tion, building and grounds, the lifestyle of members at home and work, and our public witness,” Rhoads said. “The idea is that everyone takes some ownership so creation care pervades the life and activities of a congregation.” To help, the group’s website offers
training materials, earthkeeping ideas, stories, a blog, the weekly commentaries from Ormseth and more.
Oregon Synod congregations are taking this call seriously. “Our Care for Creation Team is excited about expanding its influ- ence so care for creation becomes the orga- nizing theme for all congregational minis-
ROGER BOTTORFF/LSTC
Angela Nelson, a student at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, helps a neighbor’s dog receive a blessing from David Rhoads during the seminary’s Bless- ing of the Animals liturgy.
tries in years to come,” said Brian E. Brandt, part of the synod’s LRC training group and former pastor of Central Lutheran Church, Port- land, Ore. “Lutherans Restoring Creation has given Central a holis- tic vision about all the different things they could be doing to care for creation.”
Feeling green? It’s easy: go to
www.lutherans restoringcreation. org or send an email to drhoads@
lstc.edu. You can also check out
Lutherans Restoring Creation on Face- book and Twitter (@LRCreation).
Along with Brandt, Robyn Hartwig, a pastor of St. Andrew Lutheran Church, Beaver- ton, Ore., is a key leader in training efforts. At presstime, Hartwig and her colleagues had trained 53 people in 13 Oregon Synod congregations to become leaders in earth- keeping. They plan to hold a synodwide networking event in conjunction with the synod assembly, train more people over the summer and engage young adults at Camp Luther- wood in the work of LRC.
“When we identify a congregation that’s interested in being trained we enlist their support to invite other con- gregations in their cluster to be trained at the same time,” Hartwig said. “Caring for God’s creation isn’t just some- thing a few of us are called to but something we are all called to as people of faith.” Leaders across the ELCA applaud the work of Oregon and other synods. That includes Mary Minette, director for environmental education and advocacy in the ELCA Wash- ington Office, who picks up on LRC’s focus on public witness as an important compo- nent of creation care.
“Advocacy needs to grow out of an
interest. And LRC is really helping people develop an interest in and passion for car- ing for the earth,” she said. “There’s then an opportunity to help people understand that you can do your work in your own community, [but] to make real systemic change, the only way to do that is through advocacy.”
Keith Mundy, ELCA assistant director for stewardship, appreciates collaborating with LRC in his mission to grow stewards across the church. “Through Lutherans Restoring Cre-
ation, I have found a movement of people who share a common faith and appre- ciation for God’s creation,” Mundy said. “Together we are called to be caretakers of and teachers about God’s creation.” M
Download a study guide for this article—free to print and Web subscribers—at
www.thelutheran.org (click on “study guides”). June 2011 35
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