Dear HCN,
Thanks to
HCN and Jim Robbins for the fine piece on the Columbia River
Pastoral Letter Project (“Holy Water,” HCN, 9/11/00: Holy Water).
The pastoral letter is a good example of what some have called the
“greening” of the Christian Church. Other efforts to make
Christianity more “earth friendly” are under way among Lutherans,
Presbyterians, Methodists, Pentecostals, Evangelicals, and the
Orthodox churches. It’s not a moment too
soon!
One unique feature of the pastoral letter
is that it ties reflection on the environment to a specific
watershed – the Columbia River – rather than relying solely on
abstract ethical and theological principles that are disconnected
from a sense of place. As a host of writers from John Wesley Powell
to Charles Wilkinson have pointed out, in the American West,
watersheds are often the most appropriate demarcations for ethical
reflection about our relationship to the
environment.
One minor correction. The sidebar on
page 11 states that the Jubilee Year is celebrated every 25 years.
According to Leviticus 25, the Jubilee Year is the 50th year. It is
the culmination of a series of environmentally friendly laws which
include rest for the land every seven years (the origin of the
modern “sabbatical” leave in higher education), forgiveness of
debts, land redistribution, and freedom for all slaves. In Jesus’
first sermon at the beginning of his ministry, he in effect
announces the beginning of the Year of Jubilee (Luke 4:18,19). So
in a sense, the answer to the question, “Was Jesus an
environmentalist?” is a resounding “Yes!”
John Rosenberg
Eugene,
Oregon
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Churches greening none too soon.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
