Working Group Participant Biographies *

Announcement: †Centenary of the Edinburgh 1910 World Missionary Conference, Towards 2010 *

Witnessing in the Midst of a Suffering Creation – a Challenge for the Mission of the Church *

International Director: Edinburgh 2010

School of Divinity, New College

University of Edinburgh

Mound Place, Edinburgh EH1 2LX

United Kingdom

Tel. +44-131-650 8976

Fax. +44-131-650 7952

Email: Daryl.Balia@ed.ac.uk

Dr. Balia ThD was the first appointed Scholar in Residence at the Selly Oak Centre for Mission Studies in Birmingham before taking up his current position of directing the Edinburgh 2010 project. He holds degrees in theology and public administration, which he studied in his native South Africa, Germany and the United States. An ordained Minister of the Methodist Church, he also taught mission studies for ten years and worked in Mr Mandela’s government for seven years promoting public ethics and national integrity.

His publications include: ‘True Lies’: American Missionary Sayings in South Africa (1835-1910), Black Theology An International Journal, Vol.V, No.2, July 2007, 203-217; Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Encyclopaedia of Public Administration and Public Policy, Marcel Dekker: New York, 2004; Country Report: South Africa, Global Corruption Report 2004, Transparency International, Pluto Press: London, 2004; Fighting Corruption: An Agenda for Mission, Missionalia: Festshrift in honour of Willem Saayman, Unisa Press: Pretoria, 2002; Fighting Corruption in South Africa, Volumes I-IV, Unisa Press: Pretoria, 1999, and; Christian Resistance to Apartheid, Skotaville: Johannesburg, 1989.

National Director

A Rocha UK

13 Avenue Road

Southall

MIDDLESEX

UB1 3BL

Tel. +44 (0)20 8574 5935

+44 (0)7974 212713

Email: dave.bookless@arocha.org

Web: www.arocha.org

Revd. Dave Bookless is an ordained Anglican, serving as National Director of A Rocha UK (part of the international Christian environmental movement A Rocha - www.arocha.org). His background is in education (teaching religious education & history in multifaith schools in England), cross-cultural missiology (particularly regarding India and missions history there), and in urban parish ministry in a largely South Asian area of London, prior to founding A Rocha UK in 2001.

He became concerned about environmental issues during his theological training in the late 1980s, and has continued that interest ever since - whilst being rooted in the practicalities of church-based ministry, and now in the setting of an NGO working towards practical community-based responses inspired by Christian faith. During a sabbatical in 2000 he researched and wrote a paper on Environmental Eschatology. The launch of A Rocha UK in 2001 has led to a successful project to restore and 'redeem' a 38 hectare urban 'wasteland' site into a Country Park and Nature Reserve, inspired by theological insights into redemption and eschatology.

His particular passions are to communicate, through writing, biblical theology regarding the human place in God's creation in an accessible way that relates to the 'ordinary' person - whether professing Christian or not - in their real-life context.

Planetwise (Dare to Care for God's World), (UK: Inter Varsity Press, 2008)

“The Land is Mine” - says the Lord" - Practical ways Christian mission can address environmental justice, in Mission Studies (June 2008)

The Fifth Mark of Mission - Ecological Concern from a Praxis Perspective" in Mission in the Twenty-first Century, edited by Prof. A Walls & Dr C Ross, (Darton Longman & Todd, 2008)

“Towards a Theology of Sustainability” in When Enough is Enough - A Christian Framework for Environmental Sustainability ed. Prof. R J Berry, Apollos (IVP), 2007

(With Dr. Lucy Larkin) “Community & Environment”, in Created for Community, edited by E. Ineson & C. Edmonson (Darton, Longman & Todd, 2006)

“The Urban Garden”, in Quiet Space - The Garden (Bible Reading Fellowship, 2006)

“New Heavens & New Earth" in Caring for Creation edited by S. Tillett (Bible Reading Fellowship, 2005)

Interfaith Worship and Christian Truth (Grove Books, 1991)

Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology

Theology Department

Duquesne University

Fisher Hall
612
Pittsburgh, PA 15282


Tel: 412-396-6526
Email: bordeianur@duq.edu

Radu Bordeianu Th.M is Assitant Professor of Systematic Theology at Duquesne University, in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. He was born and raised in Romania, where he became an ordained priest in the Orthodox Church in 1998. He received a BD and MA from the University of Iasi, Romania, subsequently studying at Duke University, USA (Th.M) and Marquette University, USA (Ph.D.). He has studied several areas of ecological theology, but his earliest and continuous theological interest is the theology of creation of Maximus the Confessor, which he finds has much teach us today as we face the ecological crisis. He subsequently became interested in ecumenical ecclesiologies, especially concerning the dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Methodist and Catholic Churches. In his research on this topic, he has concentrated on Dumitru Staniloae, Georges Florovsky, John Wesley, and Yves Congar.

University of Tasmania
C/- 9 George Hewitt Close
Bellingen NSW 2454
Australia
Tel: +61 419 628709
Email: tmcadman@utas.edu.au
(Moderator)

Tim Cadman MA is a graduate of Girton College, Cambridge where he gained an honours degree in Anglo-Saxon Norse and Celtic and History in 1990, and an honourary MA in 1990. He has been actively involved in global and Australian forest conservation, climate change and biodiversity issues since 1988 as a consultant and activist. In 1992 he co-founded the international environmental NGO Native Forest Network, during which time he served as southern hemisphere coordinator. Between 1994 and 2002 he also acted as convener of the National Forest Summit, a national forest-related discussion and decision-making forum for all Australian NGOs working on forest issues. In 2002 he became the Australian Contact for the international forest management and timber certification programme, the Forest Stewardship Council, and helped introduce the system to Australia, where 650,000 ha of forests are now certified under the programme as well managed.

In 2005 he commenced a doctoral thesis into the evaluation of global environmental governance, and in the same year became a lay reader in the Anglican Parish of Deloraine, Tasmania. His interest in being involved in the growing global environmental movement within the Church is to share his experience as practitioner, facilitator, and researcher. Having moved to Bellingen, NSW in 2007 he is currently studying for licensed lay ministry in the Diocese of Grafton.

“Theory and Practice of Non-state Participation in Environmental and Forest-Related Decision-making,” in International Environmental Law-making and Diplomacy Review edited by Marko Berglund (Joensuu: University of Joensuu Department of Law, 2006) UNEP Course Series 2.

“Observations On Community Participation In Environmental Decision-Making: A Tasmanian Case Study”, in Environmental Research Event, Conference Proceedings and Handbook, edited by Neha Khanna, David Barton, David beale, Ruth Cornforth, Amgad Elmahdi, Jacqui McRae, Nida Seelsaen and Avi Shalav (Melbourne: School of Civil and Chemical Engineering, 2005), CD ROM.

The Clearcut Effect: How the Kyoto Protocol Could Become a Driver for Deforestation (Netherlands: Greenpeace International, WWF, Native Forest Network, 2000).

“What is sustainable forest management?” and “Timber certification: Will it deliver sustainable forest management?” in Europe’s Forests: A campaign guide edited by Karen Grant (Amsterdam: ASEED, 1999) pp. 93-97 and 100-101.

Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis
2 B Magean Street
Brunswick, ME 04011
USA†
Phone: 1-207-725 1306
Email: jchryssavg@aol.com

The Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis was born in Australia (1958), where he matriculated from The Scots College (1975). He received his degree in Theology from the University of Athens (1980), a diploma in Byzantine Music from the Greek Conservatory of Music (1979), and was awarded a research scholarship to St. Vladimir’s Theological Seminary (1982). He completed his doctoral studies in Patristics at the University of Oxford (1983).

After several months in silent retreat on Mt Athos, he served as Personal Assistant to the Greek Orthodox Primate in Australia (1984-94) and was co-founder of St Andrew’s Theological College in Sydney (1985), where he was Sub-Dean and taught Patristics and Church History (1986-95). †He was also Lecturer in the Divinity School (1986-90) and the School of Studies in Religion (1990-95) at the University of Sydney. In 1995, he moved to Boston, where he was appointed Professor of Theology at Holy Cross School of Theology and directed the Religious Studies Program at Hellenic College until 2002. †He established the Environment Office at the same School in 2001. †He has also taught as professor of Patristics at Balamand University in Lebanon. Currently, he serves as theological advisor to the Ecumenical Patriarch on environmental issues.

The author of several books and numerous articles in several languages on the Church Fathers and Orthodox Spirituality, Fr. John’s most recent publications include Soul Mending: The Art of Spiritual Direction (Holy Cross Press, 2000), In the Heart of the Desert: The Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers (World Wisdom Books, 2002), Letters from the Desert: A Selection from Barsanuphius and John (St. Vladimir’s Press, 2003), Light Through Darkness: the Orthodox tradition (Orbis Books, 2004), and Beyond the Shattered Image: Insights into an Orthodox Christian Ecological Worldview (Light and Life, 2nd rev. ed. 2007). †Two volumes with the full correspondence of Barsanuphius and John appeared in 2006-2007 in the Fathers of the Church series of Catholic University Press. He lives in Brunswick, Maine.

Co-ordinator for Theological Education
Trollstr 10
Ch-8400 Winterthur
Schweiz
Tel: + 41 52 2030116
E-mail: david.field@bluewin.ch
(Working Group Editor)

David Field PhD is a research fellow of the University of Zululand in South Africa and South African presently living in Switzerland where his wife is a pastor in the Methodist Church. He has a part time position working for the Methodist Bishop of South and Central Europe developing an e-learning program that will contribute to the educational preparation of pastors for Methodist churches across Europe. Previously he taught systematic theology and theological ethics at Africa University in Zimbabwe and the University of Transkei in South Africa, and part time at a variety of theological colleges.†

He completed his Ph.D. entitled "Reformed Theology, Modernity and the Environmental Crisis" at the University of Cape Town. The thesis developed a rereading of the Reformed tradition in the light of the environmental crisis. Since completion he has written a number of articles dealing with various aspects of eco-theology including ecclesiology. With Ernst Conradie he co-authored a popular book entitled A Rainbow over the Land: A South African Guide on the Church and Environmental Justice (Cape Town: Western Cape Provincial Council of Churches, 2000). He has research interests in the theology and ethics of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, theology in the context of globalisation, and more recently ethics in the Methodist tradition.

44 Keats Avenue
Romford
ESSEX
RM3 7AX
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)17 0838 6546
+44 (0)79 5767 5277
Email: benwillie01@hotmail.com

Ben-Willie Kwaku Golo is also a newcomer to the scene, having completed his PhD last year, Sept 2006 in ecotheology, focusing on the role of the African church in restoring ecological sanity in Africa. Coming from a contextual and liberation theology background, the title of his thesis was "Towards an African Earth Theology of Liberation. A Study of Deforestation in Ghana in a Globalised World." Currently job hunting, he was born in Ghana where he received a Bachelors degree in Religious Studies and a Diploma in Education in Religious Education from the University of Cape Coast, before proceeding to the Faculty of Theology at the University of Oslo, where he undertook an MPhil in Contextual theology. Having shown an interest in the developing field of eco-theology, he linked up with Prof. Sigurd Bergmann of the Religious Studies Department of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Here he started the daunting journey towards the PhD, which was completed in 2006. He is currently residing in the UK and slowly working on two book projects "Contemporary Approaches to Ecotheology: A Survey of Ecotheological Models" and "God-Talk and the African Earth: Towards an African Earth Liberation Theology in Era of a Waning Earth."

University of Kwazulu Natal
Department of Religion and Theology
Pietermaritzburg
South Africa
Email: DegruchyS@ukzn.ac.za

Steve de Gruchy DTh is a South African and currently Director of the Theology and Development Programme in the School of Religion and Theology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, in South Africa.† He is an ordained minister in the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa, and has served that church both as a local church minister, and as the Director of the Moffat Mission Trust, in Kuruman on the edge of the Kalahari Desert where he was engaged in rural development issues.†

He trained at the University of Cape Town (BA and MA), Union Theological Seminary (STM) and University of the Western Cape (DTh).† His doctoral thesis was in the area of Christian Political Ethics, with a reading of Reinhold Niebuhr.† He was involved in the Christian struggle against apartheid, signed the first edition of the Kairos Document, and was a Conscientious Objector.† His current work draws together his practical experience in political activism, rural development, missiology and theological ethics - and has a wide range of post graduate students from all over Africa who are studying issues from a theological perspective around economic/ecological justice, democracy, food security, safe water, HIV and AIDS, and gender.†

†

Ecumenically, he has been involved with the Council for World Mission, a global partnership of 32 churches in the Congregational and Presbyterian tradition, working on mission and development. He served on the working group on Genetic Engineering of the World Council of Churches Justice Peace & Conciliation team from 2001-2006, and attended the Porto Alegre Assembly.† He has worked with the South African Council of Churches (SACC) on a range of development themes, and was the key note speaker at the Triennial Assembly SACC in July this year, on the theme of ecology and economics.† His recent research has focused on the relationship between Christian faith and public health, in a context of the political, economic and environmental crises in Africa.††His published work emerges from the wide†context of his engagement, and includes a range of essays around these themes.† He is committed also to mentoring the next generation of African scholars, and participates in various ventures that are designed to do that.† He is the editor of the Journal of Theology for Southern Africa, now in its 35th year as a significant journal of theological reflection from its context.

Instructor Theology and Ethics
Concordia College,
Moorhead (MN), USA
Email: koster@cord.edu

Hilda Koster ThM. is a Dutch theologian who teaches in the United States. While her own confessional background is reformed she teaches at a Lutheran institution: Concordia College, Moorhead (MN) -- a four-year liberal arts college of the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America). She is about to receive her doctorate in theology from the Divinity School of the University of Chicago for which she submitted a dissertation looking at configurations of the doctrines of Creation and Salvation in Contemporary Ecological Theologies. †Previous to her doctorate she received degrees from the University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands (BA, MDiv) and Princeton Theological Seminary (ThM). She also studied a year at Emory University as a Rotary Scholar. ††††

Next to environmental concerns she is very much interested in issues pertaining gender. †She regularly teaches a course in women-studies and gender is an important lens for her when introducing students to the study of Christianity. Except for a paper she wrote on the AAR a year ago, she has not yet delved into the area of ecclesiology and ecology much. Yet because she has become convinced that churches are potentially enormously important vehicles for bringing about a change in perspective and attitude towards non-human nature and are moreover places were Christians could become conversant in earth keeping as part of Christian discipleship, she has been increasingly interested in reflecting on the meaning of the church from an eco-theological perspective. She brings to this study not just her eco-feminist theological commitments, but also her trans-nationalism. She hopes the latter will be productive when looking at the issue of Church and earth-keeping in an age in which we have to find local solutions for problems that have global implications, and vice versa look hard at the local implications of global problems.

She is very much looking forward to being part of an ecumenical, inter-continental group of theologians and hope that the perspective she brings to the group will be useful.

Department of Religion
Swarthmore College
500 College Avenue
Swarthmore, PA 19081 USA
Email: mwallac1@swarthmore.edu
Office phone: 610-328-7829
Home phone: 610-544-0486
Fax: 610-328-7687

Mark I. Wallace is a Ph.D. graduate of The University of Chicago, and Professor of Religion and member of the Interpretation Theory Committee and the Environmental Studies Committee at Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania. †His teaching and research interests focus on the intersections between Christian theology, critical theory, and environmental studies. He has authored Finding God in the Singing River: Christianity, Spirit, Nature (Fortress, 2005), Fragments of the Spirit: Nature, Violence, and the Renewal of Creation (Continuum, 1996; Trinity, 2002), The Second NaÔvetÈ: Barth, Ricoeur, and the New Yale Theology (Mercer University Press, 1990, 1995), edited Paul Ricoeur's Figuring the Sacred: Religion, Narrative, and Imagination (Fortress, 1995), and co-edited Curing Violence: Essays on RenÈ Girard (Polebridge, 1994). †He is a member of the Constructive Theology Workgroup, active in the educational reform movement in the Philadelphia area, and received in 2004 an Andrew W. Mellon New Directions Fellowship for a research sabbatical in Costa Rica.

His research and writing is an exercise in the emerging field of religion and ecology - a promising new line of inquiry in religious studies. This innovative subdiscipline focuses on how different religious traditions have shaped human beings' fundamental outlook on the environment in ancient and modern times. The world's religions ask basic questions about the cosmos that share deep affinities with the science of ecology. Both thought systems - religion and ecology - are concerned with the place of human beings within the general order of things. Noting this affinity between religion and ecology, the intellectual wager of this discipline is that the often unknown wellsprings of human beings' perspectives on the environment must be tapped if we are to understand adequately how individuals and societies have conceived of their place in the natural world.

Publications:

"Sacred-Land Theology: Green Spirit, Deconstruction, and the Question of Idolatry in Contemporary Earthen Christianity," in Ecospirit: Religions and Philosophies for the Earth, eds. Laurel Kearns and Catherine Keller (New York: Fordham University Press, 2007), 291-314.

"The Cry of Faith in Urban America Today: Educational Genocide, Eco-Violence, and Poverty Pimping," Tikkun (September/October 2007): 49-53.

"Holy Ground: Protestant Ecotheology, Catholic Social Teaching and a New Vision of Creation as the Landed Sacred," Journal of Catholic Social Thought 4 (Summer 2007): 271-92.

"Response to Jane Compson's Review of Finding God in the Singing River," Conversations in Religion and Theology 5 (May 2007): 50-54.

†"Experience, Purpose, Pedagogy and Theory: Ritual Activities in the Classroom," in Teaching Ritual, ed. Catherine Bell (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007), 73-87.

"Green Christianity," in Choosing Points of Wisdom: Toward a Mutually Enhancing World, ed. Jim Conlon (Oakland, Calif.: Sophia Books, 2007), 175-76.

"Crum Creek Spirituality: Earth as a Living Sacrament," in Theology That Matters: Ecology, Economy, and God, ed. Darby Kathleen Ray (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2006), 121-37.

"The Green Face of God: Christianity's Ecological Imagery Depicts the Natural World as a Holy Place," Science and Theology News 6 (February 2006): 30-33.

Nancy Victorin-Vangerud holds an MDiv from Vanderbilt Divinity School, and a PhD from Vanderbilt University, where she worked with Sallie McFague and Peter Hodgson. Her dissertation was on constructive feminist pneumatology, which became revised and published as The Raging Hearth: Spirit in the Household of God (Chalice Press, 2000).

From 1997-2003 she taught as lecturer in systematic theology on the faculty of Murdoch University and the Perth Theological Hall, in Western Australia. It was during this time that her understanding of the "household of God" became earthed and ecological, and she began researching and writing and teaching in terms of ecotheology, and ecofeminist theology. She returned to Minnesota early in 2004 with her family, and lived in community at the ARC Ecumenical Retreat Center, where she worked as Executive Director. She is currently serving a small United Methodist congregation in Minneapolis, MN, USA, which is exploring ways to "green" the congregation in terms of worship and ministries, but also live more sustainably as individuals, families and communities. The congregation has become a neighborhood drop-off site for community-supported agriculture.

I am also teaching adjunct for United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, New Brighton (UCC). In 2006, I taught a course there entitled "Ecofeminist Theologies: Water, Women and Wisdom in an Ecological Cosmos." In the New Year I will teach the class of "Constructive Theology." What has been very energising though recently has been leading a course for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul,

MN, inspired by the work of Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim, entitled "Elemental Theologies: Restoring the Wonder and Wisdom of Earth, Air, Fire and Water."

She hopes to develop material/discussion for this working group along the line of "elemental ecclesiology".

“From Models and Metaphors to Maps: Thinking Theology with an Archipelagic Imagination”, in Engaging Theology: Economy, Ecology and God, edited by Darby Kathleen Ray(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2006), 75-90.

“Sea-ing Spirit: Ecotheological Reflections on a Coastal Sense of Place”, in Architecture, Aesth/Ethics and Religion, edited by Sigurd Bergmann (Frankfurt am Main: Verlag f¸r interkulturelle Kommunikation, 2005).

Doing Justice: Stories of Our Action, edited by Rosemary Miller and Nancy Victorin-Vangerud (Sydney, New South Wales: Uniting Education, 2003).

“From Land Ethic to Sea Ethic”, in Ecological Spirituality, edited by Chen Tzu-Mei (Taipei: Taiwan Ecological Stewardship Association, 2003), 67-73.

“Ecotheology and the Community of Life”, in Ecology and Spirituality: A Dialogue among Human Beings, the Land and the Sea, edited by Chen Nan-Jou (Tainan: Ji-Kong Press, 2003), 99-130.

“The Sacred Edge: Seascape as Spiritual Resource toward an Australian Eco-eschatology,” Ecotheology, Vol. 6 (July, 2001 & January, 2002), 167-185.

“The Sacred Edge: Women, Sea and Spirit,” Seachanges: Journal of Women Scholars of Religion and Theology, Vol. 1 (2001), www.wsrt.com.au, 1-28.

The Raging Hearth: Spirit in the Household of God (St. Louis, Missouri: Chalice Press, 2000).

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Centre International RÈformÈ John Knox

27 chemin des CrÍts-de-Pregny

1218 Grand Saconnex, Switzerland

In a few years an important anniversary will be celebrated. A century has passed since the great Mission Conference in Edinburgh (1910), regarded by many as the birthplace of the modern ecumenical movement. Inevitably, the question arises†: How has our understanding of the mission of the Church changed in the course of these one hundred years†? The question is under discussion in many parts of the oikumene. Fresh explorations are being undertaken, new perspectives are proposed, and new initiatives taken.

But until now, in most of these discussions little reference is made to one of the major signs of the time – the ecological crisis. While the general public is becoming increasingly aware of the threats to our planet, mission statements continue to pay scarce attention to the aggression of humankind against God’s creation. They appear satisfied with defining mission as a message exclusively concerned with the life and salvation of human beings.

The statement offered in this pamphlet is an attempt to redress the balance. It is based on the conviction that God’s purpose includes the whole of creation and that a missionary discourse which neglects this dimension is truncated. If the churches wish to be faithful to the Biblical witness, they can no longer bypass the disasters humankind is causing to God’s creation.

This plea comes to you from a group of Christian theologians from different confessional backgrounds and from various continents. The statement does not claim to be the last word on the subject. Many points require further elucidation. We offer our reflections for the purpose of engaging in an exchange. We invite you therefore to share your reactions and comments with us. They can be sent to the John Knox International Reformed Centre, 27 chemin des CrÍts-de-Pregny, 1218 Grand Saconnex, Geneva, Switzerland, welcome@johnknox.ch

The threats to the future of our planet are evident. What are their implications for the mission of the Christian Churches today?

God is the author of all life. Made in God’s image human beings are to care for people and all creation as God cares for us. Clearly, the care for God’s Creation has a central place in the Church’s witness.

But we have to recognize that the respect for God’s creation has often remained a secondary theme in Christian mission. It is strangely absent, or only incidentally touched upon, in most recent mission statements emanating from either confessional or ecumenical bodies. As a rule the emphasis is almost exclusively on the salvation offered to humankind and on the new inter-human relationships made possible by Jesus Christ. There can be no doubt that the lack of concern for the whole of the created world in the missionary discourse and praxis has contributed to the ecological crisis. The churches have remained silent for too long in face of the destruction of the environment.

The ecological crisis poses therefore a grave challenge to the credibility of Christian witness today. If we do not want God’s name to be ‘blasphemed among the nations because of us’, it is high time to think deeply but also creatively about the implications of this challenge. How do we speak, act and worship so as to testify convincingly in today’s world to God the Creator whose loving care embraces all that he has made?

From September 17 to 21, 2006 thirty representatives from a wide range of Christian traditions and all continents gathered at the John Knox International Reformed Centre in Geneva to share their experiences and to reflect on the response which is today required from the Churches. We all share the conviction that the advocacy for God’s Creation must be at the forefront of our understanding of Christian mission. At this time of environmental crisis we need to be attentive in new ways to the mission of the Trinity in Creation, and we therefore invite churches, mission agencies, faith-based organizations and all Christian people to make care for the earth an integral aspect of Christian witness. It should have its place at the heart of our thinking, our life and common worship, and of our service.

Much has changed in recent decades. More and more, Churches are becoming aware of the need for a renewed understanding of Creation and the role of humans in Creation. Christian leaders and individual Christians increasingly consider environmental responsibility as part of their faith commitment, and in many parts of the world new models of mission are being developed. We believe that this movement needs to be strengthened and accelerated. Our exchange has shown that the Christian response to the ecological crisis must and can be carried out ecumenically. The challenge is new for all Christians, and we can therefore all learn from the rich variety of our traditions.

The evidence can no longer be denied. Human activity is causing irreparable damage to God’s Creation. Natural resources are over-exploited. Air, soil and water suffer from pollution. Increasingly, we are becoming aware of the destruction and extinction we have brought on much of Creation. The consequences are devastating. Climate change threatens both humanity and other living beings. Scarcity of water calls into question the survival of millions of people. Agricultural land is turned into deserts. Forests, the earth’s lungs, are decimated. Ocean resources are plundered and pillaged into oblivion. In the process of ever increasing economic growth, we are destroying the life support systems of our own and of future generations.

The pursuit of material growth is coupled with gross inequalities both within and between nations. While part of the world enjoys increasing wealth, poverty persists in most countries. Unjust economic structures lead to exploitation and oppression. In a world that has never been materially richer, a majority is condemned to live in poverty. As a rule, the poor are the first to suffer from environmental devastation.

It has taken humankind some time to become aware of the environmental crisis. In earlier centuries its worldview was restricted in scope. Not only was it limited geographically. But since humankind could not comprehend the extent of the earth, it could not imagine that human beings might have the capacity to devastate and destroy it. While for centuries humankind took pride in the constant extension of its mastery over nature, we now realize that God’s creation always required respect and restraint.

Throughout its history, the Church has affirmed the Biblical belief ‘The earth (gÍ) is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof; the world (oikumene) and all who dwell therein (Ps 24,6)’ but, in fact, Christians have participated in the exploitation and pollution of the planet. Especially in the West, they shared to a large extent the premises of the Western civilization. Through the churches’ missionary efforts the liberating Gospel message was proclaimed. But too often the churches identified their message uncritically with the values of the Western nations – the conquest and domination of the natural world. Respect for nature was often denounced and rejected as paganism. The Church’s role was considered to consist in paving the way for modernity. By calling into question the divine nature of the created world, the door was opened for dominating nature and turning it into an object.

Over the last decades there has been an extensive debate on the complicity of the missions with the colonial expansion of the West. Equally important is a fresh reflection on the identification of missions with the civilization underlying and guiding the colonial expansion. Today, we have to recognize that the churches’ witness lacked discernment in this respect. They failed to communicate the Gospel in its fullness – the Good News for the whole of Creation. In many parts of the world precious values of indigenous cultures have been destroyed.

How can the situation be redressed? The presupposition for finding new ways are recognition and repentance. We have to recognize that we are participants in creation’s degradation, and that we are contributing to climate change and the extinction of species. Responsibilities differ. The impact of the industrialised countries by far exceeds that of other parts of the world. But we all have to recognize that a new orientation not only of the Church’s witness but also of our own lives is called for. We have to repent. We have sinned against God, against our brothers and sisters – and against creation, the work of God’s own hands.

The ecological crisis addresses a challenge to all of us. It invites us to listen anew to God’s voice. In Luke’s Gospel we hear that people reported to Jesus two disasters – a political crime and a fatal accident. People had perished. ‘And Jesus told the crowd around him: Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered thus? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish (13,3).’

In the first place we have to engage in a fresh exploration of Scripture. How are we to understand its message? For a long time the opinion prevailed – especially in Western Christianity – that the theme of the Bible was exclusively God’s action with humankind. Its primary emphasis was not God’s love for all creation but the destiny and role of humankind. The major themes were human power and achievement, failure, justification and salvation. Attention centered on inter-human justice. But in fact, as we re-read the Bible, especially the Old Testament, we discover that the themes of Creation and care for Creation hold a central place in its witness. Many dimensions and aspects of the Biblical evidence need to be retrieved today. At the same time we need to be open to other Christian tradition and their teaching on creation; they may have preserved Biblical insights more purely than our own tradition. Ecumenical encounter will help us to re-discover and revalue the genuine content of the Christian message.

Theologically, a dedicated and coherent reading of God’s two books needs to be developed: the book of God’s word, the Bible, and the book of God’s world, the creation. They are inter-related. The book of God’s word opens the book of God’s world. In his epistle to the Romans, Paul teaches us that everyone is left without excuse for not knowing God because God’s divinity and everlasting power can be perceived in God’s creation (1,20). The consequences of learning from both God’s word and God’s work in creation are profound. At base, knowledge of God’s word, accompanied by a coherent knowledge of God’s work, leads us to inter-act with the whole of creation wisely. Both books must be read and they must be read coherently. Failure to do so will disorient people spiritually, morally and physically, and will ultimately disrupt the wholeness of creation. Its capacity to glorify the Creator will be diminished.

The vision of the whole creation and the place of humans in it can be retrieved and renewed by reflecting and acting upon God’s love for the world as expressed in John 3,16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son.” God loves creation to the point of becoming part of it. A creation-conscious mission means nothing else than responding to this love.

This response requires openness and readiness for dialogue with all people – believers and non-believers. Insights can be gained from the encounter with past and present cultural traditions. People of other cultures, especially indigenous cultures, provide precious insights and it is therefore imperative to listen to their wisdom with respect. The Christian response to the ecological crisis requires a consistent dialogue with representatives of the scientific community. Christian witness also needs to relate to the further development of technology and contribute to the promotion of waste-free technologies that are modeled upon the natural flow of energy and materials in ecosystems and the biosphere.

Care for creation is no doubt a promising theme for inter-religious dialogue. Instead of concentrating on the differences between religions, a deliberate effort can be made to ‘read’ together the book of God’s work in creation. All religions have accumulated insights about the harmony with nature. These treasures can be shared. Inter-religious dialogue can decisively contribute to resisting brutal ways of exploitation and destruction.

A creation-conscious witness is grounded in the belief in the Holy Trinity; it affirms that God is three-persons in inter-relationship, working together both in the creation of the universe and the salvation of all things. The early Christian creeds confess God the Father, Maker of heaven and earth. They also affirm that Jesus Christ was and is equally engaged in creating the world. He is called the firstborn of creation (Col1,18) and it witnessed to by the Spirit who was and is present in creation and brings it to fulfillment.

Creation is itself the first and greatest witness to the Creator (Acts 14,17, Rom 1,19ff), speaking a language accessible to all people.

The Trinitarian character of God is reflected in the universe. The cosmos is a unity composed of networks of relationships. Nothing is designed to function in isolation, or to relate to God apart from the rest. Creation-conscious mission consistently respects and upholds these Trinitarian relationships.

Relationships are the mysterious ‘heart’ of God, humanity and all of creation. As the divine persons of the Holy Trinity abide in eternity in loving community, so all human persons, fashioned in God’s image and likeness, are called to follow suit at the level of creation. A powerful African saying affirms: “I am because you are, and because we are, I am.” We grow, becoming our truest selves, only through healthy community. Authentic relationships are life giving as they bear witness to the ‘author of life’. Whenever and wherever humans are exploitative of one another and the rest of creation, a life-effacing dynamic is introduced.

Creation-conscious mission points to God creating and re-creating all things in Jesus Christ. The significance of the missionary message is diminished, if its content is reduced to a message of reconciliation addressed solely to humankind. Mission theology has often suffered from this reduction. The missionary effort was seen as exclusively concerned with the salvation of humankind. As Jesus sent his disciples to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, the Church is sent to communicate the Good News to all nations. The natural world was seen exclusively as the stage or arena of the drama of human history, and the missionary movement as seeking to bring it to its fulfillment. But this view does not do justice to the Biblical vision which stretches from the creation to the fulfillment of all things in Christ. All creation has a part in God’s design for salvation and is destined to give glory to his name.

Creation-conscious mission is the call to fellow-humans to enter into a genuine relationship with God, with each other and the whole creation. It is a call to become what we are – created beings capable of responding to God. Adam was taken from the earth and is bound to return to the earth. His name, derived from adamah the earth, indicates that he is part of the material world and depending on it. But we are also told that he was made in the image and likeness of God and is therefore capable of consciously glorifying God’s name. God bestows on him a privileged status among all creatures.

Human beings are appointed to be the link between the Creator and creation. ‘By emptying himself, taking the form of a servant and being born in the likeness of men (Phil 2,7)’, Christ united himself through human nature with the whole of creation. Humans are to play their part in God’s plan for all things to be united in Jesus Christ (Eph 1,10). This is our mission: we are called to bring the whole of creation to God. Clearly, this mission involves care and respect for all created things. The special place entrusted to us, means that, in the image of our Master, we are in the midst of other creatures as the ones who serve (cf. Lk 22,25-26).

To be appointed as a link makes for a vulnerable position. Whatever humans do, be it positive or negative, has immense implications for creation as a whole. Today’s ecological crisis illustrates the catastrophic effects when humans fail in their responsibility towards creation.

At no stage of the Biblical accounts are human beings isolated from the rest of creation. Adam and Eve are meant to live, in Gods garden, in harmony with nature. By misusing creation according to their own desires, they stray away from God; and this error has not only fatal consequences for themselves but brings disarray to all creation. God’s salvation is the reversal of this process. The Good News proclaimed by Christ not only means the restoration of relationships with one another but with the whole of creation.

Creation-conscious mission proclaims the hope for the new creation. Christ’s coming inaugurates the kingdom of God, the transformation of all things. Christ’s transfiguration and resurrection show that the glory of the kingdom includes the body and the material world. Christ makes all things new; he does not replace them with new things. When we care for creation here and now, we are testifying that God is at work in the world - transforming and renewing it by his own power. Our calling is to work with him (II Cor 6,1; I Cor 3,9) to manifest his saving work instead of obscuring it. We show ourselves faithful to this calling by genuine transformation, i.e. by renewing the natural environment in such a way that it is brought into communion with God. In this way the world is transfigured and material things are given eternal meaning.

If we understand the care for creation as an expression of faithfulness to the Creator, we shall always have hope even where there are few grounds for optimism. We are confident in God’s faithfulness, and acknowledge that God’s power working in us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine (Eph 3,20).

Creation-conscious mission applies discernment to the process of transformation. Human ingenuity has indeed transformed the world. Until recently the human conquest of nature as such was celebrated as progress. The ecological crisis teaches us to be more circumspect. Scientific research, technological innovation and changing the patterns of society are part of the vocation of humankind. But transformation as such is of no value. Genuine transformation must respect God’s creation and serve the life not only of human beings but the whole of creation. Much of the destruction we witness today, is the consequence of blind transformation. The values of Western civilization must therefore be subjected to a thorough re-examination. Creation-conscious mission seeks to offer models of alternative life-oriented transformation.

Creation-conscious mission seeks social and economic justice in harmony with the created order. The struggle for freedom and social justice is an integral part of the Church’s mission. ‘Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke (Is 58,6).’ The Good News are primarily addressed to the poor of this world (Lk 4,18). Today, the ecological crisis has become a major cause of injustice.

Creation-conscious mission must address this new ‘face’ of poverty. Economy and ecology are not two distinct agendas. It is important to acknowledge this because it is too often assumed that a choice needs to be made between solving environmental problems and eradicating poverty. Without openly admitting it, the debate about social and economic justice is broken down into a ‘green agenda’ – Western environmentalism – versus a ‘brown agenda’ – the necessity of the poor to survive. Christians are bound to advocate an ‘olive agenda’, i.e. one that unites both necessities. Within such an agenda, our concern for the wellbeing of the people of the earth is a commitment to the wellbeing of the earth; and our concern for the wellbeing of the earth is a commitment to the wellbeing of the people. God’s covenant extends to the earth, and all human beings are challenged to live out the implications of his covenant with creation.

Social justice cannot be achieved by general economic growth. There are ‘limits to growth’, and these limits must be respected. Even if technological efficiency may open new horizons, industrialized countries must be prepared to reduce their consumption of resources. Climate change illustrates this necessity. A way forward can only be found if the industrialised countries are prepared to reduce drastically their CO2 emissions. Creation-conscious mission will therefore consistently promote a life style of responsible and sustainable use of the earth’s resources.

Creation-conscious mission requires a responsible and sustainable life style. Christian witness today must reflect the concern for the environment. Churches must speak out and call for political measures, which put a halt to the environmental destruction. They must suggest at all levels of society legislation ensuring a more responsible approach to the natural environment – respecting sustainable scales of exploitation of natural resources, reducing CO2 emissions, saving energy, developing alternative energy sources, reducing pollution and waste, developing nature-friendly technologies, introducing new economic incentives such as new taxation systems etc. But Christian witness must in the first place find expression in an ecologically responsible life style of individuals and Christian communities. To be credible the Christian Church must anticipate in its own ranks the measures it urges society to adopt. A responsible life is today an indispensable part of any missionary witness.

Jesus’ words in the Synagogue of Nazareth are in a certain sense the summary of a creation-conscious mission. It ends with the announcement of a ‘favorable year of the Lord’, a reference to the Jubilee year mentioned in Leviticus 25. The commandment of such a year was a challenge to restore not only social justice, but also a sound relationship with the earth. This is the message we have to proclaim through our words, but above all through the way of life we adopt.

Creation-conscious mission rejects the use of violence; it seeks peace and reconciliation. In an increasingly violent world it is supremely important to affirm the sanctity of life. This call implies listening to people in conflict and seeking common ground to meet and exchange. Particular attention must be given to the suffering and to the excluded, to people whose lives have been disrupted by war, especially women and children who are the major victims of war. A creation-conscious mission establishes a new communion across political, ethnic and economic antagonisms.

At the same time we have to be aware of the extreme violence humankind is inflicting on the natural world. Violence does not only affect inter-human relations but also the life of creation. Creation suffers from human activity. It is groaning and anxiously waiting to be liberated by God. Violence against nature disrupts human life. When creation suffers, we suffer. What has become a war against nature causes both our alienation from nature and the destabilization of our mental and physical health.

Creation-conscious mission begins in the heart. Mission is not solely ‘task-oriented’. We cannot engage with the outside ecological crisis unless we engage with the crisis within ourselves. Otherwise we will not be capable of relating properly to the world. Being open to grace, remaining humble and constantly discerning anew the way indicated to us by Christ’s way of life, are the presuppositions for establishing the right relationship with creation. The quest for a responsible life style is less about doing than about being. ‘This is what the Lord requires from you: to act justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with your God (Mic 6,8).’ Our technological dependence for heating, lighting and transport, and our addiction to TV, the computer world, the processed and pre-packaged, all distances us from establishing the right relationship with creation

Worship is central for true witness because it expresses the way of being to which we aspire, our stance before God and his works. In worship we respond to God and celebrate God’s gifts. We praise the presence of the Spirit and pray for the coming of God’s kingdom. We are mindful of the resources already available in the liturgical tradition of the churches, which remind us of God coming to us through his creation. In baptism, we are reborn through water, in the Eucharist we receive his life through bread and wine, fruits of the earth and of human hands. We learn to see the gift of God’s good creation as pointing forward to God’s new creation.

Creation-conscious mission is inspired by worship based on the early Christian integration of the spiritual and material world.

Nature has therefore its place in worship. True worship of the Creator can help us to overcome the alienation from nature and to become aware of God’s goodness.

For some time the suggestion has been made to introduce into the church calendar a special day or time for creation. Following the proposal of the Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I in 1989 more and more churches of all confessional traditions observe the period from September 1 to the first Sunday after October 4 as the ‘Time for Creation’. We strongly support his idea. A special time provides an opportunity to deepen the understanding of the relationship between God the Creator, humankind and the whole of creation.

The Church is a universal communion sharing the same foundation of Jesus Christ and has received the same summons to proclaim the Good News of a new creation. The churches bear witness each in their own context and seek to support the churches in other parts of the world in their witness. All situations are connected. What one church may experience in its context, may have consequences for churches in other contexts. The witness of one church can confirm the witness of another church, but it can also hinder or discredit it.

The ecological crisis is a challenge to the Church Universal at all levels of its life. It must be addressed at the international, regional, national and local levels, and therefore requires a concerted approach by all churches. Every missionary witness counts – the commitment of each Christian and every local church not less than the witness addressed by the churches to society at the regional, national and universal levels. The fact that we belong together in one and the same church across all boundaries offers the churches an opportunity to show solidarity with the weakest members of the communion. Together they can resist the forces which threaten to destroy life. Together they can help to open alternative ways into the future.

There is a need for the missionary movement to be committed to the vision of life giving witness and to encouraging each member of the Christian family to accept its part of responsibility for such witness.

Christians are divided. We project to the world the image of brokenness. The ecumenical movement has begun the process of overcoming the barriers between the various traditions. We now need a fresh impetus. The call to unity is a relevant as ever. The ecological crisis gives a fresh impetus summoning the churches to overcome their divisions for the benefit of the whole world and all that is in it. It provides a most meaningful and crucial missionary challenge to the churches.

A few examples offered by participants in the consultation may illustrate what a creation-conscious mission can mean:

CIPCRE was established in 1990 as a non-governmental organization promoting ecology and sustainable development in the wake of the conciliar process on Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation. From the beginning, it has sought to give expression to the Gospel through a programme of social transformation. CIPCRE does not reduce ecology to the mere protection of nature and natural eco-systems. Its concern is wider. It seeks to address the issue of the relationship and inter-action of human beings with creation. How do people relate and inter-act with the Creator, with the invisible world, with the spirits, with the dead, with the community to which they belong, with future generations, and their expectations? Taking into account all these links, ecology becomes a way of life, a vision of the world, a programme spelling out the rights and duties of society, a quest for a new quality of life in the perspective of sustainable development. CIPCRE is engaged in two major programmes. The first concerns education. CIPCRE organises programmes of information and consciousness-raising, in particular through an annual effort in the weeks between Easter and Pentecost to engage people in a coherent reflection on fundamental issues of life. The second programme concerns projects of sustainable life in rural and urban settings, an attempt to promote models of sustainable life, for example through agriculture, by encouraging handicraft, fair trade, urban planning, and providing access to drinking-water. In all these programmes the driving force is the Gospel which is capable of changing minds and transforming the world.

Since the conquest of the Latin American and the Caribbean territories, beginning in the late 15^th century, the indigenous people, their land and their culture have been facing destruction. This tragedy impacted upon their lives and the environment. In the place of forests, grasslands and settlements, there are now cities, plantations and railways. Peoples such as the Guarani, Yanomani, Kulina and Kuna managed to survive through their myths, which gave them the hope and the power to resist. Christians now need to seek a new relationship with them and listen to their wisdom and perspectives on life, because they can teach us a great deal about our relationship to the earth in face of today’s ecological crisis. Mission is in this case in the first place an effort to listen. Three things can be learnt: ecological sensitivity, a sense for the interdependence of all things and the central place of the earth which is sacred and cannot therefore be sold or bought. Not by chance do some indigenous people call the earth their mother, for this term correctly expresses the relationship between the earth and all living things.. The Mby·-Guarani vision of the ‘earth without pain’ is a symbol of this perspective of life which gives dignity to both the earth and humanity.

The Convent of Chrysopigi in Chania, Crete seeks to continue the long tradition of ascetics who live in peace with nature and whose love embraces every living thing. Chrysopigi uses without exception organic methods for the cultivation of its fruit and vegetable gardens. Some of the produce is sold commercially with explanatory labelling. The organic agricultural programme aims at providing a model both for other monasteries and for local farms. The Convent is currently organising “A Centre for Orthodoxy and Ecology” with the intention of holding seminars, conferences and courses on environmental education. Students also experience nature as they walk the stone paths to the cave chapels for the liturgy. Several old buildings have been restored, and new ones constructed. Particular attention was paid to the use of appropriate materials and the respect of the harmony with the natural environment. This sensitivity reflects the teaching of the saintly Elder Porphyrios (+1991) who saw in the beauty of nature “the little loves that lead to the great love that is Christ”. The experience of the Chrysopigi’s environmental work has led many people to search for the deeper meaning of life, to recognize nature as God’s creation and to cooperate with people of other cultures to protect the natural world.

A decade ago, my wife and I decided to leave the city of Bangalore, the ‘Silicon Valley’ of India. We bought four acres of land in a remote village. The land was barren. With God’s blessing the well we dug produced enough water. A thatched hut served as residence. Two of my theology students volunteered to live with us. Our first mission was to plant as many trees and plants as we could. As the trees grew, numerous birds, butterflies, insects, moths, bees, rabbits, snakes and the like began visiting us on a regular basis. Eventually, many of them became permanent members. From the beginning we decided not to poison the earth with chemical pesticides and fertilizers, so that earthworms could flourish. These humble creatures are the best friends of the farmers. They produce the best fertilizer They are also the best tillers and the best dam builders. We have a cow that gives enough milk for the community as well as for the little children of the village who come every evening after school to study, play and pray. The cow also provides excellent manure for the fields. To care for the earth we need a community. At present we have twelve members, belonging to different religions, speaking different languages, sharing different cultures. Though diverse, the members form a unity. The uniting cord is the love for God, for one another and for God’s creation. What we produce can only meet part of the community’s need. The rest, God provides. God who looks after the little sparrows also looks after us in marvellous ways.

Following the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) which was held in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2002, it soon became clear that for many it was still “business as usual”, in† spite of all the information and publicity surrounding the Summit. There needed to be a new level of awareness of the necessity to live sustainably and in harmony with creation. The faith communities form the largest network in Africa with more than 90% of South Africans in membership. Faith communities also have a moral authority which is critically important since the environmental crisis is essentially a moral one. The Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme provided a grant to hold a national conference with representatives of all the major religions.† This took place in March 2005 at Hartbeespoort (near Pretoria, South Africa). It was agreed to establish SAFCEI with the purpose of raising awareness and encouraging the faith communities to become actively involved and responsive to environmental issues. The SAFCEI Board has representatives from all the major faith communities. The binding concern is our response to the growing environmental crisis. The sacred texts of the respective faith communities which refer to the environment are enlightening to all of us, while at the same time the distinctive witness of each community is retained. Not only are we bringing together the different religions, we are also meeting with environmental organizations who are appreciative that faith communities are now beginning to recognize their responsibilities. Climate change is making many more people aware of the crisis facing humanity and the world. It is essential that faith communities recognize their God given responsibility to care for creation.

A. The report of the consultation