| An ecumenical organization, the
North American Coalition for Christianity and Ecology
(NACCE) highlights environmental dimensions
of the Christian tradition, helps Christian individuals
and churches become more ecologically responsible,
and works with people of other traditions in the
common effort to create a more sustainable global
society. Understanding the Earth to be God’s
creation, NACCE calls on Christians to respond
to ecological destruction with repentance and creativity
and to draw strength in this effort from Christ’s
redeeming love and from the power of the Holy Spirit.
The NACCE seeks to make connections between Christians,
the Christian tradition, and ecology through publications,
educational events, gatherings, and collaborative
projects. Since its founding, NACCE has organized
regional, national, and continental conferences
and sponsored regional affiliates and resource
centers. Its journal, Firmament, was replaced
in 1991 by its newsletter, Earthkeeping News,
which can be accessed through the NACEE website. |
| Christianity |
| North America |
| 1986–Present |
| The origins of the North American Coalition for
Christianity and Ecology date back to 1985, when
Fr. Albert Fritsch of Appalachia Science in the
Public Interest, David Haenke of the Ozarks Bioregional
Project, and Fred Krueger of the San Francisco-based
Eleventh Commandment Fellowship, decided to initiate
a Christian Ecological movement in North America.
Through outreach to Christian leaders, they organized
an initial planning conference in Syria, Virginia
in May of 1986, which was attended by forty people
from various denominations. In 1986 they incorporated
as the North American Conference on Christianity
and Ecology, a nonprofit organization. The first
conference, held in August of 1987 in Indiana,
was attended by more than 500 people. A central
office
was
established in San Francisco in 1987 and in
1988, a second
office was added in Washington, D.C., where six
regional NACCE conferences were held. In addition
to holding
regional Earth Day conferences and co-sponsoring
Soil and Water Stewardship Week with the National
Association of Conservation Districts, NACCE cosponsored
an environmental seminar in Russia in 1991. In
1992, NACCE established local groups in Illinois
and North Carolina and the Green Cross journal
was taken over by the Evangelical Environmental
Network. The following year, NACCE formed a Hospitality
Network and Speakers Bureau, organized conferences
in four different states, and co-sponsored the
Parliament of World Religions in Chicago. In 1994,
the Board sponsored collaborative projects and
regional coalitions, such as the Christian Youth
Ecology conference, that were cosponsored by the
Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Ecumenical Ministries
of
of Southern California. Major conferences included:
“Survival of the Planet: A Challenge to Faith
Communities”
(Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1989); “Discerning
the Signs of These Times” (Milwaukee, Wisconsin,1996);
“Spirit and Religion in the Ecological Age:
Empowering Environmental Work” (Little Rock,
Arkansas, 2001); “Bringing
the Church Back Down to Earth,” cosponsored
by The Center for Progressive Christianity (St.
Paul, Minnesota, 2004). |
“The continuing devastation
of Earth is a crisis of the human spirit. To address
this crisis:
- We will invite people into a loving
relationship with Earth through the formation
of local earthkeeping circles
- We will teach
reverence
for God’s creation, with the understanding
that humans are embedded in the natural world
- We will cooperate with other organizations
concerned with ecology and social justice
- We will promote
the study of ecological issues in the context
of biblical theology and contemporary science.”
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North
American Coalition for Christianity and Ecology
(NACCE)
P.O. Box 40011
St. Paul, MN 55104
Phone: 651.698.0349
Email: eudyson@att.net |
