Thu, Mar 18 2010
|
|
Published November 13, 2009 02:05 pm - Dr. Matthew Sleeth felt so strongly about Christians joining the cause of the environment that he wrote a book, “Serve God, Save the Planet: A Christian Call to Action.” AP: Some churches converting to environmentalism The Associated Press
FLORENCE, Ala. — It was that “aha” moment Betty McGee said she was hoping to get from members of First Presbyterian Church of Florence. “It came when we put recycling into context,” she said of the Sunday morning experiment of separating trash from the pulpit into piles of what is garbage and what can be reused. McGee said a recycling program has been in place at the church, the Shoals’ oldest organized congregation, since the 1980s, but this year, the decision was made to ratchet up the members’ commitment to the environmental cause. Until the past few years, organized religion, Christianity in particular, has left environmental protection to activists, concerned scientists and political figures. Likewise, environmentalists have either ignored religion or complained that churches have been lukewarm about environmental causes. Dr. Matthew Sleeth, emergency room doctor turned environmental author, said it’s an image that Christians, by and large, don’t deserve. “Churches throughout history have addressed this, but we got away from it when we got away from our direct connection to the land,” he said. “But if you look at the first page of the Bible and the picture of paradise, there’s a tree smack in the middle with a river running by it. That’s no accident.” Sleeth felt so strongly about Christians joining the cause of the environment that he wrote a book, “Serve God, Save the Planet: A Christian Call to Action.” He often visits churches to help members understand how they can adopt more ecological practices. “When I started going to churches five or six years ago, it was a pretty hard sell,” he said. “Now, for whatever reason, I can no longer get to all the churches who want me to come and talk about this.” Sleeth said he’s been to an array of churches, from Methodist to Southern Baptist to Episcopal. Carl Gebhardt, minister at First Christian Church in Florence, said environmental issues became politicized in recent years. “Christians in general, in the United States, have a serious and unfortunate habit of identifying political issues as either religiously conservative or religiously liberal,” he said. “So, with churches, you would think that conserving the environment would be a conservative agenda, but they have been against this. The battle rages from both sides; neither is innocent.” When he entered the ministry more than 30 years ago, Gebhardt said the environment was a priority for the denomination. “Churches have always considered environmental issues to be a matter of the faithful,” he said, but more often than not, “we do it quietly, doing our best to recycle and replacing incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent, little things like that.” At First Presbyterian, the push toward environmentalism took on a new life this year when McGee decided it was time to get members more involved. Paper plates replaced the church’s china for potluck suppers, a mug tree sprang up to rid the facility of Styrofoam cups, and old windows have been replaced with more energy-efficient ones. “There was a little bit of a protest about using the glass dishes,” she said. “And, years ago, we had a mug tree, so it’s like we regressed on that. But overall, the members seem to be accepting it well.” 
•
Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.
More from the People section
Truckload of trucks: Joplin man keeps large collection Mike Pound: Wife's punctuality amazes family Frankie Meyer: Great TV series misleads about ease of family discoveries Mark Schuster: Favorites part of library’s recent musical additions |
Print this story
E-mail this story
Post to del.icio.us
Discuss this story
 |
 |
"2010 Spelling Bee Sponsored by: Tamko Building Products." 
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
 |
|
|
Published by Newspaper Holding, Inc. 117 East Fourth Street, Joplin, MO 64801 Using our site is your agreement to the terms and conditions. News: news@joplinglobe.com • (417)623-3480 Advertise with the Joplin Globe Copyright © 2006 The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO All rights reserved. 
|
Popular Business directory links - Joplin Apartments | Joplin Attorneys | Joplin Auto Dealers | Joplin Auto Parts | Joplin Auto Repair | Joplin Beauty Salons | Joplin Car Rental | Joplin Dentists | Joplin Doctors | Joplin Flowers | Joplin Hotels | Joplin Insurance | Joplin Loans | Joplin Mortgages | Joplin Movers | Joplin Pizza | Joplin Realtors | Joplin Restaurants | Joplin Storage | Joplin Tax Preparation | Joplin Travel | Joplin Featured | More...
|
|
Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. • CNHI Classified Advertising Network • CNHI News Service |
