I like the wide open spaces of the great plains, with the wavy hills and the big sky with its incredible cloudscapes.  Perhaps it is because I don’t feel claustrophobic. Perhaps it is the size of place puts everything in perspective. This past Spring I traveled through Nebraska to see the SandHill Crane migration.  Last summer it was Iowa (I was leading a workshop in West DesMoines). This summer it is Kansas (for a workshop in Colby)

While at the National Youth Gathering in New Orleans, a gentleman from Southern Illinois approached me after my presentation and asked, “why hasn’t the church taken the lead on issues regarding our responsibility for creation?” It is not the first time that someone has asked me that question. Their questions implied that the church should be at the forefront of advocating for the responsible care of creation. The instincts of these questioners are sound

This week I attended my first ever National Youth Gathering in New Orleans. I was impressed with the dedication and enthusiasm of those who played key roles in organizing the event as well as the high energy levels of the youth and and their leaders who came.

A few friends have recently brought to my attention that many Christians are perhaps not accustomed seeing themselves or thinking of themselves as creatures. That’s somewhat curious. Do most people use the word “creature” to speak exclusively about nonhuman creatures? By contrast, do we refer to ourselves primarily, if not exclusively, as human beings in order to separate and distinguish ourselves from all other forms of life on earth?

Norman Wirzba develops the theme of extending hospitality to all of God’s creatures in his book, The Paradise of God . He notes that hospitality in the Old Testament involved in part the inviting of sojourners into the home, in brief, making room for them. God carved out spaces (land, air, water) for all of his creatures

Ok. I know that this is somewhat typical of me.

I grew up in Wisconsin but never realized all that was there. I didn’t know that it was home to Aldo Leopold (didn’t know who he was at the time either). I didn’t pay much attention to Horicon Marsh or Necedah National Wildlife Refuge. And I didn’t know that Baraboo Wisconsin was home to the International Crane Foundation

There are various reasons why Christians may approach environmental issues with a skeptical eye and be reluctant to embrace them. One is the concern that it is an alternative religion to Christianity.

One of my favorite quotes comes from Wendell Berry (not surprisingly). In commenting on the nature of the abundant life, he makes the statement that material sufficiency has been met (food, clothing, shelter etc.), “life itself, which is membership in the living world, is already an abundance” ( The Way of Ignorance ). Think about it. It goes to how we think about what constitutes the good life.

Earth Day last month made me wonder why we don’t have a similar day within the church. We wouldn’t have to call it “Earth Sunday” or anything. We could call it “Creation Sunday” or have a “Season of Creation.” Currently, the first half of our church year rightly focuses on the life of Jesus