Blog Posts

Birdwatching with Jesus

10/8/2021

By Farley Lord

I imagine Jesus would be one of those nature hike leaders who arrives at the trailhead before everyone else to thoughtfully consider the tree canopy. He would wear brandless, mud-colored boots and clothes that were not at all trendy, least of all his pants tucked into his socks to deter creepy crawlies. He would hike only with a knobby stick and a small bag of trail mix (for surely even Jesus loves trail mix). He would know everything about everything and it would seem he was created by the woods themselves. Or wouldn’t I know that it was the other way around?

I would most like to follow Jesus birdwatching. You know the old joke that there’s a reason fishing is called “fishing,” not “catching”? Similarly birdwatching (as in, watching for birds) is not the same as birdseeing. Birdwatching is an interspecies game of hide-and-seek where the hiding species is almost weightless, usually camouflaged, and can fly; the finding species is giant by comparison and wears clodhoppers and swishy hiking pants. What luck, then, that according to the letter to the Hebrews, “before Jesus no creature is hidden.” (4:13) No creature is hidden! All I would have to do is wrangle my binoculars in the direction he tells me, and I would check off every bird species on my list before lunch.

"I imagine Jesus would be one of those nature hike leaders who arrives at the trailhead before everyone else to thoughtfully consider the tree canopy."

My greed for birdwatching glory would wear off as I realized that how Jesus sees is just as important as what he sees. Jesus wouldn’t be like a supersensory zombie who sends the poor birds scattering, forming unlikely alliances, and providing the plot of the next hit tv series. No: he wouldn’t reveal creatures to capture, embarrass, startle, trick, or profit from them. What is hidden is more than their location; it is their truth, and Jesus can see the truth of every creature. Jesus sees them despite their fear, their fatigue, the density of the underbrush, or the rugged terrain. Jesus sees them through love, and he wouldn’t get any closer than he needs to love them. His goal is communion, not domination.

At some point Jesus would see something in the distance and become quiet, his face soft and sad. Following his gaze, I would see no bird, just wind in the leaves. Perhaps the bird that’s caught his attention is hidden from mortal eyes because it is missing and shouldn’t be. Is it a Carolina parakeet, a passenger pigeon, or ivory-billed woodpecker? He doesn’t say, but sighs and keeps walking. Before Jesus, no creature is hidden, even those who have faced death and extinction from the tangible world.

"Before Jesus, no creature is hidden, even those who have faced death and extinction from the tangible world."

As I got in my car after the hike, I would realize one more thing. The way that Jesus sees birds, his creatures, is that he gently watches for them; reveals their truths so they are no longer hidden; puts their missing pieces back together; and approaches them as they are with love. This, I would think, must be the same way he sees me.

A graduate of Duke Divinity School and the Nicholas School of the Environment, Farley lives in Durham, NC with her family.

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Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument Protections Restored!

10/8/2021

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, October 8, 2021
Press Contact:
Karyn Bigelow, karyn@creationjustice.org;
Avery Davis Lamb, avery@creationjustice.org

STATEMENT: The Biden Administration Restores Full Protections to the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante

Today, the Biden Administration restored full protections to the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, as well as restored the original boundaries for two Utah areas, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante.

The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts is an incredible piece of God’s creation that was designated as a national monument in 2016 under the Obama Administration. It was the first fully protected marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean until the summer of 2020. The monument was stripped of some protections, leaving it open to commercial fishing and other activities that could be detrimental to the creatures that live within the bounds of the monument as well as the unique and irreplaceable sea floor. Today, we rejoice and give thanks to the Biden Administration for this decision.

This monument is not only an important haven for biodiversity, but it also gets us one step closer to achieving our national goal of protecting 30% of our public lands and waters by the year 2030. We have had the pleasure of working with the Creation Justice community as well as several other organizations to bring awareness to this important part of God’s Creation. While we have several national monuments dedicated in the Pacific Ocean, the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument is the only national monument in the Atlantic Ocean. .

Our Co-Executive Directors, Karyn Bigelow and Avery Davis Lamb, share the joint statement: "The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument is a modern-day Noah’s Ark. This beautiful, majestic space is home to many creatures such as dolphins, whales, and an incredible sea floor. Every inch of this ecosystem was created in detail and it is our job to keep this place protected. Just as we've been afforded the opportunity to witness this majestic place at the hands of God, we want to ensure it is sustained for the generations after us to enjoy. Protecting the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts will help us to continue safeguarding our coastlines as well. These protections go hand in hand with efforts to cultivate climate resilience efforts all along the east coast. Today, we thank President Biden for restoring protections to this special place.” We give thanks to the Biden Administration and the Department of Interior for restoring protections and taking the health of God’s ocean seriously.

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Creation Justice Ministries represents the creation care policies of 38 Christian communions, including Baptists, mainline Protestants, Historically Black Churches, Peace Churches, and Orthodox communions. Learn more at www.creationjustice.org

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Nicole Taylor Morris: A Womanist Understanding of Creation Justice

9/29/2021

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By Nicole Taylor Morris

Melanie L. Harris describes ecowomanism as, “the reflective and contemplative study of the eco wisdom that is theorized, constructed, and practiced by women of African descent. The discourse validates their lives, spiritual values, and activism as important epistemologies (i.e., sets of knowledge) in ecowomanism.”[1] Harris goes on to draw parallels between the ways that settler colonialism has and continues to harm and impact the Earth, just as it continues to harm and impact the lives of Black womxn, who often face the most severe forms of marginalization, globally, in her book Ecowomanism.

The core of Womanism, which is often used as a theological framework, offers both a theoretical lens and practical applications for centering the voices and experiences of Black womxn and those most marginalized by oppressive systems.[2] It prioritizes actively listening to those voices and experiences toward repair and transformation, individually, communally, and systemically. Eco-womanism extends these principles beyond the experiences of marginalized human bodies and calls for a deep acknowledgment of the “voice” and experience of the Earth, of land and water, and living beings beyond humanity that have been subjected to the iterations of ecological violence due to white supremacy and capitalism. It also calls for a deep listening and attunement to the way that the Earth is an expert in its own healing and for a return to the decolonized, Afro-Indigenous ways of creating a symbiotic, not dominant, relationships amongst humans and the living beings and bodies that make up Earth.

"Eco-womanism extends these principles beyond the experiences of marginalized human bodies and calls for a deep acknowledgment of the “voice” and experience of the Earth, of land and water, and living beings beyond humanity."

Ecowomanism is rooted in justice and equity. It offers an insightful perspective and lens to Creation Justice by ultimately acknowledging that not only are the marginalized bodies of Black womxn and the Earth reflections and embodiments of God, but that there is a universal necessity to treat them as such in order to effectively move toward ecological restoration. This sentiment is reflected in Scripture from the Bible: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14, KJV). We are called to be stewards to the land as reflections of God, who are “called by [God’s] name”. Our relationship to land is intended to be directly symbiotic and is also reflected in the ways that we treat one another; humility by transforming the systems of power we’ve created ultimately leads to a restorative forgiveness and “healing the land”--our voices must be heard and uplifted by one another, by God, and this will impact our ability to restore the environment.

Ecowomanism prompts us to reimagine the present by returning to ancestral practices and by challenging the influences of white supremacy on our thoughts and actions in relation to ecology and society. It prompts us to reconsider statements that pose climate change and environmental disasters as “threats” to humanity, to an understanding that climate change is a direct result and symptom of the long-term destructive nature of settler colonialism, exploitative systems of oppression, and the consistent marginalization and neglect of the Earth and non-white bodies as “other”. Creation justice encourages us to consider how human systems and societies have actively harmed and are complicit in perpetuating harm to the environment and for us to approach restoration through healing and accountability, rather than defense and continued domination. Ecowomanism is at the core of what Creation Justice must be; a call for reparations, healing, and transformation of both society and its impacts on the health and well-being of the planet by deeply listening, honoring, and returning to practices that uplift those whose lives and humanity are most often disregarded and the Earth itself, as God.

"Ecowomanism is at the core of what Creation Justice must be; a call for reparations, healing, and transformation.."

Though the need for intervention is urgent and requires deep re-imagining of how best to approach societal and planetary healing on a global scale, many communities and societies have maintained and reclaimed ancestral and Afro-indigenous practices toward a Creation Justice of healing with the land. One embodiment of Creation Justice through the lens of Ecowomanism is the urban farm cooperative space, the Common Good Project located in the Neponset Tribal Territory of what is popularly called Dorchester, Massachusetts. The Common Good Project was founded and is led by Black women and women of color who face the daily challenges and impacts of systemic marginalization, neglect, and isolation of living in an under-resourced community of a heavily-resourced metropolitan area. This project is rooted in the concept that liberation from these structures can be found by learning and intentionally returning to an Afro-Indigenous symbiotic relationship with the Earth and land as a space that provides oxygen, food, and the physiological benefits of ecological engagement in right relationship with the Earth, but also a space that must be nurtured, honored, and heard. Not only does this project and similar community-based offerings provide an avenue forward for improving the well-being and seeking justice at a community-level, but also they provide insight to the ways that we can begin to actualize Creation Justice for planetary well-being. Efforts like these continually reemphasize the equity of humanity and ecology and the ways that they are interwoven through a lens of Creation Justice and Ecowomanism; they are tangible pathways forward for both survival and healing.

1. Melanie L. Harris (2016) Ecowomanism: Black Women, Religion, and the Environment, The Black Scholar, 46:3, 27-39, DOI: 10.1080/00064246.2016.1188354
2. Alice Walker (2011). In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose. Open Road Integrated Media.

Nicole Taylor Morris (she/her/hers) is a womanist bioethicist, scholar-activist, doula, and movement chaplain, and healer-in-progress. She is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School with a Master of Theological Studies focused on the intersections of Black women and community’s health, community-centered healing, and the role of spirituality in wellness. She is also an alumni of Tufts University (’18) with a BA in Community Health.

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Dr. Steven Bouma-Prediger: Creation Justice in God’s Good Future of Shalom

9/23/2021

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By Dr. Steven Bouma-Prediger

Revelation 22:1-2
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
NRSV

Rivers and trees. The Bible begins and ends with rivers and trees. Genesis 1-2 and Revelation 21-22. Rivers and trees bookend the Bible. Why is this striking fact not more well known among followers of Jesus? And what might this text teach us about creation justice?

In this mind-bending vision of God’s good future (Revelation 21:1 to 22:7) John the Seer speaks about the river of the water of life, cascading from the throne of God and the Lamb, right smack-dab through the middle of a heaven-on-earth city. Rekindling the vision of Ezekiel 47, John reminds us that wherever this sacred river flows, every living creature flourishes. On each side of the river is the tree of life, with twelve kinds of fruit, one for each month, sustenance all year long. No more hunger or famine. No more worry about if or when you will get the next meal.

"...wherever this sacred river flows, every living creature flourishes."

The leaves of this magnificent tree are for the healing of the nations--the soothing, restorative reconciliation of all ethnic groups and peoples. And this healing includes all creation. Respect for rights and care for needs—human and nonhuman alike. In short, the leaves of this tree foster God’s good future of shalom: justice, love, the flourishing of all things.
Can we even begin to imagine what this would be like? No more trees felled to make battering rams to lay violent siege to medieval cities. No more trees cut to make sailing masts for colonial slave ships. No more trees pulped to make paper propaganda to fuel the fires of ethnic cleansing and human hate.

In sharp contrast, this tree brings healing and wholeness to all. Medicinal uses of biochemical compounds extracted from leaves or bark. Beautiful wood used to make melodious guitars and sturdy garden hoes. Generous forest canopies that provide us shade and offer homes to warblers and bromeliads and tree frogs. Sinuous streams and life-filled lakes that provide habitats for crabs and trout and loons. The leaves of this tree are for the healing of the nations and the good of all creation.

An essential aspect of our faith is hope. And an integral feature of hope is imagining a good future. May this rarely read but powerful text infuse our imaginations with an earthy and earthly vision of all things as God intends them to be. Shalom. The reign of God. Creation justice.

Steven Bouma-Prediger (PhD, University of Chicago) is Leonard and Marjorie Maas Professor of Reformed Theology at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. He also oversees the Environmental Studies minor and chairs the Campus Sustainability Advisory Committee. In addition, Bouma-Prediger is adjunct professor of theology and ethics at Western Theological Seminary. He is the author or coauthor of numerous books, including For the Beauty of the Earth, is a former board member of the Au Sable Institute, and regularly writes and speaks on environmental issues.

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Sarah Augustine: Indigenous Creation Justice

9/16/2021

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By Sarah Augustine

Each morning my son and I watch the sunrise. I was taught to do this by elders – to give thanks at the beginning of the day, to acknowledge the gift and miracle of life every morning. My ancestors practiced reverence in this way, and in turn I share this with my son. The spiritual tradition I have been taught explains that God’s nature is revealed in creation. To walk with God is to acknowledge God’s plan revealed in creation.

Romans 1:19-20 explains, For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

God’s eternal power and divine nature are clearly perceived. I take this to mean that God’s nature is made clear in creation. With each sunrise, God reveals God’s faithfulness, blessing the earth with warmth and light, the ongoing process of creation. The life support systems we depend on – soil, air and water – work together in a precious balance that demonstrates interdependence. These life support systems express the boundaries of reality that we must live within. For human beings to live, we need clean air, water and soils. Indigenous Peoples, across our numerous spiritual traditions, acknowledge we are embedded in creation, interdependent with it, not separate from it. In the cosmology I understand, this is reality.

"These life support systems express the boundaries of reality that we must live within."

'In the dominant culture, I have learned a different view of reality. In this alternate view, my self-interest justifies participation in disabling the systems of life. I am told that if I work hard, I deserve all that I earn. I can earn money and accumulate land and assets, which belong to me and which I can discharge as I see fit. My success is marked by the accumulation of wealth. I can pass down property, money, and investments to my descendants and they are entitled to these assets, which they are free to discharge as they see fit. Those fortunate enough to hold investments passively participate in the destruction of life-support systems, since investment portfolios are often dominated by extractive industries.

Extraction of oil, natural gas, minerals and metals discharge carbon into the air, changing the climate. Extractive industry pollutes waters human beings are dependent upon to live. Toxic chemicals used in a variety of industries, including agribusiness and mining, destroy soils humans are dependent upon to grow food.

All of this destruction to vital life support systems is done in the name of progress. In addition to the destruction to the life-support systems of earth, entitled self-interest further results in racial inequity named by the Black Lives Matter movement. The delusion we choose to live in was created to serve the lucky at the expense of the oppressed. The stubborn belief that we are entitled to financial security – that the destruction of vital life support systems is worth the cost – is killing the world. Individuals feel entitled to status bestowed by unjust systems passed down from one generation to the next, just as we feel entitled to wealth accumulation justified as financial security. Hard work, thrift, investing, whatever the cost, are considered to be wise. We are rewarded in the dominant culture for pursuing self-interest.

Romans 1: 21-22 goes on to say, For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.
Meanwhile, Indigenous Peoples around the globe striving to live in balance with systems of life – the boundaries of reality – are considered to be poor, ignorant and in need of rescue by international development. Indigenous water protectors, from the tar sands to the Amazon, are dismissed as radical or unrealistic.

What the dominant culture imagines is reality – competition for scarce resources, financial security that destroys ecological systems humans depend on for survival – is destructive and delusional. We have to reimagine, remember reality.

"We have to reimagine, remember reality."

The belief that we (the privileged) have worked hard for all we have, that we deserve all we have – regardless of the inequity that advantages some over others, regardless of the cost to life support systems and generations yet unborn – is killing the world. The belief that our assumptions are grounded in truth rather than a brittle and unrealistic ideology, is killing the world.

Are we, the privileged, ready to remake our values, our ideologies, our political and social systems, our understanding of God – so that they are consistent with the rules of the universe – the reality that we are dependent upon systems of life? Psalm 90:14 reads satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. I sincerely hope we are ready to be satisfied each morning, so that our descendants may sing for joy.

Sarah Augustine, who is a Pueblo (Tewa) descendant, is founder and cochair of the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery and executive director of a Dispute Resolution Center in central Washington State. She is also the co-founder of Suriname Indigenous Health Fund (SIHF), where she has advocated for vulnerable Indigenous Peoples since 2004. She has written for Sojourners, The Mennonite, Anabaptist Witness, Response Magazine and is currently a columnist for Anabatist World, and co-hosts the Doctrine of Discovery podcast with Sheri Hostetler. She and her husband, Dan Peplow, and their son live in the Yakima Valley of Washington. She is author of the book The Land Is Not Empty: Following Jesus in Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery.

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Dr. Ellen F. Davis: Creation Justice in the Psalms

9/9/2021

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Translation and reflection by Dr. Ellen F. Davis

Psalm 85
1. For the lead musician, for the Korahites, a psalm

2. You favored, Lord, your land; you turned the fortunes of Jacob.
3. You forgave the crimes of your people, covered all their sin.
4. You gathered in all your wrath, made restoration from your hot fury.

5. Turn, O God of our salvation, and break through your indignation at us!
6. Will you forever rage at us, draw out your anger generation after generation?
7. Will you not give us life again, that your people may rejoice in you?
8. Show us, O Lord, your covenant-loyalty, and give us your salvation.

9. I must listen – what would God the Lord speak?
He would speak shalom to his people and to those true to him –
so may they not turn back to stupidity!
10. Yes, his salvation is near to those who fear him, that Glory may dwell in our land.
11. Covenant-loyalty and truth meet; righteousness and shalom kiss.
12. Truth sprouts from the earth, and righteousness peers from the sky.
13. Indeed the Lord will give what is good, and our land will give its yield.
14. Righteousness will go before him, that he may set his steps on the path!

This is a psalm, an ancient poem-prayer, for a moment of profound threat, such as the one in which I write. At this moment, Hurricane Ida is landing in Louisiana, the second storm in a year to make modern history in that state with its brutality. Psalm 85 speaks to this immediate situation and likewise to the long-term global tragedy of which Ida is yet another piece of unwelcome evidence. Our land, God’s earth – “your land” (v. 2) refers to both – is in desperate need of God’s restorative work. We, God’s people, must hear and enact God’s word of shalom, which is not “peace” in any simple sense, but rather a comprehensive condition of wellbeing, one that binds together people, land, and God in a covenanted unity.

Many psalms appeal to our visual imagination, but none offers a more vivid picture than this one. Covenant-loyalty, truth, righteousness, and shalom are here embodied attributes – divine and human, heavenly and earthly – all actively engaged in the work of restorative living. All must be fully enacted on earth, and enabled from heaven, if we are to turn firmly and forever away from the “stupidity” (v. 9) that has made us humans a deadly threat to God’s earth and all its inhabitants.

John August Swanson offers one picture of restorative living, with people, animals, plants, earth, and sky bound together in the dynamic interaction that the psalmists call tsedeq, “righteousness” (vv. 12, 14). Tsedeq is an essentially relational term – not just playing by the rules, but living creatively in order to further the wellbeing, the shalom, of our fellow creatures, human and nonhuman. In contemporary English, “sustainability” might be the word that best captures the psalmist’s intent, to denote the kind of creaturely living that invites God to enter into our world and walk with us the difficult path ahead.

Ellen F. Davis is Amos Ragan Kearns Distinguished Professor of Bible and Practical Theology at Duke Divinity School.

PSALM 85
Copyright 2003 by John August Swanson
Serigraph, 24” x 28.75”
www.JohnAugustSwanson.com

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What is Creation Justice?

9/1/2021

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By Karyn Bigelow & Avery Davis Lamb

“Creation justice” may be a new term for some, but it is a concept deeply grounded in Christian theology and practice. It captures both the depth of our interconnectedness with everything and the necessity to partner with God in the healing and restoration of all -- God’s Shalom.

Using the term "creation" instead of "eco," “nature” or "environment" demonstrates that we are intimately part of the created order, and constantly working alongside our Creator to redeem and sustain it. When we say Creation, we mean all Creation -- justice for God’s people and God’s planet. Seeing the world as Creation is a radical act that counters modern notions of nature as either a resource to be exploited or as something entirely separate from humanity.

What we read in Genesis is that Creation is a gift from God that humans are existentially linked with and tasked with serving. In Genesis 2:7, God creates the first human (Adam in Hebrew) from the soil (Adamah in Hebrew) and breath. Adam, that first prototypical human, is made from the soil! Even the name reflects intimacy with the dirt: Adam from the Adamah. We learn in these opening chapters of the Bible that Creation is not something “out there,” separate from our human life, but the very ground of our human life! We are in creation and creation is in us.

Later on in that same chapter, God instructs Adam to “till and keep” the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:15). In an agrarian society, this instruction means much more than to maximize yields. Ellen Davis offers a compelling translation of this verse, writing in Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture that God is instructing Adam to “work it and serve it, observe it and preserve it.” Creation is a gift which we are to lovingly and skillfully care for. The work of this care necessitates the fight for justice among God’s people and planet.

Seeing the world as Creation is a radical act that counters modern notions of nature as either a resource to be exploited or as something entirely separate from humanity.

The Genesis creation story is only the opening chapter -- the “creation” -- of creation justice. Using the term "justice" rather than "care" indicates our commitment to not only heal, tend, and restore God's creation, but to ensure the protection of God's planet and God's people from exploitation, as well as provision for the remediation of the damage that has been done. The call to creation justice is a call to protect, restore, and rightly share God’s Creation. We see these as the three “E’s” of creation justice: Ecology, Eschatology, and Economy.

By protecting God’s creation, we revere God’s ecology -- the interactions between creatures that make up this beautiful world. We are facing a catastrophic decline in the wellbeing of creaturely life. This era of ecological devastation, which some refer to as the “Anthropocene,” is an insult to the Creator and the gift of Creation. When we protect God’s creatures and places, we protect that which God loves. That’s creation justice.

By restoring God’s creation, we create Heaven on Earth. Eschatology is the field of theology concerned with where humanity and Creation is headed. In scriptures, we read that the trajectory of creation is not upward, moving away from Creation. Rather, we read about a Creator who is constantly coming into closer intimacy with creation, until, as it says in Revelation 21:3, “the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them.” In the eschaton, all Creation is restored and comes to rest in God. Yet, eschatology also makes a claim on us in the present. Jesus calls us to build the Kingdom of Heaven on earth (Matthew 6:10). By restoring creation -- God’s people and planet -- we are creating Heaven on Earth. That’s creation justice.

By restoring God’s creation, we create Heaven on Earth.

By rightly sharing creation, we participate in God’s economy. Economy is the way we order our collective household. The word comes from the Greek root “oikos” which means family or household. God’s economy is not the economy of the dollar. God’s economy is the collective flourishing of all things. This year, the theme of the global Season of Creation celebration is “A home for all? Renewing the Oikos of God.” God’s economy is one in which creation is shared equitably with all creation. That’s creation justice.

This Season of Creation, we invite you to join us in the journey of creation justice. Over the next four weeks, we’ll hear four different theologians address the question, “What is Creation Justice?” You can find their reflections above.

Karyn Bigelow and Avery Davis Lamb are Co-Executive Directors of Creation Justice Ministries.

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Announcing Our New Executive Directors

7/1/2021

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Washington, DC-- Creation Justice Ministries welcomed this week Avery Davis Lamb and Karyn Bigelow as co-executive directors.

As co-leaders, Bigelow and Davis Lamb have a wide background in advocacy on conversation, climate change, and environmental justice issues.

Karyn Bigelow previously served as a policy advisor at Bread for the World leading the climate change portfolio. Her specialty area is the intersections of food security and climate change, while adding a racial equity lens to the work.

“I am excited to join Creation Justice Ministries in its mission to mobilize Christians to protect, restore, and rightly share God’s creation,” Bigelow said. “I am dedicated to work to see the restoration of God’s creation, and look forward to joining the Creation Justice Ministries community.”

Avery Davis Lamb previously led environmental justice campaigns and environmental policy at Interfaith Power and Light and Sojourners. His work has crossed religious and scientific lines, seeking to bridge the gap between the church, science, and the public.

“In this moment of profound ecological and social breakdown, Creation Justice Ministries can speak with prophetic, moral clarity,” Lamb said. “I am excited to co-lead this organization, continuing the Christian tradition of creation justice.”

Karyn Bigelow has served as the policy advisor and project manager as well policy analyst and research analyst at Bread for the World, focusing on the intersections of climate change, food security and racial equity. She is a steering committee member of the American Baptist Churches’ Creation Justice Network and on the Leadership Committee of the Pan African Young Adult Network. She earned her Master in Divinity from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, where she sat on the Board of Directors, and her undergraduate degree in social relations and policy from Michigan State University. She is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Global Food Security and Nutrition focusing her studies and research on sustainability. She has published numerous articles on topics such as environmental racism and climate change and was featured in the Institute for Ecological Civilization’s EcoCiv podcast. She holds a certificate in Beekeeping and is a former Green Faith Junior Fellow.

Avery Davis Lamb is an activist, ecologist, and public theologian working at the intersection of Christianity and environmental justice. He has a background in both ecological research and faith-based environmental organizing, studying ecology in various ecosystems and organizing faith communities across the country in support of action on environmental justice. Previously he has worked for Sojourners and Interfaith Power & Light. He serves on the board for The Center for Spirituality in Nature and is a Fellow with the Re:Generate Program at Wake Forest Divinity School and the Foundations of Christian Leadership Program at Duke Divinity School. Currently, Avery is at Duke University pursuing a Master of Environmental Management in Ecosystem Science & Conservation and a Master of Theological Studies, with certificates in Faith, Food & Environmental Justice and Community-Based Environmental Management. His research focuses on the role of religious communities in building climate resilience and adaptation, with emphasis on the virtue of “climate hospitality.”

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Takeaways from Capitol Hill Ocean Week 2021

6/11/2021

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Capitol Hill Ocean Week 2021 has come to a close. We were so honored to participate in the event as well as the advisory group that worked behind the scenes to bring the conference together this year. The topic of diversity, equity and inclusion in ocean conservation work was overdue and brought forward so many important conversations.

We wanted to share our takeaways from the conference with you here. The most impactful takeaway for us this week was the reminder that we do this work not to be able to center ourselves in it, but to care for the earth and all those who call it home. We should care for God’s creation because it is our responsibility and honor, not for our own pride. When we remove our ego from our work, we are better able to hear other’s wisdom and knowledge, as well as look within ourselves to see the ways in which we have contributed to systems of oppression.

There are many communities that sit on the front lines of the climate crisis that have been the victims of oppression for far too long and those communities have so much to contribute to the climate crisis conversation. We are at a crossroads where we as a conservation community can reflect and adapt new ways of working for creation, or we can continue to perpetuate systems that are harmful to all of God’s creation. Some of the ways in which we can move forward with everyone included are to fund more Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities. These communities often lack access to grants, resources, and technology to combat the climate crisis. We also need to look at how we measure success. Success should be everyone fed, with access to all the resources a human needs to live. This metric may not come with data points like we are used to or a GDP scale of proof. It will come instead from building relationships with each other and from trusting each other enough to be honest with each other.

Eugenio Piñeiro-Soler had the quote of the conference, “Fish don’t have passports.” When we have built trust between our communities we will be enabled to discuss the ways in which our conservation work intersects with other work. We will be able to engage in cross state collaborations for conservation, and we will be able to have longer study periods to find the answers we are looking for.

Lastly, we must take our blinders off. It is time to acknowledge that academic science has prevented many peoples from being included in conversations where their wisdom, knowledge, and traditional science will make a world of difference. Ilarion ‘Kuuyux’ Merculieff shared the ways in which indigenous knowledge can be a huge benefit to western science. As Merculieff answered questions, he told stories. Each story contained decades of data and intersectional observations of how nature changes as a whole. This traditional science looks different, and it may sound different, but that does not discount it from being knowledge that could change this fight against climate change.

Creation Justice Ministries is excited to move forward with these news takeaways. We are working on implementing equity as an organizational focus and we are centering it in our partnerships. Thank you for partnering with us as we move forward, working for a better ocean for all of God’s creation.

In Hope,
Helen Smith, Ocean Climate Action Associate

P.S. If you weren’t able to attend the conference you can watch the Creation Justice webinar here and access the recordings of the panels here.

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Biden Administration Releases 30 By 30 Report

5/6/2021

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Photo Credit: Richard Sagredo

We are called to care for this great earth. God has allowed us to bear responsibility for all of the creatures, waters and land that we encounter. In pursuit of walking with God to fulfill our call, we must look around at how our lives affect the other creatures around us. Our board president, Rev. Rebecca Barnes gave a quote on the importance of 30 by 30.
“We are facing a climate crisis that requires swift action. Supporting the conservation of 30 percent of land and waters by 2030 is one such bold action. We understand the need to care for not only God’s creation and creatures on land, but God’s creatures in the ocean. By creating a plan for protection of our ocean space, we are caring for this majestic, sacred land that God has entrusted with us. We thank President Biden and his administration for taking action on this issue and supporting 30x30!”

We are a strong advocate for conserving 30% of the public lands and ocean of the United States by the year 2030. In order to achieve this goal, there are several principles that we must focus on as we set this important goal for the future. We will continue to look at care for our fellow humans, conserving space away from human development, preserving God’s creatures, and learning from Indigineous communities on how we can maintain better practices of sustainability.

As we look at the ways in which we care for God’s creation, we must remember that conserving and protecting the ocean is just as important as our focus on the lands we conserve. Without a rounded, holistic approach to preservation, we will not have fulfilled our call. It is affirming and exciting to see that the ocean has been included in this report and will continue to be included in the strategies of the administration and Department of Interior as we all work together for a wonderful future. We are excited the Biden Administration and the Department of Interior is in agreement with this endeavor.

30 By 30 Report