In 1990 the 202nd General Assembly approved Restoring Creation for Ecology and Justice, which affirms that God calls the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to care for the earth and work for justice for all of creation, human and non-human. The policy grounds the work of Environmental Ministries and recognizes “restoring creation as a central concern of the church, to be incorporated into its life and mission at every level.”
Learn more about the policy on the Environmental Ministries website. Read the “Call to Restore the Creation,” excerpted from the policy here.
On the twentieth anniversary of this policy, Environmental Ministries has asked several people who have been active in eco-justice ministries over the years to reflect on what the policy has meant to them. They were asked to respond to the following questions:
-What has the Restoring Creation for Ecology and Justice policy meant to you over the past twenty years?
-How has it influenced your ministry of eco-justice?
-What do you see as the church’s role in eco-justice over the next twenty years?
Over the next several days, responses from five people active in eco-justice ministries will appear on the blog. As you read their responses, think about what you would like to see as the church’s role in eco-justice for the future, and share any responses you have.
To orient you to some of the terms in the reflections: After the approval of Restoring Creation for Ecology and Justice, the Environmental Justice office (now Environmental Ministries) started the Restoring Creation Enablers (now Stewardship of Creation Enablers) network to help presbyteries work on eco-justice issues. In 1995 Presbyterians for Restoring Creation (now Presbyterians for Earth Care) was started as a national, grassroots organization to support people of faith work towards “environmental wholeness with social justice."