The following post is appearing as part of the series “Reflecting on Restoring Creation for Ecology and Justice.”  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.  On the 20th anniversary of Restoring Creation for Ecology and Justice several people active in eco-justice ministries are sharing their reflections on the policy.

By Carol Johnston

In the late 80s I was a graduate student working on economics and theology and passionate about ecojustice.  The first important thing I learned from the process that produced the Restoring Creation for Ecology and Justicepolicy was not to wait for someone to ask me to help in the church:  I saw Bill Gibson at a meeting and told him I was really interested in the Ecojustice Task Force, and the next thing I knew I was a member of it.  The second great lesson of that project was the way Dieter Hessel went about engaging local church groups to develop the various sections of the report.  Instead of a group of “experts” doing the writing, the section on sustainable agriculture was prepared out of a conference of Nebraska farmers, the section on toxic waste dumping by a group of African-Americans dealing with it in their community in North Carolina, and so on.  This gave the final report a grass-roots authenticity that was invaluable when it came for review at the General Assembly.  The third thing I learned was how important it is to invite broad participation:  Not only was the report developed with grass-roots engagement with the areas highlighted, but out of the report Bill Somplatsky-Jarman created a network of congregations sharing ideas about how to do ecojustice in their contexts, plus the wonderful group Presbyterians for Restoring Creation (now Presbyterians for Earth Care) was created to support Bill’s work and go far beyond what he could do as one lone part-time staff person.  With this network, Bill has been able to leverage some of the most effective work on ecojustice of any denomination.

Presbyterians for Restoring Creation has gone on to have a wonderful impact across the country and shows what an organization can do.  Through national and regional conferences PRC has provided people wanting to make a difference for ecojustice a place to learn from and inspire each other and strategize about how to be more effective.  When the National Council of Churches had a conference to bring people to lobby Congress on global climate change, 300 people came from across the country.  Eighty-five of the 300 were from PRC!

The movement launched by Restoring Creation for Ecology and Justicehas provided the center of my own vocational work.  Instead of being purely an academic teaching and writing on environmental theology and ethics, my vocation has been to help the church think biblically and theologically about ecojustice, and to help my community, Indianapolis, to move toward ecojustice as a core value for the city.  Much of that work has been done at PRC conferences, plus as a member of the Indianapolis Mayor’s Green Commission and more recently in the development of Hoosier Interfaith Power and Light.  I can see in the city’s work the impact of the concept of ecojusticeas holding together economic and ecological justice as we work on redeveloping poor neighborhoods.  Without the work of the churches to develop and insist on ecojustice rather than merely ecology, this understanding would not exist.

As for the future, it is clear that young people understand the environmental crisis and want to make a difference, and that this is an unprecedented opportunity for the church.  Insofar as Presbyterians make clear to young people that we are about ecojustice, and integrating it into the life of the church at every level, including worship, the church will have a strong basis on which to attract and retain its young people.  More importantly, our Reformed understanding that this is God’s work, not ours, is critically important as we enlist people to engage with these tough issues over the long haul.  Saving the earth for future generations requires the best efforts of us all, but it does not depend solely on any of us – God is at work in this for the sake of the whole Earth.  That bedrock belief frees us to work with hope in spite of the overwhelming scale of the challenges facing us, and is the most crucial gift we have to give the world in this time.

Carol Johnston served on the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Eco-Justice Task Force, which developed the report Restoring Creation for Ecology and Justice.  Johnston is a Presbyterian minister and Associate Professor of Theology & Culture - Director of Lifelong Theological Education at Christian Theological Seminary.