FEATURE
In this view our bodies are merely
‘vessels for the soul’, and the earth is
just an expendable stage on which the
drama of God’s plans for humanity
are worked out. The New Testament
concern for the body (see 1 Corinthians
6:12–19), the centrality and importance
of land in the Old Testament narrative
(the promised land was a real place!),
and the very material nature of
Jesus’ resurrection are all examples
of ways the Bible rebuts this dualistic
perspective. The third viewpoint – in
which people see creation care as
incidental to Christian mission – has
usually overcome these dualistic
tendencies by accepting the Gospel’s
concern with justice and righteousness
in the here and now, rather than solely
‘personal salvation’. Those who adhere
to this view might well be active in
creation care, but perhaps because of
its instrumental value in helping the
poor rather than because of creation’s
intrinsic value as God’s handiwork.
Whilst this worldview can often appear
close to the integral understanding
of creation care, it is in reality quite
distant; since ‘the earth is the Lord’s
and everything in it’ (Psalm 24:1, NIV),
and in Jesus all things hold together
(Colossians 1:17), we are called to care
for all creation, whatever value it has
to us humans.
PUTTING FOOD ON THE TABLE
Of course, every context is different,
but we have found that a great way
to bring creation care into the heart
of church mission is by talking about
food. Whether we are omnivorous,
vegan or even fruitarian, we eat
parts of God’s creation in its many
and varied forms! Our eating habits
are one of the primary ways that
we humans affect the non-human
creation. How our vegetables are
grown, the ways in which our chickens
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are farmed, the distance our beef
has travelled to get to our plates and
the conditions in which the farmers
and producers work are all hugely
significant. When soils are ruined by
overuse of chemical fertilisers, when
bees die from pesticide poisoning,
when chickens suffer awful living
conditions in cages to produce eggs
at the cheapest price possible, or
when farm workers are mistreated
and poorly paid, creation suffers.
Conversely, when soils thrive under
proper care, birds and insects of
diverse species abound on farms,
chickens are free to roam and peck,
and when farmers can make a
livelihood from their hugely important
work, then creation – humans included
– flourishes.
So, if you want to start somewhere
with creation care, you could begin
with the choices you and your church
make about food. After all, at the heart
of our life of worship we celebrate a
meal. And that meal, the Eucharist, is
not just a meal of thanksgiving, but
also a celebratory sign of God’s plan to
redeem all things through Jesus Christ.
CHURCH-SUPPORTED
AGRICULTURE
The charity we have recently
founded, CACTUS,6 is focused on
providing education and training in
practical ways to care for creation,
especially in urban areas. One of
our initiatives is ‘church-supported
agriculture’ whereby we seek to help
churches ‘adopt’ local farmers in the
same way they might a missionary.
Just as they would send out their
missionary to some far-flung part
of the world to share the gospel and
build the kingdom, so these churches
‘commission’ their local farmers to
grow food for the congregation in
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ways that nurture God’s creation
rather than degrading it. In this way,
‘church-supported agriculture’ enables
the church to carry out various aspects
of mission: it seeks to care for creation
by encouraging sustainable farming
techniques like organic agriculture;
it builds loving relationships with
one of the most vulnerable sectors of
society – farmers; the congregation is
supplied with fresh, healthy food and
can in turn provide this to people in
need (hopefully replacing food banks);
it opens up more opportunities for
evangelism in both rural and urban
communities; and, by visiting farms,
congregations can be more fully aware
of the God we worship – he who causes
the soil to produce corn – ‘first the
stalk, then the ear, the full grain in the
ear’ (Mark 4:28, NIV).
Why not give it a try in your church
as a way to engage people in creation
care? Waking the sleeping giant might
seem a difficult task, but starting
with food is surely an appetising hors
d’oeuvre!
4. om Wright (2011), Surprised By Hope, SPCK, p 134.
T
5. his dualism has ancient roots in Greek philosophy
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and exudes a strong influence on contemporary
Westerners, in part due to Enlightenment
philosophers like Descartes who made the famous
statement, ‘I think, therefore I am’.
6. ACTUS stands for Christian Agrarian Community
C
Transformation and Urban Sustainability
Will and Pip Campbell-Clause
Will works with Stream Farm
(streamfarm.co.uk). Pip is doing
a Theology PhD on food ethics
and makes music with her
band Polar Bears. Together
they have founded CACTUS,
an initiative to help church
communities engage in the
mission of creation care,
particularly by supporting
sustainable food systems.
09/01/2015 14:36:06