Creation Care Class
In Spring of 2016, we launched our first 10-week series on environmental stewardship at our church. We chose the title “Creation Care” and developed a curriculum based on God’s message to us and many hours of research. We have received a ton of support from friends and church members in the development of our curriculum. This is an ongoing, evolving process. Each class has been different and our content changes as we continue to learn, and current events are discussed.
We challenge our class participants to make one step towards being greener each week. This is to start the habit of continually finding new ways to be greener. Another activity we ask people to do is to get out and really observe nature daily. In the Pacific NW, we’re incredibly blessed with moderate temperatures most of the year and easy access to green spaces where nature abounds. Brian will be quick to point out that even a concrete jungle has its own ecosystem though. Suggestions are to take a walk, sit on your porch or balcony and look for birds, dig in the dirt, or sit under a tree and read. These are great ways to start gaining an appreciation for how diverse and intricately detailed our World is. It’s also a great time to talk with God and reconnect.
People get worried that they’ll be told to make radical, painful changes in their lifestyle. They also don’t want to be shamed by stories of fire and brimstone. That’s not what our curriculum is about and not what this blog is about. We want to begin the conversation about what’s going on in the World. We show people how to research for themselves and ask questions. We give helpful tips on making gradual changes. This is where it starts. Awareness of all of us being responsible for caring for God’s Creation. Then make a change.
The “Green Bible” is one of our best resources. If you’ve ever wondered exactly what the Bible says about the earth, environment, creation, or the desire God has for humanity this is a good place to start. I think this is where we started the concept of scalability around being green. I mean, let’s be honest, just talking about “greenness” and what it means or looks like can be immediately overwhelming. Read our page about “Degrees to Greener” for our concept of Creation Care.
An outcome of a couple classes was the creation of a “Green Audit” for our church. Class members had the opportunity to interview various church ministry leaders about their understanding of what Creation Care is, the church’s responsibility to green practices and how they think the church is doing. It was a great way to identify what we’re doing great at and those areas we could improve. The church has transitioned to non-toxic cleaning supplies, installed water bottle fillers at the drinking fountains, reduced packaging in the coffee shop, replaced flooring with sustainable materials and are changing to LED lights. They also plan on upgrading the windows to more energy efficient models as they are replaced.
We’re considering creating an online version of Creation Care. Is this something you would be interested in? Do you like the idea of attending a live class via a webinar hosting link, i.e. Skype?
Thank you for learning about our class. If you like our blog, please follow, share and let us know!
God Bless and have a great day,
Brian and Kelli Cochrane
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