The One-Two Punch
We here at Care of Creation hope this note finds you healthy and well and enjoying the blessings that God has given us through his creation.
Thanks for letting us take a moment to bring you up to date on some recent events and projects that you, as our partners, have enabled us to work on.
From Kenya
Certainly, the “one-punch” of the economy is on all our minds. We are seeing that the economy is not only a USA problem but a worldwide issue. All God’s people are connected! If the economy is the “one-punch, than the “two-punch” must be the environment.
Environmental issues have been a bit overshadowed lately here in the USA by economic news but that has not stopped a lively discussion about the relationship between the environment and missions. The questions many are discussing include ‘Is there such thing as environmental missions?’ and ‘Should missions include an environmental strategy?’
A note that Craig Sorley just sent us from Kenya gets to the heart of this issue:
“Right now in Kenya the government has estimated that a full 25% of the population (10 million) is facing major food shortages, with famine looming right around the corner for many.
This is partly due to the poor harvests in 2008 from the election problems and the political unrest that ensued, and partly due to another drought that we’re facing. You may recall the last major drought was in 2006. To illustrate how drought and declining agricultural productivity is linked to human suffering, I wanted to share briefly the information that Francis gathered recently from a group of older farmers from a community in the Rift Valley just 30 minutes from Brackenhurst. This is a community just below RVA, where I went to boarding school, and where significant deforestation has taken place on the adjoining escarpment.
Back in 1980, these farmers averaged a maize harvest of 1,350kg per acre. This year their average was 270kg per acre, only 20% of the 1980 figure.
A similar and even worse picture for beans was reported. In 1980 they averaged 1,620kg per acre for beans, and this year it was only 45kg, not even 3% of their 1980 average.
Now granted this year has been a dry one, but the reality is that conditions in this area have become progressively drier as the years have passed, and combined with agriculture land that is simply worn out from overuse, you can understand why we’re seeing declines like this.
Now add to this picture another reality. The government predicts that 16 years from now (by 2025) Kenya’s population will have grown from its present level of 36 million to 60 million. No further explanation is necessary to clarify the urgency of the task that we face.”
If one of the purposes of missions is to show God’s love by relieving human suffering, than what better reason is there then this for Care of Creation and other organizations to be focusing on restoring the environment through environmental missions?
Creation Care Consult
Here in the USA are dealing with different, but no less important environmental issues.
As part of this effort, about 6 months ago a number of organizations like Care of Creation met for a brainstorming session. All of the organizations at that meeting were working on the same challenge – how to change believer’s hearts so that they begin to better care for God’s creation.
This was an important gathering because, as one of the approximately 30 attendees so aptly put it “creation care is an issue that has the potential to bridge the divide and unite various denominations and the people that are part of them into a common cause that affects us all”
As part of that first meeting, three shared projects were spun off. These projects included:
- Establishing an “umbrella foundation” with the purpose of raising funds for creation care projects that will be carried out by member organizations like Care of Creation.
- Planning and executing a Pastor’s conference that would be focused on exposing and educating pastors about the subject of creation care. (Details of the conference are here).
- Establishing an on-line, web based community that would serve as a central collection point and community for knowledge and experience having to do with creation care.
The organization (now known as the Creation Care Community) met for the second time last month. This meeting brought everyone up to date on the status of these projects and enabled the group to make some “mid course” adjustments.
Each of these three projects is well underway and should hopefully be showing some fruit in the very near future. Care of Creation, through your support, is well involved in shaping the strategy of this group and bringing these projects to reality.
As Care of Creation grows and reaches more and more churches and organizations with our goal of “pursuing a God -centered response to the environmental crisis”, we are finding that sharing and partnering with other organizations and working together as a unified people of God has amazing outcomes. This meeting was certainly an example of that.
The next meeting of CCC will be sometime in the late summer. Hopefully, Care of Creation will attend and will continue to participate in this important effort.
Finally
Every day, we thank you for being our partners — both in prayer and financially.
We are thankful that God has connected us together around a common goal of caring for His creation. Please continue to pray for Care of Creation as we are involved in many projects here is the USA and especially for our Kenya team and the Kenyan people as they face challenges brought on by environmental issues.
Maybe, what you and I are doing is best said in our calling to live out what Romans 8:35-37 speaks as both a promise and the truth:
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
In His name for the entire Care of Creation staff in Kenya, USA and the UK
Fred
