Around the world people will be celebrating Earth Day on Wed., April 22. Though care for God's creation is not usually an issue that motivates conservative Christians, I felt it would be good to focus on what some Christians--especially the younger generation--are doing to raise ecological awareness within the Christian community.
Below is an interesting article by Meredith Grady, daughter of J. Lee Grady, the editor of Charisma magazine. She is a student at Emmanuel College. It is obvious that in the Grady family the apple did not fall far from the tree.
Anna Jane Joyner, the daughter of Christian leader Rick Joyner, pastor of South Carolina based-Morningstar Ministries, leads a student group called Renewal: Students Caring for Creation. Last summer 12 passionate Christian college students and recent graduates gathered to develop a network of Christian students committed to caring for God's creation. Two months later, Renewal's first event--the Renewal Summit, which was a leaders training and community building effort, and was attended by more than 50 student leaders from across North America. The organization is continuing to grow; it recently sponsored the first National Day of Prayer for God's Creation, which included hundreds of Christians from 27 states and 5 continents. You can read more about this on their Web site by clicking here.
See our photo gallery to find simple ways to care for God's creation.
When I heard about this organization, I told Anna Jane I would try to help her get the word out by putting something in the Strang Report. Later we will be doing an article in Charisma magazine.
Here are some links you may find interesting:
- Find out how these students are "answering God's call of renewal through prayer, service and advocacy." Click here.
- Learn more about the student-led Creation Care movement active on campuses across the United States and Canada and get information on how you can get involved. Click here.
- Read student dispatches from around the movement. Click here.
- Get current and upcoming events and initiatives from their Web site. Click here.
- For more information about an overview of the environmental crisis in general, click here.
- Here's information on Green Revolution: Coming Together to Care for God's Creation, a book by Ben Lowe, a co-coordinator of Renewal and a recent Wheaton College graduate. Click here.
Whether environmentalism is at the top of your priority list or not, each of us can do our part in terms of recycling, "going green" when possible, and understanding the negative effect of certain policies on the environment so that we can vote intelligently.
I applaud these students who are stepping forward to take the initiative for the entire Christian community. I urge you to join their movement, which isn't a year old yet. Please leave your comments, and let us know if you're getting involved.
Steve Strang
