The UMC and the Issues 2012: The Environment

The opening paragraph of the section of the Social Principles of The United Methodist church entitled “The Natural World” reads...
“All creation is the Lord’s, and we are responsible for the ways in which we use and abuse it. Water, air, soil, minerals, energy resources, plants, animal life, and space are to be valued and conserved because they are God’s creation and not solely because they are useful to human beings. God has granted us stewardship of creation. We should meet these stewardship duties through acts of loving care and respect. Economic, political, social, and technological developments have increased our human numbers, and lengthened and enriched our lives. However, these developments have led to regional defoliation, dramatic extinction of species, massive human suffering, overpopulation, and misuse and overconsumption of natural and nonrenewable resources, particularly by industrialized societies. This continued course of action jeopardizes the natural heritage that God has entrusted to all generations. Therefore, let us recognize the responsibility of the church and its members to place a high priority on changes in economic, political, social, and technological lifestyles to support a more ecologically equitable and sustainable world leading to a higher quality of life for all of God’s creation.” (Discipline paragraph 160)
The positions that The United Methodist Church takes on environmental issues are based on our belief that all of Creation belongs to God and that God has made us, individually and collectively, stewards of Creation.  A steward is not an owner, a steward is a caretaker who is responsible to maintain and to use that which has been entrusted to them according to the wishes of the owner.
There are many specific things that the Church encourages including recycling, conservation of energy and water, avoiding the use of bottled water, reducing the use of fossil fuels and the reduction of “greenhouse gases,” responsible mining and drilling, and sustainable agriculture and organic foods. (Discipline paragraphs 161A, B, D, and G)
Oftentimes, I, like perhaps many of you, find myself overwhelmed by the enormity of the environmental problem and the radical change that a truly “green” lifestyle might involve.  Sometimes I feel guilty because I know that I waste fuel, water, and energy.  I know that I often throw away what can be recycled.  I cannot always find, or afford, organic food.  A hybrid just did not fit my family’s needs, or budget, the last time I bought a car.
Of course we do not all have to be environmental saints or live in ecological monasteries, but we do have to take our responsibility as stewards of God’s creation seriously.  We can all make small changes in the way we live and the choices we make every day.