To Serve Christ in All Creation
The following are two excerpts from ‘To Serve Christ in All Creation’, a pastoral letter from the Bishops of New England:
“…We confess our past complacency, ignorance and neglect. We regret Christian teachings that claim or imply that human beings have divine sanction to destroy God’s creation. We pledge our prayers, our time, our leadership and our energies to the work that needs to be done. We encourage all members of the Episcopal Church in New England to see in the promises of the Baptismal Covenant the call to serve Christ in all creation….
“Who will believe the church’s declaration that ‘God so loved the world’ (John 3:16) if we ourselves do not? By committing ourselves to join with others in protecting the integrity of God’s creation, we are living out the promises of our baptism and participating in God’s mission to restore all people and all creation to unity with God and each other in Christ.”
Exactly!
Let us not limit the message of this letter to the churches in New England.
And let us not limit our vision of creation to the beauty of nature that elicits our joyous praises to the Creator, only, but also recognize the unseen and forgotten ones kept in captivity so mercilessly for our use, who also inhabit this world, in stark contrast to the magnificent, free and wild ones who live beyond all human interference
– except from hunters, fur trappers, exterminators, conservationists and the like.
And, let us also remember that God did not create “pests”.
[See "On Pests, Predators, and Stewardship", by the Rev. Anne Robertson (UMC).]
Now that we have a number of bishops who have signed onto this pastoral letter, it is my hope that they will do all in their power to uphold GC2003 Resolution D016:
* FINAL VERSION - Concurred
ResolutionD016
Topic/Title:Stewardship: The Protection of Animals from Cruel Treatment
Proposer:The Rev. Canon David Shoulders (Indianapolis)
Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That the 74th General Convention recognize that responsible care of animals falls within the stewardship of creation; and be it further
Resolved, That the Episcopal Church encourage its members to ensure that husbandry methods for captive and domestic animals would prohibit suffering in such conditions as puppy mills, and factory-farms; and be it further
Resolved, That the Episcopal Churchís Peace and Justice Office identify existing guidelines to educate its members to adhere to ethical standards in the care and treatment of animals; and be it further
Resolved, That the Episcopal Church, through its Office of Government Relations, identify and advocate for legislation protecting animals and effective enforcement measures.
* Resolution is final but status and text are still under review before publication.