Climate Justice Video Resource: from Jo Knight of Anglican Overseas Aid (Australia) and Rachel Mash, Environment Coordinator for the Anglican Church of South Africa. There are four brief videos with resource questions, which you can find here.

Creation Care Stories: Jasmine Kwong says: “This new website hosts a collection of short films featuring stories of people of faith in God’s creation. These short films highlight creation care stories in different contexts, including a fisherman-pastor living in a rural, coastal community and a local church in a big city. These videos can be used for personal reflection, and can also serve as a launching pad for discussion in small groups and communities. A discussion guide will soon be released on the website.” You can find the stories here and contact connect@creationcarestories.com.  

Creation Care & Christian Mission Online Course from All Nations Christian College. The course runs from Jan. – March. 2025 and examines the reality, theology and praxis of the missional mandate to care for creation, and develop effective, contextually appropriate missional responses to them. For more about costs and registration email info@allnations.ac.uk or look here.

New book on ‘Farming with Faith’ by Bunsak Thongdi from Thailand. He writes, “I’ve compiled a small book detailing my family’s experiences running a farm as a Christian family and using our agricultural journey as a ministry. The inspiration for this book came from a few months ago when I met with a group of Christian organizations focused on Faith and Farming. I realized that, in the context of the Mekong region and Asia, there is a lack of sufficient and contextualized materials for equipping churches on faith and farming (farming as mission).” If you would like an e-book version contact Bunsak directly at kersertoo@gmail.com.

Our Father’s World is the new name for Creation Care SG as it seeks to inspire and equip the Church to love and care for God’s creation, but now with a widened vision for the region beyond Singapore. New details include website, Facebook and Instagram.

JOBS

ECHO: Central America & Caribbean Director: ECHO provides hope against hunger through sustainable food and agro-ecosystem approaches. For more about this post look here.

Laudato Si’ Research Institute is looking for an Integral Agro-Ecology Research Officer, to be based in Oxford, England. For more about this post look here.

So, there has been much anticipation about two recent major global gatherings in South Korea. The 4^th Lausanne Congress, 22^nd-28^th September, was vast, with over 5,200 in-person delegates from 200+ countries joined by thousands more online. The hospitality of the Korean church was wonderful: we were greeted and served by over a thousand cheerful volunteers who had used their holiday to help. There were many good things that emerged, yet from a creation care perspective Lausanne 4 was a mixed bag. Positives included a superb plenary talk by Katharine Hayhoe and four afternoon ‘GAP’ sessions on ‘Creation Care and the Vulnerable’ where there were many new faces and a real buzz. However, sadly, there was a lot of disposable plastic, much of the programme focused on a narrow definition of mission and it felt as if creation care was seen as simply one of many special interest groups rather than core to discipleship and mission. We clearly still have much work to do within Lausanne!

The three Lausanne Creation Care Catalysts: Dave Bookless, Benita Simon, Jasmine Kwong

The second gathering was the GCCF – Global Creation Care Forum – held in the beautiful, forested hills of the Somang Retreat Centre in Gonjiam, with more than a 100 people from over 40 countries. GCCF was planned as a kind of ‘Jamaica 2’, in reviewing how the creation care movement has grown, listening to global voices, and discerning next steps. Most sessions were interactive, with stories, table-discussions and resource-sharing, but we also had input on theology and science, time in regional and thematic groups, and intense discussions throughout mealtimes and often late into the night. There was lament and mourning over the state of our world and the paralysis of many of our leaders. There was also laughter and joy, as friendships were deepened, connections were fostered and plans discussed. We are developing a document, called ‘The Gonjiam Invitation: Good News for all the Earth’ with two sections: the first giving a solid biblical basis for the Gospel as God’s good news for all the earth and creation care as core to mission, and the second spelling out the concrete actions that need to be taken at every level from the personal to the planetary. Once this is complete, we’ll share it through The Pollinator and invite you to sign it as well as share it with others. We will also share more reports, videos, resources and stories from the GCCF over the coming months! This short video gives you a taste!

The Global Creation Care Forum in Gonjiam included people from over 40 countries

Overall, my sense after Lausanne 4 and the GCCF is that creation care is an unstoppable force! As I was writing this, waiting between flights in Hong Kong, a complete stranger sat next to me, saw I was writing about creation care and excitedly asked if she could join the movement! From every part of the world Christians are being challenged by the ecological chaos around us to turn to God and the bible for wisdom, and the Holy Spirit is calling more and more individuals and organisations to transform their priorities in caring for God’s world.

Dave Bookless, Lausanne Catalyst for Creation Care

At the upcoming LWCCN webinar on July 9^th entitled Placemaking and Creation Care: A Christian Perspective, several important questions, at least from my perspective, will be put on the table for consideration by the creation care community. If we align and agree on their significance, how we respond to these questions may reshape the framing, narrative, partnerships, and practical agenda of the creation care movement going forward.

The central observation prompting my question is this: “creation” as currently framed by the creation care movement is primarily focused theologically and practically on apprehending, protecting, and restoring the ecological integrity of God’s creation. That is a vital and essential capacity the movement must possess. But, it is not sufficient. There is more of creation, or put differently, more to creation that I believe we need to intentionally connect to, incorporate, and robustly build into its theology, public narrative, capacities, and practical agenda if our movement is to be more effective and holistic.

The image I have of the creation care movement at present is like that of a bodybuilder. This bodybuilder has worked hard on the leg and arm muscles on only one side of their body—its “ecological limbs,” so to speak. Yet, little attention has been given to their other arm and leg. From one side profile, the bodybuilder looks strong and fit, but the truth is otherwise. The other side of their body, the one with muscles than can explain, advocate for, and contribute to building places commensurate with God’s shalom where human and non-human communities can thrive is weak and urgently needs extra workouts to catch up. When that’s been accomplished, however, watch out!

The bodybuilder analogy also works in another important way. My observation is that the bodybuilder, akin to the creation care movement, has a complete body. The issue, however, is that the only muscles receiving rigorous workouts are its “ecological muscles.” The wizened side of its body consists of its “built environment muscles” which encompass the theology, science, art, and other practical capacities pertaining to human culture that build the cities, towns, and villages where human communities live, produce, consume, and play.

What I am not saying, therefore, is that I am bringing something totally absent within the creation care movement as is. There is not a missing awareness per se that the built environment is integral to creation care. For example, in Renew Our World’s new publication ‘Making a World of Difference,’ Dave Bookless makes this point when he writes towards the end of the book that Jeremiah 29: 4–7 gives the ‘…fullest description of shalom/the kingdom of God to be found in scripture, and which sum up a Christian vision for a just and sustainable world.’ Bookless goes on to say ‘Here is a Christian vision for the 21^st Century. It is urban, yet deeply connected to the soil and local food systems…’. No, the bodybuilder in my analogy has a complete body with those muscles.

The observation I offer, however, is that—to our detriment—we have not adequately exercised, strengthened, trained, and integrated the “placemaking muscle group” within our creation care movement. Moreover, given the confluence of multiple urban crises—affordable housing, heat waves, flooding, water shortages, traffic congestion, gross economic inequality, swelling urban migration—global leadership forums in 2024 such as Lausanne 4, the upcoming 12^th World Urban Forum, COP29, CBD COP16, are crucial. These events can focus attention, discussion, ideas, and catalyze action. Now is the time for the creation care movement to give serious, substantial, and sustained attention to the built environment and concepts like placemaking, urban shalom, sustainable urbanism, etc. Doing so will strengthen and equip the creation care movement to meet the full range of 21^st century challenges. 

Hopefully these musings that I offer have piqued your interest in our upcoming webinar. I hope to see you on the 9^th of July (13.00 UTC). Do register at this link https://shorturl.at/HrFTb.

Chris Elisara

Co-Director, World Evangelical Alliance Sustainability Center

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