This book is available at
https://www.amazon.com/Connected-Water-Robert-D-Sluka/dp/B0DGF74MT2

Bob writes,

Early memories of family vacations to Daytona Beach and the Florida Keys sparked a desire to learn more and experience the vast and wonderful deeds of God in the ocean. I didn’t have the language to describe these events spiritually or even an understanding of how the ocean could relate to my faith. That came much later as our family embarked on an adventure that would take us to various parts of the Caribbean, the Great Barrier Reef, a remote island in the Maldives, India, Southeast
Asia, Kenya, and the beaches of the UK and southern Europe.

While this is the story of my experiences and only a subset of them, the subject of the book is the ocean. I hope that you get to know her more through my interactions with the communities, species, and habitats in various locations. I also hope to trace some of the changes in my thinking through time and take you on a journey to understanding a way of thinking about the ocean and its relationship with God including our part in that. I hope that you will increase your love for the ocean, God, each other, and yourself in a way that will cause you to actively participate in ocean conservation.

The emphasis is on the experiences, the places, sometimes the people, and the learning rather than an exact, full, and detailed account. My hope is that you will enjoy a trip to far-off places and a desire will grow to get to know better the one who made the oceans and all that is in them. This is my attempt to express in words my thanks to God, to tell of His wonderful deeds in the ocean.

The Whole Easter Story: Why the Cross is Good News for All Creation by A Rocha International’s Jo Swinney is a 40-day Lent devotional exploring how the cross transforms not only our own individual connection with Jesus, but also our relationships with each other and our world.  

Published by BRF, all royalties go to A Rocha’s conservation work around the world. Listen to some commendation of her writing:

Narrated with honesty, warmth and the insightful perspective of a storyteller – and accompanied by Jo’s warmly sensitive sketches of particular species – the Whole Easter Story helps us see afresh the immense power and wisdom of the cross for the salvation of the whole world. Thoroughly recommended! 

Professor Paul S Williams—Chief Executive, Bible Society  

This is a truly enjoyable devotional book, providing an excellent guide as we journey through our relationship with God, others and God’s wider creation, as well as God’s own relationship with his creation. Refreshingly honest, laugh out loud, attentive to all of God’s creation – your heart and soul will be fed. 

Jo Herbert-James—Head of Engagement, A Rocha UK

But not only that! Consider participating also in the…

Lent book club

You are warmly invited to join a six-week virtual book club based on The Whole Easter Story. Hosted by Jo Swinney and Jo Herbert-James, the club will run on Wednesdays from 5 March to 9 April 2025, 8 to 9pm GMT.  

Do find out more and book your place HERE. 

We would like to draw your attention to an A Rocha-hosted conversation by Dr Rodel Lasco, A Rocha International Trustee and Director of the Oscar M Lopez Center. Rodel is a member of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), an expert on biodiversity, and a pastor.

“Our planetary life support systems are starting to fray under the weight of human activities. Come and hear Rodel’s appraisal of the current state of biodiversity globally, how we can respond with hopeful action, and the exciting plans for A Rocha’s growing presence in South East Asia.”

Time: 13.00 – 14.00 UTC | Date: 11 November 2024

Tickets (free! with an optional donation to A Rocha) are available here.

Download here, but also do check out www.arocha.org/marine where you will be greeted by the good work that AR is doing in this area, alongside many other ocean and faith related resources.

He was recently interviewed by Frontiers UK on his experience in creation care and mission, first as a church planter in South Asia, then later working intentionally in creation care.

Bob shares his journey from anthropocentric dualism to attempts at integral ocean mission. Give it a listen, and do share this with your friends!

https://rawmission.buzzsprout.com/1852871/15483954-creation-care-mission

Field Notes Podcast, by A Rocha

Be inspired by stories of Christians engaged in earthkeeping around the world, often in challenging contexts! We invite you to these 30-40 minute podcasts [https://arocha.org/en/field-notes-podcast/] to deepen your understanding of this wonderfully created world and our place within it.

Topics to whet your appetite from A Rocha’s Field Notes include a cynical Italian journalist finding Christian faith at A Rocha Kenya, a challenge to the global church from North East India, discovering community and conservation in Portugal, food-growing leading to healing the land and its people in Canada, and a compelling story of reconnecting people with nature in Chile.

Do these questions pique your curiosity?

The A Rocha community in Singapore is delighted to host ‘Missional Discipleship and Sustainability’, a day conference in Singapore, alongside the support of Biblical Graduate School of Theology, Fellowship of Evangelical Students and Creation Care Singapore.

There, they hope to explore these questions and much more alongside A Rocha International leaders and local experts, speaking from the fields of theology, finance, science, and conservation.

If you happen to be in Singapore on the 11^th of May, you know what to do – join us for the conversation, happening at Katong Presbyterian Church! Find out more details here. 

On that note, do check out a prior work by the A Rocha community in Singapore—God’s Gardeners: Creation Care Stories from Singapore and Malaysia.

Maria Ale Andrade V and Clark Buys began by presenting Tearfund’s Abundant Community Theology (ACT). They talked about cultivating an abundant community mindset over that of a scarcity mindset: this prioritizes relationship over individual identity, a shared home over competitive market, generosity over greed, and better distribution over more production solutions.

Prof. Must Dube followed this presentation with a critical reflection on ACT. She highlighted the importance of contextual theology with concern for the communities included and excluded within our conversation. She raised the need for decolonized theology and mentioned that ‘…a spirit of inclusion does not mean a spirit of equality’. She also emphasised the importance of lament with God and God’s creation for ‘…naming oppression, calling for change and justice for earth’. She ended by reminding us that the good news extends to all creation and underscored the transformative nature of salvation.

Dave Bookless offered an overview of creation care theology trends. He first began by highlighting how early creation care theology existed among Desert Fathers, Coptic Christians, Celtic Christians, and even early evangelicals. He discussed how a great reversal took place when a fear of science, liberal theology and ‘social gospel’ concerns emerged. Integral Mission was rediscovered through the aid of theologians such as René Padilla, Samuel Escobar, and John Stott. Currently, we are witnessing a rise of eco-theologies, including liberation theologies, interfaith theologies and post-colonial and indigenous theologies. Finally, he named a few future trends including:

a) rethinking ‘stewardship’
b) questioning ‘anthropocentrism’
c) cultivating theologies of lament, loss and hope
d) exploring intersectionality of ecotheology among other issues like gender, decolonization, and so on.

A link to the recording of this webinar will be shared in the next Pollinator.

Paper: Abundant Community Theology – Buys & Andrade V. (2023). Abundant Community Theology: A Case Study in Decolonial Theological Research. Christian Relief, Development, and Advocacy 5(1), Summer2023.

Video: Tearfund – Enough for All

You can read more about this role and other opportunities here: arocha.org/en/get-involved/opportunities/

Don’t miss it—see you there!