Author: Pat Watkins
As a missionary in Nigeria in the 90’s, I learned a very important life lesson. Because of the isolated nature of our village (even the Nigerians who lived there said we lived at the “end of the earth”), I had to learn to live my life in relationship with how the earth lives its life in ways I had never before experienced. For example, there was a mango tree in our backyard. We could have mangoes only when they were in season; when they were not, we couldn’t go to the market and buy one from South America. Also there was a rainy season and a dry season in our part of Nigeria. We had to plan our trips to the city to buy supplies during the dry season because in the heart of the rainy season, we could not get out of our village by road because the rivers filled up with water and as there were no bridges. When the water got too deep to drive through, we couldn’t go anywhere. I was forced to consider the life of earth when planning my own.
In the U.S. I never had to do that. I could essentially ask the earth to conform its life to mine. I could turn on heat or air conditioning and always get myself out of the rain or snow. I never had to change my life due to the life of the planet until I arrived in Nigeria. For people who have grown up on farms, this learning comes naturally, but for me, it was quite a revelation.
And for me that newfound relationship with the earth really did something for me. Instead of merely figuring out ways to tolerate such a relationship, I seemed to embrace it. There was something good about it, and as time went on, I began to wonder if perhaps there might even be something sacred about it. So when I came home from Nigeria, I came with a huge question in my mind and heart: “Is there a connection between a relationship with the earth and my life as a disciple of Jesus Christ?”
I had a background in theology, having attended seminary, but I wanted to learn some earth science in an effort to intelligently answer my question. I decided that I needed to have a conversation within myself between science and theology; only then could I answer my question. So, I went back to school in Environmental Science to learn that part of the conversation.
After a couple of years, I was able to answer that question with a resounding “yes!” Absolutely there is a connection between my faith as a Christian and not only a relationship with God’s creation but also a responsibility to care for it and heal it.
My follow up question was, “So, if there is this connection between faith and care for creation, then is it appropriate for me to think that it could be a ministry, both for myself as an ordained clergyperson and for the church at large?” And if so, then how do I live this out for myself and how can I suggest the church live it out? The institutional church had no positions within, that I knew of, to which I could apply so the challenge was to figure out some way of supporting myself financially in order to fulfill this sense of vocational call. And I was and remain very much in love with The United Methodist Church and really wanted to live out this call to ministry within our connectional system.
Maybe because I had been a missionary once before, I decided the church should make me a missionary again, only this time instead of sending me to another country or group of people, the church should send me to God’s creation. I had a conversation with Brenda Connelly, who at that time was the Executive Secretary of Church and Community Ministries with Global Ministries. Brenda immediately thought it a good idea, and I was commissioned as a Church and Community Worker assigned as the Executive Director of Caretakers of God’s Creation, a creation care ministry of the Virginia Conference. Our goal was to raise the awareness of United Methodists as to the connection between faith and responsibility to care for creation and then to equip individuals and congregations in how they could live out their faith, given this connection.
I will be forever indebted to Global Ministries for enabling me to live out my vocational call to a creation care ministry. It just makes so much sense to me that sending creation care missionaries all over the world would be a fantastic way for the church to live out its call to care for God’s creation. Our church is moving—
- Our bishops have spoken with their 2009 document “God’s Renewed Creation.”
- We have many General Conference resolutions.
- Our Social Principles call us to creation care.
- Recently, our bishops issued another statement on climate.
- Eleven of our agency General Secretaries are promising carbon neutrality by 2050 for their facilities.
- Climate justice is one of four priorities of United Methodist Women.
- And increasingly, we hear from more and more clergy and laity in our local congregations that creation care should be a core value of what it means to be disciples of Jesus Christ.
The time is now to recognize and provide for the fulfillment of all kinds of vocational calls to ministry at the intersection of United Methodist Christian faith and creation care.
