...do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with God. (Micah 6:8)

The ELCA Social Statement:  Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope and Justice

Adoption

The ELCA Social Statement, Caring for Creation:  Vision, Hope and Justice was adopted by a more than two-thirds majority at the third Churchwide Assembly on August 28, 1993, at Kansas City, Missouri.

Purposes

Section I: The Church's Vision of Creation

1. God, Earth and All Creatures
   1. We see the despoiling of the environment as nothing less than the degradation of God's gracious gift of creation.
   2. Scripture witnesses to God as creator of the earth and all that dwells therein.
   3. All creation, not just humankind, is viewed as "very good" in God's eyes.
   4. Central to our vision of God's profound involvement with the world is the Incarnation.  In Christ, the Word is made flesh, with saving significance for an entire creation that longs for fulfillment.
2. Our Place in Creation
   1. Humanity is intimately related to the rest of creation.
   2. Humans, in service to God, have special roles on behalf of the whole of creation.
   3. According to Gen. 2:15, our role within creation is to serve and keep God's garden, the earth.
   4. We are called to live according to God's wisdom in creation (Prov 8), which brings together God's truth and goodness.
   5. Such caring, serving, keeping, loving and living by wisdom sum up what is meant by acting as God's stewards of the earth.

Section II:  The Urgency

1. Sin and Captivity
   1. Not content to be made in the image of God, we have rebelled and disrupted creation.
   2. Alienated from God and from creation, and driven to make a name for ourselves, we become captives to demonic powers and unjust institutions.
2. The Current Crisis
   1. Living creatures, and the air, soil, and water that support them, face unprecedented threats.
   2. Twin problems--excessive consumption by industrialized nations, and relentless growth of human population worldwide--jeopardize efforts to achieve a sustainable future.
   3. The resulting damages to the environment are frightening:
      1.  depletion of non-renewable resources, especially oil;
      2. loss of the variety of life through rapid destruction of habitats;
      3. erosion of topsoil through unsustainable agriculture and forestry practices;
      4. pollution of air by toxic emissions from industries and vehicles, and pollution of water by waste;
      5. increasing volumes of waste;
      6. prevalence of acid rain, which damages forests, lakes and streams;
      7. the depletion of the protective ozone layer, resulting from the use of volatile compounds containing chlorine and bromine; and
      8. dangerous global warming, caused by the buildup of greenhouse gasses, especially carbon dioxide.

Section III:  The Hope

1. The Gift of Hope
   1. God address our predicament with gifts of "forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation" (Luther, Small Catechism);
   2. Captured by hope, we proclaim that God has made peace with all things through the blood of the cross.
   3. Captured by hope, we dream dreams and look forward to a new creation.
2. Hope in Action
   1. We testify to hope that inspires and encourages us;
   2. Our tradition offers many glimpses of hope triumphant over despair.

Section IV:  The Call to Justice

Caring, serving, keeping, loving, and living by wisdom--these translate into justice in political, economic, social, and environmental relationships.

1. Justice Through Participation
   1. The principle of participation means all living things are entitled to be heard and to have their interests considered when decisions are made.
   2. Creation must be given voice now and in the future.
   3. We recognize numerous obstacles to participation.
   4. We pray, therefore, that our church may be a place where differing groups can be brought together, tough issues considered, and a common good pursued.
2. Justice Through Solidarity
   1. We stand together as God's creation.
   2. We are called to acknowledge this interdependence and to act locally and globally on behalf of all creation.
   3. We recognize, however, the many ways we have broken ranks with creation.
   4. We pray, therefore, for the humility and wisdom to stand with and for creation, and the fortitude to support advocates whose efforts are made at personal risk.
3. Justice Through Sufficiency
   1. The principle of sufficiency means meeting the basic needs of all humanity and all creation.
   2. In a world of finite resources, for all to have enough means that those with more than enough will have to change their patterns of acquisition and consumption.
   3. We recognize many factors that run counter to sufficiency.
   4. We pray, therefore, for the strength to change our personal and public lives, to the end that there may be enough.
4. Justice Through Sustainability
   1. The sabbath and jubilee laws of the Hebrew tradition remind us that we may not press creation relentlessly in an effort to maximize productivity.
   2. The principle of sustainability summons our church, in its global work with poor people, to pursue sustainable development strategies.
   3. We pray, therefore, for the creativity and dedication to live more gently with the earth.

Section V:  Commitments of This Church

1. As individual Christians
   1.  As members of this church, we commit ourselves to personal life styles that contribute to the health of the environment.
   2. We challenge each other, particularly the economically secure, to tithe environmentally.
      1. Reduce their burdens on the earth's bounty by reducing their waste by 10 percent.
      2. Consume 10 percent less in non-renewable resources.
      3. Contribute the savings to earth care efforts.
2. As a Worshipping and Learning Community
   1. Each congregation should see itself as a creation awareness center.
   2. Congregations have and should take advantage of opportunities to during the year to focus on creation.
   3. This church will encourage those who develop liturgical, preaching, and educational materials that celebrate God's creation.
   4. This church will create and maintain programs related to environmental education.
3. As a Committed Community, we will seek to incorporate the principles of sufficiency and sustainability in our life.
4. As a Community of Moral Deliberation, we will model the principle of participation, recognizing our differences.
5. As an Advocate we promote changes in public policy that support the principles of participation, solidarity, sufficiency, and sustainability.

For more information about how you can use this social statement or for suggestions for actions you can take as an individuals or as a congregation, contact Matthew Andersen-Stembridge, LOGA: Environmental Issues and Nuclear Disarmament, Division for Church in Society, matthew.anderson-stembridge@elca.org 202-626-7946
 

Caring for Creation Resources:

Web of Creation

Sample Liturgy