Disciples in our Watersheds

Churchly theologies of “Creation Care” have gained remarkable traction among a wide spectrum of North American churches over the last quarter century–yet are still too abstract and unfocused (as is much of the public rhetoric around climate crisis).  We cannot stand against the prevailing capitalist system of robbery (of the poor and of the earth) if we have no place to stand.  Wendell Berry rightly points out that “global thinking” is often merely a euphemism for abstract anxieties or passions that are little use to engaged efforts to save actual landscapes.  We believe that the best way to re-orient the church’s work and witness is through bioregionally-grounded identity, planning and action centered on the watersheds we inhabit. Political capacity to fight wider systemic issues is best built through local and regional engagement.  This approach is still foreign to most Christian communities, so our task is to nurture our faith traditions in watershed consciousness, literacy and engagement.