Religious Campaign for Forest Conservation Episcopalians and Forests Episcopalians originally possessed a strong and vigorous sense of value for God’s creation, including the forests. This faded, both in Britain and the U.S., as influences from the industrialism, the and modern consumerism grew in their impact upon society. This legacy is now in recovery through the statements of St. Kevin of Glendalough (513_ - 618) Kevin is known as one of the first advocates of wilderness preservation when he refused an angel's offer to level the land around his collection of crude huts to build monastic facilities. By this act, he demonstrated that human pursuit of the holy does not destroy the rest of God's created order. Because Kevin would not expand his congregation’s holdings if it meant leveling the mountains as God created them, he demonstrates the importance of respecting the natural features of the land as a priority above development. His care for animals was legendary, even in his own time, and early artists depicted him with his hand out-stretched and an egg on the flat of his palm which a bird laid while he was in the ecstasy of prayer. He is said to have held the egg until it hatched. Numerous legends survive, but few of his writings. While praying in the rugged Wicklow mountains, about thirty miles from Dublin, an angel appeared to Kevin and offers to make his life more comfortable. The angel says, "I would sweep away these hills and crags and rocks and wooded dells where little grows and no one dwells; I'll give you pastures lush and green for kine to graze, a winding stream, and gentle fields to grow your grain in place of this uncouth domain." Kevin declines this offer, replying, "I pray you humbly, let them stand, the rugged hills, the broken land. For I do love like any child the hunted creatures of the wild; and every bird that climbs the sky is free to wander just as I, or dwell in peace beside the lake, to make them homeless for my sake would grieve me sorely night and day." St. Columba (521 - 597) A poet, prophet and monk of royal Irish lineage, Columba went to Scotland to evangelize the Pict tribes. Adamnan, his earliest biographer, writes, "Angelic in appearance, elegant in address, holy in work, he would never spend the space of even one hour without study or prayer or writing." He radiated a divine and celestial light, and is known for the power of his voice, and for his amazing authority over the winds and seas and all the natural world. He had such a deep love for the woods and for all of God's creation that he made sure that his monastery was built without a tree being cut down. The Irish king Aedh on one occasion gave Columba a piece of land in a place called Doire. And he [Columba] had so great a love for Doire, and the cutting of the oak trees went so greatly against him, that he could not find a place for his church the time he was building it that would let the front of it be to the east, and it is its side turned to the east. And he left it upon those that came after him not to cut even a tree that fell of itself or was blown down by the wind in that place to the end of nine days, and then to share it between the people of the townland, bad and good, a third of it to the great house, and a tenth to be given to the poor. And he put a verse in a hymn after he was gone away to Scotland that shows there was nothing worse to him than the cutting of that oakwood: “Though there is fear in me of death and of hell, I will not hide it that I have more fear of the sound of an axe over in Doire.” In one of his poems, St. Columba writes that he is more afraid of the sound of an axe in Derrywood, a nearby forest, than he was of hell itself. The character of the monasticism which he built was marked by a commitment to community and keen appreciation for the natural world which was seen as “the vesture of the Holy Spirit.” St. Columbanus (543 - 615) A flaming red-haired Irish abbot from Leinster, he set out to the continent to teach the strict Celtic style of Christianity to the Franks. His first effort was a monastery which he built in the Vosges Mountains near the present Swiss-German border. While traveling, special hymns that framed much of a natural theology were sung by his monks. Like many in the Celtic Church, his assumption is that personal holiness and the qualities in prayer intimately shape creation and the response of the animals to humans. He built his monasteries on places of previous pagan holiness so that a religious continuity and respect was shown to local culture. His understanding of the monastery was as a place for community service and a center for learning, healing, popular education and social care. He vigorously insisted that the Irish Church had maintained the pure Christian tradition from ancient times. He is considered the greatest of the Irish missionaries to the European continent. An Attitude toward the world The man to whom a little is not enough, he will not benefit from more. He who tramples upon the world, tramples upon himself. The World is but a Road A road to life art thou, O world, but not life itself. And as there is no man who makes his dwelling in the road, but walks there: and those who fare along the road have their dwelling in the fatherland. So thou art naught, O mortal life, naught but a road, a fleeting ghost, an emptiness, a cloud uncertain and frail, a shadow and a dream. Know the Creator through creation If you want to understand the Creator, seek to understand created things. St. Guthlac (673 - 714) A medieval British monk who lived on a small island near Lincolnshire, St. Guthlac is one of England's two most popular saints (along with St. Cuthbert). He was rather unpopular in his early years because of his example of abstinence from any intoxicating drink, but as his healing abilities became known, he soon became a popular and respected figure. He is warmly regarded for his special affinity for the animals and the affection which the birds and waterfowl exhibited toward him. Holiness tames the beasts Brother, hast thou never learned in Holy Writ, that with him who has led his life after God's will, the wild beasts and wild birds are tame_ We lose dominion by failing to serve God Too often we lose dominion over the creation which is subject to us precisely because we neglect to serve the Lord of all creation, as it is written, "If you be willing, and will harken unto me, you shall eat the good things of the land," and so forth (Isaiah 1:19).... All Things join together in God When asked by a worthy man named Wilfrid how the birds were so trusting of him and came so near, since they were from the wild swampland and not at all used to being around human beings, St. Guthlac answered, "Have you not read that with him who is united with God in a pure spirit, all things are joined together in God_" The Song of Guthlac Cynewulf, the first great Anglo-Saxon poet, called Guthlac "the hero of our time." The following lines are extracted from his "Song of Guthlac." Triumphant came he [Guthlac] to the hill; And many living things did bless his coming. With bursting chorus and with other signs The wild birds of the hill made known their joy Because this well-loved friend had now returned. Oft had he given them food when hungry, even starving, they had come Straight to his hand and from it ate their fill. Bright was the glorious plain and his new home; Sweet the birds sang; earth blossomed forth; Cuckoos heralded the year... John Scotus Eriugena (810 - 877) The most important Celtic medieval scholar, John "The Scot" Eriugena joined a monastery but eventually became an advisor to the court of Charles the Bald. He saw deep meaning in the cyclical nature of creation and maintained that the whole of nature could be understood as "unfolding within the Trinity." To him, there were two shoes of Christ in the world, scripture and nature. Both are necessary to understand the Lord, and at no stage, he emphasized, "can creation be seen as an alienation or separation of things from God." John, "the Scot," as he is often known appears to be the first Christian scholar to use the word "theophany" as an expression for the presence of God scattered everywhere in creation. God and His Creatures We ought not to understand God and the creatures as two things distinct from one another, but as one and the same. For both the creature, by subsisting, is in God; and God, by manifesting himself, in a marvelous and ineffable manner, creates himself in creatures. Every Creature is a Manifestation of God Every visible or invisible creature is a theophany or appearance of God. The Christian is the one who, wherever he looks, sees God everywhere and rejoices in Him.... Man is the microcosm in the strictest sense of the word. He is the summary of all existence. There is no creature that is not recapitulated in man. There is nothing in the universe that is lower than body or higher than soul. De Divisione Naturae God exists in creatures God and the creation are one. We ought not to think of God and the creature as two and different from one another. The creature exists in God while God Himself in a wonderful and ineffable way is created in the creature. De Div. Nat., III, 17, 678C Understanding the Creator from the Creation Learn to know the Divine Maker from those things which are made in him and by him. “For the invisible things of Him,” as the Apostle says, “are clearly understood by the intelligence, being understood from the things which are made”... All things, therefore, which were made by the Word, live in Him unchangeably and are life. In him all things exist neither by temporal intervals or places, nor as what is to come; but all are one in him, above all times and places, and subsist in him eternally. The Voice of the Eagle , Homily X Two Ways of Knowing the Divine Light Since the time of the Fall, the eternal light reveals itself in a twofold manner through Scripture and through creation. Divine knowledge may be renewed in us in no other way, but through the letters of Scripture and the species of creature. Learn, therefore, to understand these divine modes of expression and to conceive of their meanings in your soul, for therein you will know the Word. Observe the forms and beauties of sensible things, and comprehend the Word of God in them. If you do so, the truth will reveal to you in all such things only he who made them, outside of whom you have nothing to contemplate, for he himself is in all things. For whatever truly is, in all things which are, is he. Indeed, just as no substantial good exists outside of him, so no essence or substance exists that is not he. The Voice of the Eagle , Homily XI St. Aelred of Rievaulx (1110 - 1167) An English Cistercian monk who was strongly influenced by the old Celtic tradition, he became abbot of the monastery at Rievaulx at the age of 33. Under his holiness and leadership, Rievaulx became the largest monastery in twelfth century England with more than 650 monks. He is especially known for his sensitive spiritual direction and the gentle holiness which he radiated. Great throngs of people were attracted to hear him. He is also known for his Celtic sense of nature as a theophany and for cultivating a strong emphasis on charity within the Cistercian Order. God's Goodness dwells in Every Creature If you were to look at every creature from the beginning of creation to the end of time, whether it were the most radiant angel or the tiniest worm, you would see in it signs of God's goodness and His overflowing love. Julian of Norwich (1342 - 1423) A self-educated anchoress and solitary, the writings of this medieval British nun describe her mystical experiences with Christ. Within the the enclosure of her tiny cell, He comes and personally teaches her many things about life, this world, heaven and their meanings. Julian's writings are simple and direct and they draw a number of clear conclusions about creation and the world around us. Her writings emphasize the need for discipline, for asceticism, for reflection, for study, and particularly for humble daily prayer. These practices open up creation as a teaching about the ways of Christ and His kingdom and lead to an experiential knowledge of nature as a loving praise of God which we can emulate. Gardening as a metaphor for the spiritual life There is a treasure in the earth of our being that is a food tasty and pleasing to the Lord. Be a gardener. Dig and ditch. Toil and sweat. Turn the earth upside down and seek the "dampness" and water the plants in time. Continue the labor and make sweet floods to run, and noble and abundant fruits to spring forth. Take this food and drink and carry it to God as your true worship. There is no defect in Nature Nature has been tested in the fire of tribulation, and in it was found no lack or defect. Thus are nature and grace of one accord. For grace is God, and unmade nature is God also. He is two in manner of working but one in love; and neither of these works without the other -- they cannot be parted. A Vision of Everything that has been Created God showed me in my palm a little thing round as a ball about the size of a hazelnut. I looked at with the eye of my understanding and asked myself: 'What is this thing_' And I was answered: 'It is everything that is created." I wondered how it could survive since it seemed so little it could suddenly disintegrate into nothing. The answer came: 'It endures and ever will endure, because God loves it.' And so everything has being because of God's love. Insight into Creation I saw three properties in the world: the first is, that God made it. The second is, that God loveth it. The third is, that God keepeth it. But what beheld I therein_ Verily the Maker, the Keeper, the Lover. Finding Rest amidst Creation No soul can find rest until it finds created things are empty. When the soul gives up all for love, so that it can have Him that is all, then it finds true rest. Gerard Manly Hopkins, SJ (1844 - 1889) Gerard Manly Hopkins was an obscure parish priest known to sometimes "dabble in poetry." During his lifetime he was never recognized for his poetical insight. Rather he was dismissed as a kindly eccentric and his writings were never taken seriously. His poetry reflects his vision of "barbarous beauty" that he finds in a world "charged with the grandeur of God." God's Grandeur The world is charged with the grandeur of God. It will flame out, like shining from shook foil; It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod_ Generations have trod, have trod, have trod; And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil; And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod. And for all this, nature is never spent; There lives the dearest freshness deep down things; And though the last lights off the 006600 West went Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs -- Because the Holy Ghost over the bent World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings. Pied Beauty Glory be to God for dappled things -- For skies of couple-color as a brinded cow; For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim; Fresh fire coal chestnut-falls; finches' wings; Landscape plotted and pieced -- fold, fallow and plough; And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim. And things counter, original, spare, strange; Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how_) With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim; He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change: Praise him. St. Therese of Lisieux (1873 - 1897) Therese of Lisieux was often sickly and yet she always performed her responsibilities without complaint. Some key lessons from St. Therese lie in the way she brings a relationship to the transcendent into the details of daily life and creation. The Flowers in the Book of Nature Jesus set before me the book of nature. I understood how all the flowers He has created are beautiful, how the splendor of the rose and whiteness of the lily do not take away the perfume of the little violet or the delightful simplicity of the daisy.... And so it is in the world of souls, Jesus' garden. He willed to create great souls comparable to lilies and roses, but He has created smaller ones and these must be content to be daisies or violets, destined to give joy to God's glances when He looks down at His feet. Modern Episcopalian and Anglican Leaders and Ecology: A Growing Force for Earth Healing Elizabeth Sedlins, Chair, Episcopal Commission on the Environment, Diocese of Virginia: THE ETERNAL WORD OF GOD IN CREATION As an Episcopalian, I see my roots in Celtic spirituality and its view of the sacredness of the natural world. An early Anglican theologian, Richard Hooker, declared that the wisdom of God shines in "the beautiful variety of all things" and taught that "God has his influence in the very essence of all things." This perspective stems, in part, from a Celtic outlook. These Celtic "roots" have a wisdom we need to rediscover as we seek the long-term welfare of the earth. Celtic Christians had a strong sense of the divine hand of God in creation. God was present in the created world, but not limited to it. The first great saint of the Celtic church was Ninian; his catechism reflects the profound respect the Celts had for nature: Question: What is best in this world_ Answer: To do the will of our Maker. Question: What is his will_ Answer: That we should live according to the laws of his creation. Question: How do we know those laws_ Answer: By study -- studying the Scriptures with devotion. Question: What tool has our Maker provided for this study_ Answer: The intellect, which can probe everything. Question: And what is the fruit of study_ Answer: To perceive the eternal Word of God reflected in every plant and insect, every bird and animal, and every man and woman. The need is to bring a sense of the sacred into environmental concerns. The earth is a holy place through which God speaks his eternal word. To hear it, we must move toward a life in harmony with "the laws of his creation," and recapture our role as priestly servants to God by prayerfully tending the creation and offering it back to Him. This attitude implies a radical rethinking of our lifestyle, the value we place on accumulating material wealth and a redefinition of "progress." It must be rooted in a recollection of who we are as people of faith and linked to a rediscovery of God's pervading presence. The Church has been slow to engage environmental issues. Yet we need the Church to cultivate a spiritual integrity which enables us to "perceive the eternal word of God" in creation and helps us change our view of the earth from an object we use to a sacred offering we present to God. When worship services gather us together to pray for the earth ... sing hymns of praise to God for his creation... repent for the wrongs we have done to the fabric of life...and hear that Christ's risen life is for all creation, our spirituality will reconnect to a living God present in this world. Then we will be equipped and emboldend to act with reverence toward creation as people true to these roots of our faith. Elizabeth Sedlins is chair of the Episcopal Commission on the Environment for the Diocese of Virginia. Rev. Sally Bingham Chair, Commission on the Environment, Diocese of California Tom Bowman Fr. Peter Kreitler