 Religious Campaign for Forest Conservation Testimony of the Rev. Peter Moore-Kochlacs I want to thank you for the opportunity to participate in this hearing. I have been an ordained United Methodist minister for 25 years. Currently I am appointed to the position of Director of Environmental Ministries of Southern California. The network’s goal is to encourage congregations of faith to see that earthkeeping, habitat and endangered species protection, and the public health threats caused by toxics and pollution are, for all of us, real scriptural and moral concerns, concerns so important to God that they need to be among the highest missional priorities, the church, and other religious communities have as we move into the new millennium. A second priority we have is to educate, train, and advocate for public policies that serve and protect God’s Good Creation. To begin, I want to share a story from the Talmud, the collection of Jewish law and tradition dating back 1600 years ago. "Two men were fighting over a piece of land. Both claimed ownership and had papers to prove their claims. To resolve their differences, they agreed to put the case before the Rabbi. The Rabbi listened but could not come to a decision. Finally he said, ‘Since I cannot decide to whom this land belongs, let us ask the land.’ He put his ear to the ground and after a moment straightened up. ‘Gentlemen, the land says it belongs to neither of you—but that you belong to it.’" Yes, we six billion humans, along with countless other species, belong to the land, to the habitat, to the web of life, to God. The Psalmist is very clear—"The Earth is the Lord’s" (Psalm 24:1). In our human arrogance, greed, lust for power, and desire for ownership we forget our divinely appointed role. This role is one of trusteeship and stewardship. It is a call, a vocation to serve and protect the land, the garden, the planet we dwell upon (Genesis 2:15). Instead of earthkeeping we press and oppress other people, the land, water, and air, and endanger all the other creatures who look to us for compassion and justice, because they are without human voice and standing. The Metropolitan of the world Christian Orthodox Churches recently labeled this unjust behavior sinful. Isaiah the prophet critiqued our oppression in this way: "Ah, you who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is room for no one but you and you are left to live alone in the midst of the land!" Jeremiah echoed, "I brought you into a plentiful land, to eat its fruits and its good things, but when you entered you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination." (Jeremiah 2:7) And finally Ezekiel pronounced, "Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep_ You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fattlings, but you do not feed the sheep¼.Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture_ When you drink of clear water, must you foul the rest with your feet_ And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet and drink what you have fouled with your feet_" The question is, does our human heritage today have to be so oppressive to other humans and to creation_ No!!! As irony, or God’s great mystery of life would have it, next year is the great Christian celebration, Jubilee 2000—the 2000th anniversary of Jesus’ birth—as well as Earth Day 2000! Recall Jesus’ announcement of the new Jubilee of freedom in Luke 4:18 (based on Isaiah 61:2). "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor!" Doesn’t this Jubilee remind you a little of the original 4th of July experience_! Both religious and secular organizations have taken up the ethical call of Jubilee 2000. In our time it is a call to grant debt relief for the impoverished nations that they might be freed from the oppressive burden of international debt and enabled to feed, educate, care for, employ their people, and hopefully care for their natural environment. These hearings that you are holding on the E.S.A. give us a unique opportunity to take this Jubilee 2000 vision a step further, by incorporating with it the vision of the approaching Earth Day 2000. A vision to bring healing, wholeness and greater harmony to our planet, to God’s Creation! A jubilee vision to call a halt to and a sabbath’s rest from the onslaught of our human unsustainable activities and actions. With Earth Day 2000, the 30th anniversary of Earth Day, falling during Holy Week 2000 between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, I wonder if God is asking us this question about the future of our world. Do we want the earth to be a Good Friday world of crucifixion and death for our habitat, biosphere, endangered species, and humans_ Or do we seek for our home planet Jubilee—freedom, resurrection, new life, renewal, and restoration_ The United Methodist Church in June of 1996 at Redlands, California, not far from here answered "yes" to the question of the restoration of God’s Creation. They passed by a large majority vote a resolution asking you, the Congress, to reauthorize a stronger, not a weaker, endangered species act. The resolution follows on the next page. CALIFORNIA-PACIFIC CONFERENCE 1996 UNITED METHODIST CHURCH RESOLUTION #95 SUBJECT: Reauthorization of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 SUBMITTED BY: Conference Board of Church and Society WHEREAS Noah was directed by God to save every kind of animal in order to keep them alive (Genesis 6:19 and 20); WHEREAS the Social Principles [of the U.M.C.] (Section 1 The Natural World) affirm the preservation of animals now threatened with extinction (par70C) and supports regulations designed to protect plant life (par70A); WHEREAS the Endangered Species Act (E.S.A.) of 1973 is will come before Congress to be in 1996 1996/1997; WHEREAS the E.S.A. has been a successful tool in saving several endangered species, including the American Bald Eagle and the California Condor; WHEREAS human health and welfare depends upon the gene pool of all species, down to the single cell plankton, to preserve the balance of nature, so that it may continue to sustain life; THEREFORE, BE IT, RESOLVED that the California-Pacific Annual Conference support the reauthorization of a strengthened version of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 by forwarding this resolution to congressional representatives within the bounds of the Annual Conference; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the churches of this Annual Conference continue their studies of the issues of biodiversity and the need to protect and steward all of God’s Creation; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the California-Pacific Annual Conference inform our California State legislatures that we support a strong California Endangered Species Act. Adopted by the Annual Conference as amended-Plenary 6-June 16, 1996
The question now for you Congressmen and Congresswomen is do you have the faith and the moral courage to affirm the goodness of the whole of God’s Creation by focusing on species protection or will you perpetuate a Good Friday World_! Thank you.
________________________ Thoughts on My Negative Experience with the U.S. House Resources Committee July 9, 1999, Hemet, California The Rev. Peter Moore-Kochlacs--Director, Environmental Ministries July 24, 1999 I share the following with a profound sense of sadness about what it says concerning a lack of openness, deliberation, and basic human caring in one of the highest decision-making bodies in our country, the U.S. House of Representatives House Resources Committee. What happened to me is not so important, but the attitude it suggests on the part of decision-makers who impact the lives of our families and children is sobering. I had been invited July 9, 1999, by the U.S. House of Representatives House Resources Committee to give testimony in Hemet, California, on behalf of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Driving from San Diego to Hemet, I felt hopeful about the chance I had been given to defend God’s creation. I knew the meeting was set up to be critical of the ESA by the six Republican U.S. House members present. However, because I was a clergyperson of some standing in the Southern California religious community on these issues, I was optimistic that the religious concerns for protecting and restoring endangered species would be received respectfully. That was not the case. I left Hemet feeling abused, mocked, and wounded, and, more importantly, deeply worried regarding the attitudes in this committee about laws that affect the environment for all God’s creatures. The House majority party members, Representatives Chenoweth, Calvert, Pombo, Bono, Hunter, and Gary Miller, acted like grand inquisitors toward those who disagreed with their position. There appeared to be no interest in honest discussion of differences of opinion. Largely through innuendo and derisive tone, they attempted to marginalize and dismiss my testimony. For example, they tried to imply that I was not a fully capable minister and asked who paid my salary and why I had not reported to them the names and amounts of all contributions to my ministry. With their unfounded implications that I was withholding something important and their bullying tone, I felt like we had returned to the early 1950s and I was before Rep. Joe McCarthy’s House Committee on Un-American Activities. I had hoped the House committee members would have wanted to explore reasons why the ecumenical community is so concerned about protecting and serving God’s good creation. Instead the attack continued when they suggested they had never heard of a theological position that had a parallel concern emphasizing not only humankind but also restoring and saving the whole world, i.e., creation (see John 3:16-17). The subcommittee, represented by Gary Miller, read a revisionist Noah’s Ark story. That version, among other abuses, completely neglected God’s rainbow covenant that was made to protect not only humankind, but all species of animals and, by implication, plant species too. Representative Miller read this account in a tone and body language that seemed to belittle my understanding of the Biblical story, and then tried not to let me respond to this not so subtle mockery. The committee appeared to have this dismissive attitude toward anyone who did not agree with them. A couple witnesses were aggressively questioned, but the most intense bullying seems to have been focused on my faith- and Scripture-based testimony. As I noted at the beginning, I feel it is important to share this experience because of what it says about the attitude of these national decision makers. The protection of endangered species, as well as clean air, clean water, and other natural resources, is largely in the hands of these people. The American public deserves policy makers who hold hearings not to bully, but to listen. Current and future generations deserve better. Sincerely, Rev. Peter Moore-Kochlacs |