MOVING THE NEEDLE ON ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS
If you could move
the needle on one environmental issue, what would it be? Consider the
following short list of study guides and books, most written from a religious
perspective for a reader of faith. Among them you may find some to
inspire you.
STUDY
GUIDES
The Papal Encyclical
Letter from Pope Francis, Laudato Si', On Care for Our Common Home,
includes a study guide in the published paperback version from The Word Among
Us Press (wau.org), that is not provided anywhere else. "Addressed
not only to Catholics but to 'every person living on this planet,' Pope
Francis' second encyclical is a challenging call for a 'bold cultural
revolution' in how we think about technological progress and economic
growth. The degradation of our environment, he says, is a symptom of
deeper problems: rapid change, unsustainable overconsumption, indifference to
the poor, and the decay of social values. He offers a variety of
solutions, including a change in lifestyles away from 'extreme consumerism' and
toward a greater sense of social responsibility. For Christians, an
'ecological spirituality'--- one that is grounded in the convictions of our
faith--- is not 'an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian
experience.'
A second study guide,
for Creation-Crisis Preaching: Ecology, Theology and the Pulpit, by Leah
Schade, a Lutheran pastor in northcentral PA, is free and available from the
web site of Chalice Press.com, where a discounted version of the book is
available in such digital formats as EPUB and EPDF.
A SAMPLE LIST OF BOOKS FOR THE READER
75 Masterpieces
Every Christian Should Know: The Fascinating Stories Behind Great Works of Art,
Literature, Music and Film. Terry Glaspey.
About Earth's Child: An
Ecological Listening to the Gospel of Luke. Michael Trainor.
Backpacking With the
Saints: Wilderness Hiking as Spiritual Practice. Belden C. Lane.
Eager to Love: The
Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi. Richard Rohr.
The Ecological Thought. Timothy Morton.
Ecology Without Nature:
Rethinking Environmental Aesthetics. Timothy Morton.
For the Love of All
Creatures: The Story of Grace in Genesis. William Greenway.
From Nature to Creation:
A Christian Vision for Understanding and Loving Our World. Norman Wirzba.
Gardening Eden: How
Creation Care Will Change Your Faith, Your Life, and Our World. Michael
Abbate. (includes 15 pages of resources)
Grounded: Finding God in
the World/A Spiritual Revolution. Diana Butler Bass.
Hope Against Darkness:
The Transforming Vision of Saint Francis in an Age of Anxiety. Richard
Rohr.
Inherit the Holy
Mountain: Religion and the Rise of American Environmentalism. Mark Stoll.
Islam Statement on the
Environment: see IslamicClimateDeclaration.org
Methodism in the
American Forest. Russell E. Richey.
A New Climate for
Theology: God, The World, and Global Warming. Sallie McFague.
Our Only World: Ten
Essays, by Wendell Berry.
Sallie McFague:
Collected Readings. Sallie McFague and David B Lott, editors.
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