Sustainable Church
“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” King David penned these words around 1000 B.C., long before corporate social responsibility, organic farming, fair trade, recycling, and social justice were in the common vernacular. In fact, the whole Bible could be described as a green, humanitarian book that promotes generational solidarity, sustainable living, and mercy for the weak. David was simply drawing upon Scriptures’ rich creation theology that recognizes and celebrates God as the creator of a world that is inherently good, the resources of which he called us to cultivate and steward as his partners. Tragically, however, our relationship with God has been corrupted and diminished, and as a result God’s creatures are violated and abused and his world is destroyed.
The historic Christian faith, however, holds out hope for a new world, in which the earth, its creatures, and humanity are restored to God and to their original goodness. Jesus Christ is in the process of creating that new world of spiritual, social, cultural, and, ultimately, cosmological healing and peace. The prophet Isaiah captured a glimpse of God’s forthcoming “shalom” and described it like this, “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.” The Bible is not simply about saving individual souls. Rather, it is also a book about global redemption that is saturated with an ethical ideal of social and environmental justice (e.g. canceling debts, freeing slaves, improving work conditions, preserving ecosystems, conserving resources). One aspect of the church’s vocation is, thus, to pray, work, and make lifestyle choices that reflect and move us closer towards this not-yet-realized, but beautiful and desirable world.
Thus, at Christ Church of Berkeley we seek to be a welcoming, accessible, and sustainable church. Welcoming, meaning that we are creating an intelligible atmosphere and appealing community into which any and all in our city feel warmly invited. Accessible, meaning that we hope our worship space, community gatherings, and website are usable and friendly to people with impairments and disabilities. Sustainable, meaning that we encourage people to live according to principles of economic, social, and environmental justice on an individual and communal level. We believe that our true theological and personal commitments are fleshed out in the way we spend our money and use our resources in both our long-term decisions and our daily routines. We are not perfect, but at Christ Church of Berkeley we are humbly making an effort to:
Buy fair-trade coffee and tea
Why? Much of the coffee and tea trade depends upon slave labor, price support schemes, and inequitable trade tariffs. Fair-trade promotes international labor and improved environmental and social standards for the production of traded goods and services.
Buy organic food products
Why? A great deal of agro-business relies heavily upon the chemically-enhanced growth of plants and animals and/or the cruel treatment of animals which pose a threat to environmental and public health. Organic implements a holistic production management system that promotes and enhances agro-ecosystem health.
Buy post-consumer paper and plastic products
Why? Paper is made from trees, and plastic is made from natural gases. Post-consumer is an effort to reduce the consumption of these resources through recycling and reuse.
Support independent local businesses
Why? Doing business with corporate conglomerates typically means that monies are directed to distant corporate headquarters from which decisions are made that could adversely effect our community. Independent local businesses help to keep our financial resources in our city, which supports our neighbors and provides more personal and immediate structures of financial, social, and environmental responsibility.
Support green and socially responsible businesses
Why? Many large corporations indiscriminately consume natural resources and exploit human resources for greater profitability. Green and social responsibility means that businesses focus on renewable resources, environmental and human rights considerations, and accounting that measures success by economic profitability, social justice, and environmental conservation.
Reuse and recycle
Why? Carelessly throwing away trash amounts to hazardous waste management and haphazard consumption of raw materials. Reuse and Recycling promotes the collection of used materials that can be used again or broken down and remade into new products, which is often more economically viable.