Over 1,000 religious leaders released a statement today on the connection between faith and the environment. The National Council of Churches reports:

In an effort to refute what they call a “false gospel” and to change destructive attitudes and actions concerning the environment, a group of theologians, convened by the National Council of Churches USA, released an open letter Feb. 14 calling on Christians to reject teachings that suggest humans are “called” to exploit the Earth without care for how our behavior impacts the rest of God’s creation. The statement, “God’s Earth is Sacred: An Open Letter to Church and Society in the United States,” points out that there is both an environmental and a theological crisis that must be addressed. Read more.

You can download the full statement here.

I signed the statement because of a deep concern – reflected in the statement – that our call from God is to protect and nurture creation. Sadly, political and religious leaders have done the earth great harm through bad theology and bad public policy. Part of the statement reads:

To continue to walk the current path of ecological destruction is not only folly; it is sin. As voiced by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who has taken the lead among senior religious leaders in his concern for creation: “To commit a crime against the natural world is a sin. For humans to cause species to become extinct and to destroy the biological diversity of God’s creation . . . for humans to degrade the integrity of Earth by causing changes in its climate, by stripping the Earth of its natural forests, or destroying its wetlands . . . for humans to injure other humans with disease . . . for humans to contaminate the Earth’s waters, its land, its air, and its life, with poisonous substances . . . these are sins.” We have become un-Creators. Earth is in jeopardy at our hands.

This means that ours is a theological crisis as well. We have listened to a false gospel that we continue to live out in our daily habits-a gospel that proclaims that God cares for the salvation of humans only and that our human calling is to exploit Earth for our own ends alone. This false gospel still finds its proud preachers and continues to capture its adherents among emboldened political leaders and policy makers.

Religious leaders from Oregon are some of the most prominent signers of the letter. Since Oregon is my home state and my affiliation is with the Central Pacific Conference of the United Church of Christ, I wanted to highlight the names of those from Oregon who signed the statement.

Baptist

Glenn E. Camper, Executive Minister Emeritus, American Baptist Churches of Portland, Oregon

Catholic

Sr. Kathleen Carr, BVM, Social Justice Coordinator, St. Mary’s Catholic Church

Joan M. Cassiday, Eucharistic Minister, Christ the King Parish, Archdiocese of Portland

Sr. Patricia Nagle, IHM, Earth Home Ministries, Portland

Todd Schmidt, Youth Ministry Coordinator, St. Mary's Catholic Church

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Elder Audre Bratcher, First Christian Church, Portland

Rev. Roy L. Helms (Ret.), First Christian Church, Junction City

Episcopal

Tricia Dibblee, Lay Eucharistic Minister, St Bartholomew's Episcopal Church

Mary Eick, Candidate for Holy Orders, St. James Episcopal Church

Rev. Janis Hansen, Deacon, St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, Beaverton

Gail Holcomb, Stephen Minister, Member of the Outreach and Liturgical Committee, St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church

Rev. Laurence F. Mahon, Ordained Deacon, St Mark's Episcopal Church

Deacon Marla McGarry-Lawrence, St. Michael & All Angels Church

Barbara Tensen Ross, Christian Education Coordinator, Episcopal Diocese, of Portland

Rev. Stephen L. Schafroth, Deacon, St. Paul's Episcopal Church

Alice Speers, Convenor, Environmental Commission, Episcopal Diocese of Oregon

Bob Ullman, Eco Justice Leader, St. Michael and All Angels

Jewish

Rabbi Aryeh Hirschfield, Congregation P'nai Or

Rabbi Yizhak Husbands-Hankin, Temple Beth Israel

Lutheran

Rev. Mark Knudson, Augustana Lutheran Church

Jackie McQuiston, Administrative Supervisor for Morrison Child and Family Services, Eco Justice Leader, St. Luke Lutheran Church

Mardy Stevens, Congregational Coordinator, Trinity Lutheran Church

Presbyterian

Vernadine Anderson, Mission/Peace Caring for Creation Coordinator, Westminster Presbyterian

Warren Aney, Chair, Eco-Justice Team, Presbytery of the Cascades Congregational Support Committee

Rev. Ben Dake, First Presbyterian Church, Cottage Grove

Carolyn Lindsey, Eco Justice Leader, Westminster Presbyterian

Joan M. Pierson, Minister at Large, Presbytery of the Cascades

Virginia R Robertson, Board Member, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, Westminster Presbyterian Church

Martin Thompson, Elder, First Presbyterian Church, Corvallis

Rev. Woodley White, Milwaukie Presbyterian Church

Religious Society of Friends

Cherice Bock, Peace Education Coordinator, Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends

Ralph Beebe, Prof. of History Emeritus, George Fox College, Newberg Friends Church

Jim R. Leeman, Clerk, Peace, Justice and Earth Restored, Reedwood Friends Church

Stan Thornburg, Pastor, North Valley Friends Church

Unitarian Universalist

Sue Staehli, Chair, 2005 Global Warming and Climate Change Conference, First Unitarian Church

Joe Walicki, Chair, Green Sanctuary Program, Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Washington County

United Church of Christ

Eric Canon, Moderator, Forest Grove United Church of Christ

Chuck Currie, Seminarian, Central Pacific Conference United Church of Christ

Rev. Mary Sue Evers, Senior Pastor, Cedar Hills United Church of Christ

Hector E. Lopez, Conference Minister, Central Pacific Conference, United Church of Christ

Jim S. Martin, Moderator, First Congregational United Church of Christ of Ashland

Rev. Cecil Charles Prescod, Director, Public Voice for Peace/Love Makes A Family, Inc., United Church of Christ

Rev. Eugene Ross, Conference Minister, Central Pacific Conference, United Church of Christ

Karl Vercouteren, Pastor, United Church of Christ, Congregational, The Dalles

United Methodist Church

Rev. Ann Bateman, Minister for Servanthood First United Methodist Church, Corvallis

Helen Bennet, Lay Leader, Oregon City United Methodist Church

Pastor Craig Hall Cutting, First United Methodist Church, Albany

Connie Emuson, Chair, Staff-Parish Relations, Oregon City United Methodist Church

Pastor Tom W. Foster (Ret.), Portland First United Methodist Church

Lynne W. Furr, Member, Oregon-Idaho Chapter, Methodist Federation for Social Action

Rev. Vernon Groves, United Methodist, Tigard

Rev. Marcia Hauer, University Park United Methodist Church

Wayne Hill, Retired Minister, Chair of Oregon Interfaith Global Warming Campaign

Patricia S. Hine, M.S., Chair, Creation Care Action Group, First United Methodist Church

David Hites-Clabaugh, Trustee, Forest Grove United Methodist Church

Lucinda Hites-Clabaugh, Certified Lay Speaker, Forest Grove United Methodist Church

Rev. Lisa Jean Hoefner, Executive Director, Camp/Retreat Ministry, Oregon-Idaho Conference United Methodist Church

Louis Jones, Adult Study Leader and Liturgist, Clatskanie United Methodist Church

Sally Jones, Lay Member to Annual Conference, Clatskanie United Methodist Church

David Kenney, Chair, Planet Church Committee, First United Methodist Church

Rev. Paul LaRue, Chair, Church and Society Committee, United Methodist Church of Salem

Lorene J. Lindas, Stephen Ministry Leader, Oregon City United Methodist Church

Rev. Lorenz (Ret.), Hillsboro United Methodist

Rynn Mazur, Former Youth Director and Admin Board Member, Oregon City United Methodist Church

William McCummins, Administrative Council, First United Methodist Church, Salem

Rev. Dr. Ross Miller (Ret.), United Methodist Church of Portland

Rev. Karen Nelson, Pastor of Jason Lee United Methodist Church, Salem

Alice Norris, Chair, Finance Committee, Oregon City United Methodist Church, Mayor of Oregon City

Johnette Orpinela, Lay Leader, St. Paul's United Methodist Church

Marilyn J. Outslay, Chair of Outreach, Portland First United Methodist, Church,

Jane Petke, Camp Director, Suttle Lake United Methodist Camp

Rev. John E. Pitney, Associate Pastor, First United Methodist Church of Eugene

Rev. Barbara Schultz, United Methodist Deacon, Hillsboro United Methodist

Rev. Stuart R. Shaw, Retired Clergy, United Methodist Church, Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference, First United Methodist Church Charge Conference

Ueli Stadler, Lay Member, Lake Oswego UMC

Rev. Wesley Taylor, Pastor, Tualatin United Methodist Church

Rev. Kevin T. Witt, National Camp and Ministry Staff Person, United Methodist Church, General Board of Discipleship

Other

William Brault, Chaplain and Green Team Chair, Unity Church of Portland

Justin Brown, Economics Researcher/Scholar, Watson Foundation

Jeffrey Hammerlund, Chair, Political Affairs Committee, Earth and Spirit Council of Oregon

Jenny Holmes, Environmental Ministries Director, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, Portland

David Leslie, Executive Director, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon

Jackie McQuiston, Administrative Supervisor for Morrison Child and Family Services

Dr. Charles Nielsen, Professor Emeritus, Warner Pacific College, Ainsworth United Church of Christ

Rev. Frodo Okulam, Coordinator, SisterSpirit, Special Ministry of Region I, Metropolitan Community Church

Rev. Steve Witte, Executive Director, Oregon Farm Worker Ministry, Woodburn