From Call to Action
Ecological Discipleship for a Green Future
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/rsth.42166Keywords:
Canadian Church, ecotheology, ethics, ministry, discipleshipAbstract
This paper critiques the four calls to action found in the 2018 joint declaration by the Roman Catholic and United Church of Canada, The Hope Within Us, and challenges notions of the Church as locus of ecological awareness and action, as the sacredness of the Church has been divorced for so long from the sacredness of Earth. Using insights on ecological conversion provided by Pope Francis in Laudato Si’, a new sense of discipleship and community is fostered to create the kind of Church needed to move from call to action. In dialogue with the communities it serves, the Church emerges as a leader in the conversation for critically engaging diverse voices and perspectives, devising a way forward that advocates for the rights of peoples and of natural resources.
References
Allen, Bonnie. 2019. “From Sacred to Secular: Canada Set to Lose 9,000 Churches, Warns National Heritage Group.” Toronto: Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC). 10 March. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/losing-churches-canada-1.5046812
Aquinas, Thomas. 2018. Summa Contra Gentiles. Greenbay, WI: Aquinas Institute.
Berry, Thomas. 2006. Evening Thoughts: Reflecting on Earth as Sacred Community. San Francisco, CA: Sierra Club.
Boothe, Paul and Félix A. Boudreault. 2016. “By the Numbers: Canadian GHG Emissions.” London, ON: Lawrence National Centre for Policy and Management. https://www.ivey.uwo.ca/cmsmedia/2112500/4462-ghg-emissions-report-v03f.pdf
Boyon, Nicholas and Julia Clark. 2017. “American and Global Views on Religion.” New York: Ipsos Reid. 11 October. https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/news-polls/global-advisor-views-on-religion-2017
Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA). 2019. “Frequently Requested Church Statistics.” Washington, DC: Georgetown University. https://cara.georgetown.edu/frequently-requested-church-statistics
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). 2020. “Ozone Layer Depletion: Montreal Protocol.” Ottawa: Government of Canada. 27 April. https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/corporate/international-affairs/partnerships-organizations/ozone-layer-depletion-montreal-convention.html
Environment and Natural Resources Canada (ENRC). 2020. “Greenhouse Gas Sources and Sinks: Executive Summary 2020.” Ottawa: Government of Canada. 22 June. https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/climate-change/greenhouse-gas-emissions/sources-sinks-executive-summary-2020.html
Hildegard of Bingen. 1990. Scivias. Translated by Columba Hart and Jane Bishop. New York: Paulist.
Hrynkow, Christopher. 2016. “Pope Francis and Respect for Diversity: A Mapping Employing a Green Theo-Ecoethical Lens.” New Blackfriars 99(1083): 601–621. https://doi.org/10.1111/nbfr.12254
———. 2018. “Faith-Filled Visions for a Vital Earth Community: Deep Sustainability, Theo-Ecoethics, and Laudato Si’.” Religious Studies and Theology 37(1): 47–65. https://doi.org/10.1558/rsth.30399
———. 2019. “‘A True Ecological Approach Always Becomes a Social Approach’: A Green Theo-Ecoethical Lens, Pope Francis’ Teaching, and Integral Social Justice.” Heythrop Journal 60: 585–599. https://doi.org/10.1111/heyj.12350
Hutchins, Aaron. 2015. “What Canadians Really Believe: A Surprising Poll.” Maclean’s. 26 March. https://www.macleans.ca/society/life/what-canadians-really-believe
Ipsos. 2010. “Ipsos Global Advisory: Is Religion a Force for Good in the World? Combined Population of 23 Major Nations Evenly Divided in Advance of Blair, Hitchens Debate.” New York: Ipsos Reid. https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/news-polls/ipsos-global-dvisory-religion-force-good-world-combined-population-23-major-nations-evenly-divided
Julian of Norwich. 1978. Showings. Translated by Edmund College and James Walsh. New York: Paulist.
May, Elizabeth. 2006. “When Canada Led the Way: A Short History of Climate Change.” Policy Options: The Public Forum for the Public Good. 1 October. https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/climate-change/when-canada-led-the-way-a-short-history-of-climate-change
McFague, Sallie. 1993. The Body of God: An Ecological Theology. Minneapolis: Fortress.
Meakin, Stephanie. 1992. “The Rio Earth Summit: Summary of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.” Ottawa: Government of Canada. http://publications.gc.ca/Collection-R/LoPBdP/BP/bp317-e.htm
Natural Resources Canada (NRC). 2020. “How Much Forest Does Canada Have?” Ottawa: Government of Canada. 5 March. https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/our-natural-resources/forests-forestry/state-canadas-forests-report/how-much-forest-does-canada-have/17601
Ormerod, Neil and Cristina Vanin. 2016. “Ecological Conversion: What Does it Mean?” Theological Studies 77(2): 328–352. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040563916640694
Pew Research Center (Pew). 2013. “Canada’s Changing Religious Landscape.” Washington, DC: Pew Research Center. 27 June. https://www.pewforum.org/2013/06/27/canadas-changing-religious-landscape
———. 2018. “Why America’s ‘Nones’ Don’t Identify with a Religion.” Washington, DC: Pew Research Center. 8 August. https://pewrsr.ch/2LVhDls
Pope Francis. 2015. Laudato Si’: On Care for our Common Home. Vatican City: Libreria. http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html
Revkin, Andrew C. 2008. “Special Report: Endless Summer – Living with the Greenhouse Effect.” Discover. 23 June. https://www.discovermagazine.com/environment/special-report-endless-summerliving-with-the-greenhouse-effect
Roman Catholic Church (RCC). 2000. Catechism of the Catholic Church. New York: Continuum.
Roman Catholic-United Church Dialogue [RCUCD]. 2018. The Hope Within Us: A Report on Climate Change by the Roman Catholic-United Church Dialogue in Canada. Ottawa/Toronto: Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops/United Church of Canada. https://www.united-church.ca/sites/default/files/resources/the_hope_within_us_2018.pdf
Rossing, Barbara R. 2005. The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation. New York: Basic Books.
Statistics Canada [SC]. 2018. “Canada Goes Urban.” Ottawa: Government of Canada. 17 May. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-630-x/11-630-x2015004-eng.htm
St. Gabriel’s Passionist Parish [SGPP]. 2020. “Green Church.” Toronto: St. Gabriel’s Passionist Parish. http://stgabrielsparish.ca/who-we-are/green-church
Swan, Michael. 2018. “Canadian Ecumenical Document Embraces Christian Concern for Environment.” National Catholic Reporter. 2 August. https://www.ncronline.org/news/earthbeat/canadian-ecumenical-document-embraces-christian-concern-environment
Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre. 1959. The Phenomenon of Man. Translated by Bernard Wall. New York: Harper.
United Church of Canada (UCC). 2006. A Song of Faith: A Statement of Faith of the United Church of Canada. Toronto: United Church of Canada. https://www.united-church.ca/community-faith/welcome-united-church-canada/song-faith
United Nations Climate Change (UNCC). 2015. Paris Agreement. New York: United Nations. 12 December. https://unfccc.int/files/essential_background/convention/application/pdf/english_paris_agreement.pdf
Wells, Harold. 1999. “The Flesh of God: Christological Implications for an Ecological Vision of the World.” Toronto Journal of Theology 15(1): 51–68. https://doi.org/10.3138/tjt.15.1.51
———. 2004. The Christic Center: Life-Giving and Liberating. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis.
———. 2012. “Climate Holocaust, Mortal Planet and Eschaton.” Touchstone 30(3): 7–20.
———. 2019. “The Good Creation: From Classical Theism to Ecotheology.” In The Theology of the United Church of Canada, edited by Don Schweitzer, Robert C. Fennell, and Michael Bourgeois, 77–100. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press.
White, Lynn. 1967. “The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis.” Science 155: 1203–1207. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.155.3767.1203