Connecting faith to the earth
The 5th mark of mission for the worldwide Anglican Communion is:
“To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and to sustain and renew the life of the earth.”
The Holy Trinity “Earthing Faith” initiative is offered in order to help us to reflect on God through our connection as human beings with all of nature. This, in turn, will help us to discover and grow in closeness with God who lives at the heart of all living things and whose immanence shimmers though all creation. A vital offshoot of this work is to learn to live in more sustainable ways for the sake of humanity and all of nature.
Aims of our Earthing Faith Work
- Connect: To re-establish a connection between us as human beings living on the planet now and the Earth and all living things.
- Live sustainably: To increase our awareness of how God supports us in our lives through the Earth and how we can live sustainably. In this context ‘sustainably’ means “let’s live on the planet as if we mean to stay here”.
- Take responsibility: To accept our individual and collective responsibility for stopping environmental destruction, while increasing our understanding of the underlying issues such as economy, environment and justice.
- Take action: To change the way we live and work as a church and as individuals; to rethink our environmental impact, and to enhance the parts of the world for which we’re responsible.
- Make amends: To spiritually, ritually, liturgically and practically work to heal past environmental damage.
- Deepen in faith: To learn once again that through the Earth God will nourish us spiritually and physically if we allow it.