Disciple: The Value of Creation Care

A young perspective on our priority work

By Vivian Shillingsburg

If the supreme disaster of our times is the closing down of the life systems of the earth, then the supreme need of our times is to bring about a healing of the earth.

- Thomas Berry

Every day I think about how God looks upon the world that humans have made out of the world he created for us. Is this the place that he imagined for us? Is this the way that he intended for us to use the earth? Is there a reason why everything in nature seems to be deteriorating and suffering? These are questions I ponder often.

The Creation Care mission of The Episcopal Church is one of the most critical missions that we have. The importance of engaging and educating our diocese in nature and the environment is crucial, and it is personally my favorite mission to participate in and learn about. I appreciate the different ways that parishes across North Carolina have interpreted Creation Care. Last November at the 208th Annual Convention, we watched a video that highlighted churches across the state and how they engaged their parishes in Creation Care. This video included everything from community gardens to nature walk worship. As a young person who cares a lot about the environment, seeing these activities and the great interest in Creation Care from all over the state, my faith in the direction of the health of the environment was restored.

The health and longevity of the environment is something that is extremely important and a topic about which my generation feels especially strongly. I believe it is our duty, as God’s people, to maintain and love the place that he created for us to live, and I also believe that we have not done our best to fulfill this responsibility. My generation has seen our planet in the worst condition it has ever been, and we intend to reverse the effects that past generations have inflicted on the environment. The Creation Care mission should be the mindset of all people in the world because we have one extraordinary planet to live on, and we have a responsibility to take care of it, as it has done for us.

The value of Creation Care is that no one person is doing every single thing that scientists are telling us we need to do in order to keep the planet healthy. It is a collective approach that allows for different parishes to focus on what they feel is going to make the biggest impact.

Whether it is planting trees on Earth Day or an EYC hiking trip, an impact is being made. The same concept applies to your personal daily life as well. No person has to take on the responsibility of saving the world, and there is no need to make an entire lifestyle change to make an impact. Doing small things like using more recyclable or reusable products or composting can make a difference. Creation Care not only teaches all generations of people the importance of taking care of the planet, but it also inspires people to take further steps to make a difference.

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Vivian Shillingsburg is a member of the diocesan Chartered Committee for Youth (CCY). Contact her via the communications department.