This past weekend, Kira Langendoen (Redeemer University College), Mark Mares (Hope College), and Ben Lowe (Renewal) got together at the Jubilee Conference in Pittsburgh, PA, to lead a workshop and set up our Renewal display.
The Jubilee Conference is an annual gathering of several thousand Christian students from up to 75 campuses organized by the Coalition for Christian Outreach. We partnered with Dr. Rusty Pritchard (Co-Founder of Flourish) in our workshop – entitled “Dispatches from the Creation Care Movement” – to share about the growing environmental stewardship initiatives being led by Christian students across the United States and Canada.
It was a fruitful three days of fellowship and learning, and we were encouraged to meet so many of our peers who care about God’s creation and expressed an interest in getting involved with Renewal.
“I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.” “So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” —A conversation between Frodo and Gandalf, The Fellowship of the Ring
Our world is in a mess. Have you seen the signs?
I (Ben Lowe here!) turn 25 this year and - in my relatively short and sheltered lifetime - I’ve already witnessed too much destruction and suffering. Now, I haven’t experienced most of it personally (except for a severe bout with malaria and some other less-than-charming intestinal parasites), but that’s merely because I was born into a good family as a citizen of the reigning global empire.
Even so, I’ve witnessed how we blow up entire mountains in Appalachia to get at a narrow seam of coal underneath. I’ve seen street children with swollen bellies picking through mounds of garbage for food. I’ve seen forests burning, rivers dying, and wells drying up. I’ve also seen the reports and bleak predictions for our future – the future that I’m inheriting.
Is it possible to fix these problems? Do we still stand a chance? At Renewal, we hear these questions a lot and we can certainly relate to the feeling. It’s easy to despair and feel overwhelmed. But whenever we need inspiration, we look to our peers and see a faith, passion, and activism that energizes us. Our generation has a big role to play today and we have the power to bring real, lasting good.
The role of students and campuses is especially important here. As we all grapple with contemporary problems like climate change and biodiversity extinction, the church often looks to Christian colleges and seminaries for wisdom and leadership. After all, these are the places where much of the scholarship, writing, and organizing originates from. These institutions are also training grounds for thousands of Christian students who, every summer and after graduation, are sent out in waves to go make a difference for Christ.
As we continue to mobilize around the environmental and human crises of today, I’m reminded of Wilberforce and his campaign to outlaw slavery in England. Not too long ago they released an inspiring film on this story called Amazing Grace. In it, the young Prime Minister William Pitt tells his abolitionist friend Wilberforce that, “we’re too young to realize that certain things are impossible, so we’ll do them anyway.”
I think there’s a lot of truth to that. They eventually succeeded in the huge task before them and, by the grace of God, so will we.
Hi folks! I'm Anna Jane, the coordinator for Renewal- brought on to support Renewal's efforts! I am so thankful for this opportunity and thrilled to be a part of the growing community of Christians answering the call to care for God's creation!
During the first few weeks of Renewal, I've felt an incredible amount of God's grace on these efforts. And what a great start we've had! Just last weekend, over 50 Christian students gathered at Eastern University to get inspired and equipped to lead our communities in just and compassionate stewardship of God's creation. Meeting so many young Christian leaders engaged in creation care from around the country truly encouraged me! God has great things in store for this community, as we work together for the renewal of His creation!
What's more, on October 29th the students of Renewal are calling for Christians around the globe to join hands and hearts to pray for the renewal of God's creation! This collective prayer is being expressed in a variety of creative ways including art walls, classroom prayers, silent vigils, mid-day campus gatherings, creation care Bible studies and mealtime prayers for God's creation!
Folks around the world are taking part in this momentous occasion! Committed Christians from France to Oklahoma to Seattle to Thailand to North Carolina are joining together in prayer- as come we together as a community to express gratitude for God's amazing creation and seek forgiveness, wisdom, and leadership in our endeavors to care for the earth, as well as each other.
