Environmentally conscious Christians will gather on February 12-14, 2010, at Laurelville for Creation Care: Stewards of the Earth. The event represents a joint effort by the Church of the Brethren, Mennonite Mutual Aid and Laurelville, and it will allow participants to explore ways in which churches can more fully embrace God’s call to care for the Earth.

Luke Gascho and David Radcliff will serve as keynote speakers for the three-day event. Gascho heads the Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College in Wolf Lake, Indiana, and is a leading voice in the Mennonite Creation Care Network. Radcliff is Director of the New Community Project, an eco-justice collaborative based in Elgin, Illinois, that examines the impact of development and consumerism on individuals, communities, and the environment.

Laurelville views offering a space for dialogue as central to its purpose. “With creation care discussions increasingly taking the floor in many congregations,” says Angela Dietzel, Program Director at Laurelville, “we hope that this event allows leaders to freely approach the deeper questions of how to care for creation as an expression of faith.”

The event will present tangible ways to engage others in creation care practice. “Our goal is to equip leaders to return home with new ideas and resources to stimulate action in their churches and communities,” explains Carol Bowman.

Bowman is Coordinator of Stewardship Formation & Education for the Church of the Brethren and a leading contributor to the event. She notes that her upbringing in Nigeria helped provide her with a healthy perspective on environmental stewardship.

“Too often we view stewardship as pertaining only to money. But the Bible is clear that we are also called to be stewards of God’s creation. We do not own the earth; we are responsible for its care,” says Bowman.

Beryl Jantzi, Stewardship Education Director at MMA, has collaborated with Bowman over the past several months. “We have been looking at a more holistic approach to stewardship education,” says Jantzi. “This is a great opportunity to reach congregational leaders and others who are concerned about the environment and eager to make a positive impact.”

Both Jantzi and Bowman are hopeful this event will lead to further collaboration and increased environmental stewardship efforts within Brethren and Mennonite congregations.

“I am encouraged by grassroots efforts to live sustainably that are motivated by faith and in response to God’s call to care for creation,” says Bowman, citing a sustainable living homestead founded by Tom Benevento and others in Harrisonburg, Virginia. A forum like Creation Care, she believes, might prove the impetus to similar creative responses throughout both denominations.