Gulf Oil Disaster: Interfaith's Great Ecological Awakening

Green religion movement hopes spill wins converts by JOHN FLESHER (AP) – 10 hours ago

NEW ORLEANS — Where would Jesus drill?

Religious leaders who consider environmental protection a godly mission are making the Gulf of Mexico oil spill a rallying cry, hoping it inspires people of faith to support cleaner energy while changing their personal lives to consume less and contemplate more.

"This is one of those rare moments when you can really focus people's attention on what's happening to God's creation," said Walt Grazer, head of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment.

...And believers in the stricken coastal regions are looking at the consequences of the oil's reach and asking what good can come out of it.

"I actually didn't think I would be as deeply affected as I was by seeing oil in the water, the birds with oil stains, the marsh grass that had turned a shiny brown," said the Rev. Jim Ball of the Evangelical Environmental Network, who recently toured Louisiana's Barataria Bay by boat.

Another delegation was scheduled to arrive in New Orleans on Tuesday for an interfaith prayer service and tour. Among the participants are Jim Wallis of the progressive Christian group Sojourners and Rabbi David N. Saperstein of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. Both have served on President Barack Obama's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

Their appearance is being coordinated with the Sierra Club, which has forged alliances with organized religion since its former director, Carl Pope, acknowledged in a 1997 speech the environmental movement had erred by shunning such ties.

"Different people have credibility with different segments of the population," said Lindsey Moseley, the group's Washington representative. "The oil spill is ultimately a matter of values, which for many people are rooted in deeply held religious beliefs."

Organizations including the National Council of Churches and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have issued statements calling for soul-searching. Some are providing ecologically themed online resources — prayers, liturgy, scripture readings — for use in worship services.

"We have used God's creation without regard for the impact our rapacity had on the other creatures with whom we share our earthly home," reads a model prayer on the Council of Churches' website.

The push for an ecological Great Awakening since the oil spill began in April has come from liberals as well as theologically conservative groups such as the Evangelical Environmental Network, which previously sponsored an ad campaign with the slogan "What Would Jesus Drive?" that called for more fuel-efficient vehicles.

In a resolution this month, the Southern Baptist Convention declared that humanity's "God-given dominion over the creation is not unlimited, as though we were gods and not creatures" and called for "energy policies based on prudence, conservation, accountability and safety."

"Caring for creation is an extension of loving your neighbor as yourself," said Russell Moore, dean of Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Ky., who wrote the statement.

...The disaster may help replace longstanding divisions based on dogma or culture with "a new kind of consensus that isn't liberal or conservative, left or right, but focuses on stewardship of creation, care for the poor and accountability for corporate leaders," Wallis said.

See more on the Endless Eruption in the Gulf of Mexico.