Conference Creation Care Team Chair, the Rev. Pat Watkins, presented “The Biblical Foundation Study for Why We Care for God’s Creation” to the breakout gathering assembled. As a long-assigned missionary, Watkins said that caring for God’s creation and people simultaneously can be a challenge.
Watkins introduced three biblical stories to teach the responsibility Christians have to care for creation: the Garden of Eden, Cain and Abel, and Noah. In each of the stories, God reserves ownership of the land, while engaging in relationship with each family and the earth. Human disobedience in each of the stories results in negative consequences for the land.
God’s love of creation calls forth God’s covenant to never destroy creation by flood again. Watkins notes that people of faith also have a response to God: to make a covenant to care for the earth, because it belongs to God. As people of God, Christians are called to embrace caring for creation as a core theology of who we are.
Watkins introduced Steve Jurokovics, author of Hospitable Planet, who would be available for conversation at the Creation Care table, and noted the UMW’s use of his book as a creation study resource.