Betty Dotson-Lewis posts at The Daily Yonder:
The Preacher, Rob Fuquay, announced that Williamson United Methodist Church would be conducting a three-week experimental series called “Church without Walls.” The first sermon of this series was delivered Sunday. I was sure the Rev. Fuquay had West Virginia, mountaintop removal, and me in mind when he began quoting scripture. It didn’t seem a problem that I had not met the Preacher personally, that he didn’t know my name, or even that I was a Southern Baptist. I had talked to God about mountaintop removal. I had also written to our new President. I didn’t know who would answer first.
One of the first Bible verses the Preacher quoted was from Numbers 35:34: “Don’t desecrate the land in which you live. I, God, live in the same neighborhood with the People of Israel.” The Preacher said that according to Biblical teachings we are in charge of the earth.**
We do not own it, but it is our responsibility to care for our environment. Again he quoted scripture, Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the LORD’S, and everything in it, the world and all who live in it.”
Following hymns, taking up the offering and introducing a new church member, the Preacher told us he was deviating from the sermon as originally planned. Instead, Michael Lindsey, a church member and member of the church’s Green Team, joined the Preacher on the pulpit for discussion of the environment.
Read the whole thing. The Daily Yonder's environmental page is going on my feed reader today...
** [PS: I recommend you read this particular passage in context. While often used as a reference to protecting the environment, "defiling the land" refers not to pollution but to shedding innocent blood, and Levitical laws related to cities of refuge. The fact that God dwells with His people is, however, a good reminder to consider how we live our lives.]
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