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  Bishop Andrew  Dietsche of the Episcopal Diocese of New York was installed as the 16th Bishop of New York in February 2013 at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan. There has been a history of environmental adversity faced by the diocese, but New York has been effective in taking action and making it a point to head those challenges. Situated on the Hudson River Valley, it poses unique problems as an important agricultural region. This has resulted in congregations being involved in sustainable agriculture and issues of water pollution for a very long time. A Diocesan Committee on the Environment has been formed and  the Diocese  appointed a staff Disaster Response Coordinator and formed a Disaster Management Team,  in the wake of superstorms Irene and Sandy and similar disasters in the future. Through these organizations they are able to provide food, shelter, and clothing in all parts of the diocese, and prepare for what comes next, which has been an unfortunate direct result of climate change. It has become a primary goal to make congregations sustainable, to begin education putting environmental issues like food, water, and energy in the sacramental context of Baptism, Eucharist, and the sacred space of the buildings. The Diocese of New York has also made moves to transition to alternative forms of fuel and renewable energy, as every church will be conducting thorough energy audit and implementing conservation measures, committing to reduce greenhouse gasses and lowering operating costs. Bishop Dietsche has appointed a Task Force to make recommendations on how every congregation and the diocese as a whole can invest in socially and environmentally responsible ways. In addition, the committees have begun a study and evaluation process to provide every congregation with guidelines for socially and environmentally responsible investing. Bishop Dietsche is quoted to say, “Now, more than ever, members of our church are ready, willing and able to put their belief into action and practice as stewards of our environment.  As Christians, we have a unique and integral, spiritual relationship with our environment.” and supports congregations that choose to take action and create positive changes within their own communities. He has recognized the amazing enthusiasm of the members of his diocese to make the necessary changes and deliver on ways to make it happen. Prior to his ordination, Bishop Dietsche was a freelance graphic designer. He still continues this passion as an award winning cartoonist for the Episcopal New Yorker. The Eco-bishops will be gathering in Cape Town, South Africa to look at how the Anglican Communion can better respond to environmental challenges and climate change. If you would like to send them a message or a challenge please email Canon Ken Gray at [email protected] or else join Anglican Eco-Bishops on Facebook and post a message. Willie Lutes is an intern with Green Anglicans from the Young Adult Service Corps of the Episcopal Church.

Bishop Jane  was born in England and worked as a music teacher As a child she was forbidden from attending any religious classes at school by her father. It was not until she was 25 that she was baptized with her eldest child in the Church of England. She moved  to Canada in the 90’s where she achieved a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and a Masters in Theological studies. She was consecrated as Bishop of Edmonton in 2008. Environmental challenges are very close to Bishop Jane’s heart. Alberta’s oil sands are among Canada’s largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions, and are also responsible for deforestation, contaminated tailing ponds, and the use of large quantities of water. While the majority of Alberta’s oil production takes place north of the diocese, Edmonton is a center for refineries. She calls for a balance to be found between the economy, the national use of petroleum products, and our care of creation.  Local campaigners and  Alberta First Nations are concerned about water pollution, destruction of animal habitat and oil sands industry encroachment on their traditional territories. Global concerns centre on the climate change impact. Through all the problems we must look forward to making positive changes. The Bishop says there has been “a ‘divorce’ between ourselves and creation.” Our mindset can shift from viewing “creation as a resource to be used up” to a positive outlook of care and respect. She has been encouraged by discussions and actions among young people who have a refreshing interest in doing things differently. She calls for the need of repentance and for the start of a new conversation. Willie Lutes

  Bishop Nick Holtam has been invited by the Church of England to be the Bishop with a special portfolio for the Environment, and has been dubbed the “Bishop of the Planet”. He began  his public ministry in the Diocese on 15 October 2011, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1980. His studies include geography and theology and he is husband to Helen and father to four adult children, David, Timothy, Sarah and Philip. This year on St. Francis Day, Bishop Holtam participated in worship at The Living Churchyard Project and celebrate in the midst of the open air and wildlife. The Living Churchyard Project has involved more than 100 churches competing for the creation of “wildlife-friendly churchyards,” encompassing both urban and rural settings. The initiative in churchyards has shown a rich resource in Britain, around 6,000 churchyards have established practices void of pesticides and keeping grass short. These routines develop places where insects, birds, bats, reptiles and many other forms of organisms can have a place to live. The norm is to take away these natural habitats and niches in the name of urban development, which are vital for many species to survive and thrive. Bishop Holtam has been quoted as saying, “there is a convergence for the world’s faith in caring for God’s Earth” and spoke in a recent sermon reflecting on words showing the way to relate and be at peace with the whole Earth is to begin with ourselves our neighbors surrounding us without limit. For a Christian, care begins with prayer and a matter of the spirit, which leads into action. It is easy to lose hope while looking at the decline of populations around the world, but the Church of England’s lead bishop of the environment has hope with faith and the strong efforts through the Church. From graffiti the Bishop noticed in a London station saying, “If you don’t believe the environment is more important than the economy, see how long you can hold your breath for whilst counting your money” to the environmental declaration from the Lambeth Conference in 2009, calling on local and international action to live sustainably and reduce climate changing activities, he emphasizes the importance to continue to think and act locally and globally with a environmentally guided minds. The Eco-Bishops will be gathering in Feb under the leadership of Archbishop Thabo Magkoba to look at how  climate change and other environmental issues can be prioritised in the Anglican Communion. Willie Lutes  

Green Anglicans attend a “Change Makers Design Shop” Green Anglicans joined around 30 change makers from around the country gathered to co-design campaigns tackling socio- economic issues from the roots up. The Anglican Church of Southern Africa’s Environmental Network addresses environmental issues in the province by supporting churches and Dioceses with the goal of becoming eco-friendly and fulfilling Gods call to Earth Keeping. However this will not be successful unless we have a strategy to bring this vision to the churches. Jonathan Hobosch and I attended the “Change Makers Design Shop”, a week long workshop designing campaigns to tackle issues that are undermining peace and environmental justice at the root in the context of Southern Africa.  One of the issues that we find as a challenge in the Anglican Church is to encourage sustainable ways of living in our churches including the use of water and electricity and incorporating care for creation in our worship. The challenge of earth keeping within scripture and the reality of environmental factors involves understanding the injustice of the depletion of natural resources in the country but also recognising the impact caused by churches. “Change Makers” equipped us with skills and resources we can use to find solutions to our issues in the church. We were able to draw up a diagram that will give us a guideline towards our goal, to find out why we need to bring about change and what are the issues that need assistance. We learned the theory of change which is a process which includes outlining the building blocks required to reach our goal and also evaluating our mandate. At the end of the workshop we realised that all of this can be achieved if we are rooted in faith and shaped in scripture which shows us how we need to take care of creation.   -Ncumisa Magadla

Hearing the voice of Indigenous People: we need to add something to our Theology to go forward in an Earth-friendly way.  The Right Rev. Mark MacDonald became the Anglican Church of Canada’s first National Indigenous Anglican Bishop in 2007, after serving as bishop of Alaska for ten years.Before his ordination as a bishop, MacDonald was Canon Missioner for training in the Diocese of Minnesota. He is the board chair for Church Innovations, Inc., and a third order Franciscan. The Anglican Church of Canada have highlighted the intersection of the environment and Indigenous rights as a place of particular struggle, with resource extraction and deforestation adding to poverty and stress, and disrupting communities that have lived in tune with the forest and its ways for generations. Bishop Mark says the following: “We need to evaluate the impact of the globalizing culture of finance and technology on the Church – in our spirituality, theology, and cosmology; The increasing alienation of human culture from the rest of Creation is a cruel paradox of the incredible advances of our knowledge in a technocratic age – the more we seem to learn, the deeper our alienation from the rest of life. This has caused a profound, lasting, and distorted perception of Creation among many Christian groups”.   “For many modern observers, it appears that we must add something to our theology to go forward in an earth-friendly way.  I do not believe that this will solve the deep roots of our growing ecological alienation.  Although adding something is certainly in order, discovering what we have lost is urgent.  If I may say, Indigenous people, Christian and non-Christian, can help with this rediscovery.  Their difficulties in modern times are directly related to their refusal to abandon traditional cosmologies, even as they update them with modern knowledge.” Among Bishop MacDonald’s published works are: “Native American Youth Ministries,” co-authored with Dr. Carol Hampton and published in Resource Book for Ministries with Youth and Young Adults, the Episcopal Church Center, New York, NY, 1995 “It’s in the Font: Sacramental connections between faith and environment,” Soundings, July 6, 1994, Vol. 16, No. 5 A Strategy for Growth for the Episcopal Church: Joining Multiculturalism and Evangelism, Inter-Cultural Ministry Development, San José, Calif., 1994. Bishop MacDonald has co-edited The Chant of Life: Inculturation and the People of the Land (Liturgical Studies IV), Church Publishing Company, 2003    

St Mark’s Diocese in Polokwane is situated in the northern part of South Africa. They are known as a Diocese that tries new things and for their clergy retreat this year, they held an Eco-retreat. We allowed time to listen to God’s speaking to us through nature. “The heavens declare the glory of God;     the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech;     night after night they reveal knowledge. 3 They have no speech, they use no words;     no sound is heard from them. 4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,     their words to the ends of the world. Psalm 19:1-4   The theme for the first day was water , and our early morning Eucharist was held next to a trickling water feature. In the Bible study and personal reflection we considered the spiritual value of water and how we can contribute to water justice in our communities. In our evening worship a moving ceremony of forgiveness was held , using water to release our pain, while Taize music gently played. On day two we worshipped under a tree and considered how we can put down roots into God in order to give good fruit. The third day followed the theme of land and  we considered the covenant between people, God and land and how we can best use church land for God and God’s people. In our afternoon sessions we walked! The beautiful setting of Ave Maria retreat centre afforded us beautiful views as we walked the stations of the cross on one day and the Emmaus walk the second day. In the evenings we watched inspiring videos about water and forests and were challenged by the reality of Climate change. It was a joy to listen to God through nature!! “There are things about God that people cannot see—his eternal power and all that makes him God. But since the beginning of the world, those things have been easy for people to understand. They are made clear in what God has made. Rom 1:20”   A few comments from clergy who participated: “I didn’t know that this thing of the environment is Christian, but now I understand that it is part of my ministry” “I feel refreshed and inspired to bring care for creation into my church worship”