Little Books of Guidance
Finding answers to life’s big questions!
Also in the series:
How Do I Pray? by John Pritchard
What Does It Mean to Be Holy Whole? by Timothy F. Sedgwick
Why Suffering? by Ian S. Markham
How to Be a Disciple and Digital by Karekin M. Yarian
What Is Christianity? by Rowan Williams
Who Was Jesus? by James D.G. Dunn
Why Go to Church? by C. K. Robertson
How Can Anyone Read the Bible? by L. William Countryman
What Happens when We Die? by Thomas G. Long
What About Sex? by Tobias Stanislas Haller, BSG
What Do We Mean by ‘God’? by Keith Ward
How Can I Care for Creation? by Stephanie McDyre Johnson
How Can I Live Peacefully with Justice? by Mike Angell
Making Money Holy by Demi Prentiss
What Is Evangelism? by Patricia M. Lyons
Who Is My Neighbor? by Samira Izadi Page
The Way of Love: Go
The Way of Love: Turn
The Way of Love: Learn
The Way of Love: Pray
The Way of Love: Worship
The Way of Love: Bless
The Way of Love: Rest
STEPHANIE
MCDYRE JOHNSON
How Can
I Care for
Creation?
Copyright © 2019 Stephanie McDyre Johnson
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Church Publishing
19 East 34th Street
New York, NY 10016
Cover design by Jennifer Kopec, 2Pug Design
Typeset by Denise Hoff
A record of this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN-13: 9781640652088 (pbk.)
ISBN-13: 9781640652095 (ebook)
Printed in Canada
To my beloved children, Kyra and Robert,and to all future generations. I hope you know,in your hearts, that I tried to make a differencefor your sake, God’s sake, and all of creation.
Contents
2 
3
4
5
6
A Few Final Thoughts
A Mini-Retreat for Eco-Ministry
Notes
Resources for Creation Care
I grew up in the Hudson River Valley, in a small farming town about sixty miles north of New York City. When I imagine the Hudson River with its gently sloping hills and meandering riverbed, I feel a deep sense of connectedness to God’s earth. The seasons are vivid in the valley, from brightly colored red and orange leaves in the fall, to the mint green buds in the spring, the flourishing vibrancy of the summer growth, to the starkness of the winter snow against the barren trees.
It is here along the Hudson River where I experience a profound sense that God knows me and I know God. In the midst of creation there is but a small separation between heaven and earth; a thin space where the presence of the Divine is palpable.
This knowledge of God’s presence in nature is one that many people experience. When I lead talks on creation care, I invite people to reflect on where they most deeply experience God. Most often the response is tied to nature—on the top of a mountain, standing at the side of the ocean, in a quiet forest, or even an urban park. Sometimes these experiences of God in nature are memories that include childhood or family gatherings, a powerful reminder of our interdependent relationship with both people and nature.
My memories of the Hudson River Valley cover decades of my life. As a child I recall being on the Hudson Clearwater sloop, an educational experience led by environmental activist and folk musician Pete Seeger. Beginning in the 1960s and continuing until his death in 2014, Seeger was a leading voice in raising awareness of the fragility of the land, water, and air. He engaged people through both his music and environmental educational initiatives. With his vision, Seeger created an experience of sailing on the Clearwater as educators taught both sailors and guests about the ecology and environmental degradation of the river.
Thus my elementary school memories in the 1970s include a field trip on the Clearwater, learning about the pollution coming primarily from upstream factories. I would discover later that the pollution included PCBs, chemicals that were destroying fish, particularly the shad that had been running in the Hudson for centuries. But from that short field trip, I retained a searing memory of a polluted river that was essentially dead. Over the years that “educational sail” would come back to me as a stark reminder of the ability humans retain to nearly destroy the environment.
When I began a career as an environmental planner and educator, it became clear to me that local environmental issues