Rescuing God's Creation
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ALERT: There will be NO "Rescuing God's Creation" gathering scheduled for early 2007.
Restoring Eden is a network of environmentally minded college students interested in combining their faith and their concern for nature. We regularly host five-day lobby training summits to defend the Arctic Refuge from unnecessary oil drilling.
Student leaders from around the country usually meet in Washington DC in early March.
Our goal is to build a community of activists, to inspire our faith in the Creator and to increase our voice for creation. We’ll gather together to learn how to “speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves” (Proverbs 31:8) as advocates for the wild habitat, native species and indigenous cultures of the Arctic.
We will become a community of concern for God’s creation. This is more than a student gathering: it is the start of a lifelong celebration of beauty, humility, and justice!
During this lobby training, we will:
1) Learn how environmental stewardship is part of a genuine and vibrant faith and establish that nature appreciation has a strong tradition in Christianity. You’ll meet Gwich’in Indian leaders who see their culture a sacred trust.
2) Expose the relentless assault against creation from globalization, consumerism and the political utilitarians. You will learn about the revoking of ancient forest protection, the pressure to drill in the Arctic for unneeded oil, and the weakening of protection for endangered species.
3) Discover how to outreach and campaign that makes a big difference for the earth. Learn how to put pressure on elected officials and develop skills in outreach and lobbying.
4) Become part of growing movement students actively work to change societies values towards the wonder of nature.
Here's an article a student wrote last year for her school paper:
Christian College Students Fight for What God Called "Good" -by Michelle Verner, WWU
Christian college students from around the nation stormed Capital Hill in early March to lobby Congress on the importance of protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil development.
The students were part of a student lobby training retreat hosted by Restoring Eden, a Christian environmental non-profit. They joined forces with the Alaska Coalition, the Alaska Wilderness League, and the Sierra Club to participate in Alaska Wilderness Week. All together, there were 80 constituents from 25 states, ranging from Washington, to Alaska, to Hawaii.
The group spent two days training on specifics about the Arctic Refuge and strategies on how to be more effective citizen lobbyists. They had the opportunity to hear first hand experiences from Gwich’in tribal members from Alaska and the Yukon Territory.
In addition to training and meeting their elected officals, the students attended three receptions - one at the Wilderness Society, a Senate awards night and an evening reception on the roof of the Canadian Embassy. *see bottom photo*
However, this was not just a learning experience for the students; this was also a time to fight to protect what they believe to be God’s pristine land. What is unique about these students is that drilling in the Arctic Refuge is not just an environmental issue but an issue deeply connected to their faith. They don’t see environmental stewardship and their faith as being separate matters, but believe that as Christians it is there responsibility to take care of what God called good.
According to Andrew Hoeksema, 21, a senior at Dordt
College in Iowa, environmental stewardship is an important part of his
faith because “God created the world around humans, full of meaning and
intrinsic value, that by being protected can continue to glorify God."
There is a growing number of Christian college students who share Hoeksema’s view on environmental stewardship. Peter Illyn, Executive Director of Restoring Eden, is noticing this growth as well.
“We are seeing environmental stewardship becoming a core value among Christian college students,” he said. “This is because this generation’s faith is becoming more holistic and community dependent.”
According to Illyn, this movement is growing because many college students are spending their summers on cross-cultural short-term mission trips where they see a clear connection between environmental desecration, poverty, and greed.
This has led students to begin speaking out against injustice, and these students are carrying a strong message of environmental stewardship: a message Congress has a hard time ignoring.
Bethany Updgraff, 23, a recent graduate of Bethel College, in MN, believes that this message is important for both Republicans and Democrats to hear. “This is not a partisan issue. It’s about an issue that is morally correct and economically correct and correct on every level.”
Updgraff believes that drilling in the Arctic is wrong because we would be defacing God’s great artwork. “It’s one of God’s fingerprints,” she said. “To drill there would be to erase that fingerprint.”
The importance of this Christian environmental message is acknowledged by the secular environmental world. Erik DuMont, National Field Director for the Alaska Wilderness League, was excited to see students with strong faith fighting for an issue they care about.
According to DuMont, these students help bring a new voice to the environmental message, a voice that Congressional Representatives don’t hear enough, if any. “This group of Christian college students forms a niche that isn’t covered by anyone else,” DuMont explains.
DuMont strongly believes that the issue over the Arctic is coming to a close. He only hopes that the stars will align and that the Arctic Refuge will be spared from drilling. But either way, Christian college students play a vital role in the battle to protect the Arctic Refuge for generations to come.