In November of 2012, the Jamaica Call to Action was produced by participants at the Lausanne Consultation on Creation Care and the Gospel held in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The summary document quickly became the guiding manifesto for evangelical Christians engaged in creation care, and led to the formation of the Lausanne/WEA Creation Care Network, a group that now has members in more than 140 countries. 

It has been 12 years and the world has changed in unimaginable ways. This year, we have experienced a global pandemic, which has spread to more than 40 million people worldwide and killed over 1.1 million people. This year, we have also seen some of the worst floods in over 50 years displace hundreds of millions of people in Bangladesh, China and India and other parts of Asia. East Africa yet again faces dire food insecurity due to a long-standing drought that will continue into next year due to climate change. We have watched 4 million acres of forests burn in California alone. We know the cumulative costs of environmental and climate breakdown has been enormous. ​Counting The Cost 2019: A Year Of Climate Breakdown, a report by Christian Aid, concluded that climate change related disasters killed thousands of people and cost almost $150 billion in 2019 alone. Adding to this crisis, a 2019 study by the United Nations Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform On Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services determined that a million plant and animal species are at high risk of extinction and nature’s ability to regenerate its services are now severely compromised due to human behavior. 

Scientific understanding is in many cases clearer, as are the consequences of human actions and inaction. The church globally is generally more aware of the issue, but with some significant exceptions and obstacles to taking a moral stand on the issue of creation care. We are at a crossroads and it requires that we examine and renew our commitments to care for God’s creation. 

In that light, the Lausanne/WEA Creation Care Network and the Loka Initiative at UW-Madison are convening three separate consultations to review the original Jamaica Call to Action through the lenses of evangelical theology, environmental science, and creation care practice in order to revitalize creation care as an important pillar for the Church. We believe whole-heartedly that connecting and empowering the next generation of Christian leaders to become stewards and advocates of creation care and climate action is absolutely crucial for turning the tide around. These convenings are designed to contribute to and reinvigorate creation care movements around the world, including the United States. The convenings are guided by the following statement from the Cape Town Commitment: 

“We are also commanded to care for the earth and all its creatures, because the earth belongs to God, not to us. We do this for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ who is the creator, owner, sustainer, redeemer and heir of all creation… If Jesus is Lord of all the earth, we cannot separate our relationship to Christ from how we act in relation to the earth. For to proclaim the gospel that says ‘Jesus is Lord’ is to proclaim the gospel that includes the earth, since Christ’s Lordship is over all creation. Creation care is thus a gospel issue within the Lordship of Christ. The Cape Town Commitment II-B-6, I-7

This three-day event has been organized by Reverend Ed Brown (Care of Creation), Reverend Dave Bookless (A Rocha) and Dekila Chungyalpa (Loka Initiative, University of Wisconsin) with advice from Chris Elisara (World Evangelical Alliance).

A Rocha

A Rocha is a Christian organization engaging communities in nature conservation. A Rocha responds to the global crisis of biodiversity loss by carrying out community-based conservation projects. It integrates science-based conservation with biblical values to implement a number of projects including practical measures for conserving and restoring habitats and their fauna and flora, environmental education and community outreach, and working with churches on climate action. For more information, please visit their website at: https://www.arocha.org/en/ 

Care of Creation

Care of Creation’s mission is to pursue a God-centered response to environmental challenges that brings glory to the Creator, advances the cause of Christ, and leads to a transformation of the people and the land that sustains them. As an organization, it exists to help Christians mature in their faith and take a deeper look at the scriptural basis for creation care as we speak at seminars, conferences, and other speaking engagements. For more information, please visit their website at: http://www.careofcreation.net. 

Loka Initiative

The Loka Initiative is a cross-disciplinary program at the University of Wisconsin – Madison and the Center for Healthy Minds that provides an education and outreach platform for faith leaders, culture keepers of indigenous traditions, and religious institutions. Its mission is to support faith-led environmental efforts locally and around the world through collaborations on capacity building, project management, and public outreach with faith leaders and religious institutions focused on environmental and climate issues. For more information, please visit their website at: https://centerhealthyminds.org/loka-initiative. You can also sign up for the Loka newsletter by clicking here.

These convenings would not be possible without the generous support of The Fetzer Institute. The Fetzer Institute believes in the possibility of a loving world: 

A world where we understand we are all part of one human family and know our lives have purpose. In the world we seek, everyone is committed to courageous compassion and bold love—powerful forces for good in the face of fear, anger, division, and despair.

For more information on their programs, please visit their website: https://fetzer.org/work.

Partners

Speakers, technical and staff support have been kindly provided by Loka Initiative and WEA partners: A Rocha, Climate Nexus, EcoAmerica, Evangelical Environmental Network, Green the Church, Nelson Institute of Environmental Studies, Ocean Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, Center for Healthy Minds, and the Global Health Institute.