Tenders of the Garden
As Christians, we believe our world was created by God in beauty and wholeness. We imagine creation working as intended - as a sustainable system, not only for our responsible use but also with intrinsic worth for the glory of God. We take seriously the charge given to humans in Genesis to care for the garden as being profoundly necessary to both the well-being of the garden itself and the thriving welfare of humankind. Truly, we cannot divorce the well-being of humans from the well-being of creation.
We believe that our call to love God is, in part, to faithfully care for the things of God. We do this through partnerships with environmental organizations such as A Rocha. We are committed to conserving energy use on property through state of the art energy systems. We have also invested in growing native species of plants throughout our property. As we honor our property we also hope welcoming pollinators and useful insects will bless the neighborhood around us. By valuing, conserving, and caring for God’s creation, his workmanship, we put into action our love of God. While our call to care is not limited to creation, creation care is an integral part of our expression of faith.
God blesses us through the earth and all within it. In nature we find gifts of life, healing, and wonder that sustains us physically, mentally, and spiritually. Our call to stewardship fills us with joyful, hopeful reverence!
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.– Wendell Berry
Resources for Continued Exploration
- Blessed Earth: Hope for Humanity by Matthew Sleeth, MD
- The Art of Loading Brush - New Agrarian Writings by Wendell Berry
- Planet Wise: Dare to Care for God’s World by Dave Bookless
- L is for Lifestyle: Christian Living that Doesn’t Cost the Earth by Ruth Valerio
- Keeping God’s Earth: The Global Environment in Biblical Perspective by Noah J. Toly and Daniel I. Block
- Creation Care: A Biblical Theology of the Natural World by Douglas J. Moo and Jonathan A. Moo
- All Creation Waits: Advent Mystery of New Beginnings by Gayle Boss
- Refugia Faith: Seeking Hidden Shelters, Ordinary Wonders, and the Healing of the Earth by Debra Reinstra
- The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey