Standing L-R: Amber Culley, Ontario, United Church of Canada; Jane Dow, Minnesota Conference UCC; John Gardner, Indiana-Kentucky Conference UCC, Kathy Douglass, Ontario, United Church of Canada, Ryan Henderson, New York Conference UCC; Mike Mulberry, Michigan Conference UCC; Lisa Hart, Wisconsin Conference UCC; Sheri Nelson, Minnesota Conference UCC; Robert Ullman, Wisconsin Conference UCC; Ashley Russell, Wisconsin Conference UCC; Johanna Landowski, Wisconsin Conference UCC; Kneeling: John Helt, Wisconsin Conference UCC; Lea Ann Skogberg, Illinois Conference UCC
People from two UCCs — the United Church of Christ in the US as well as the United Church of Canada — came to Wisconsin in August from states and provinces all around the Great Lakes for a special gathering at UCCI’s Cedar Valley Retreat Center (West Bend). They met to explore how shared faith and the awareness of the importance of shared water resources – the Great Lakes and their watershed – could provide the basis for close collaboration. The group met under the aegis of the Great Lakes Collaborative, which formed through a meeting of members of several UCC conferences a year ago in Michigan.
With them, they brought their accounts of bodies of water that are near and dear to them: a pond and creek where a beloved elder taught them to fish, a great river that created an intriguing boundary and invitation to travel, a marsh full of waterfowl, a lake for paddling and swooning at the cry of the loon. These experiences, and the awareness that they represent a vast watershed and a shared home, inspired the work of the group.
Diverse faith resources informed the gathering:
- Indigenous wisdom, as represented by Braiding Sweetgrass author Robin Wall Kimmerer, who has asked “What kind of ancestor do we want to be?” (How do we care for the blessings of Creation that future generations will inherit?)
- Spiritual ancestors like Julian of Norwich, remind us to be regular, constant, and persistent in our spiritual practice.
- Social activists, like Margaret Mead, who urged, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has”; and climate activists like Bill McKibben, who remind us, “Stop acting like an individual; join with others!”
- Examples that fill the Gospel accounts, like that of the persistent widow that Jesus spoke of in Luke 18:1-8.
Perhaps most valuable of all was time spent around meal tables and campfire, sharing stories and in worship, singing songs of the movement fighting fossil fuels. The group pledged to meet regularly online to take the next steps and to challenge the congregations in the regions we represent to adopt a body of water near them as water protectors and to plan another in-person gathering in the future.
Some of the specific issues addressed at the gathering included:
- Pipeline pollution of the Great Lakes – Enbridge Line 5. (See articles below about the documentary, “Bad River,” and the book We Are Water Protectors.)
- Plastics pollution crisis (To be covered in-depth in the upcoming October edition of the Kairos Newsletter)
Putting It All Together
Wisconsin Conference Creation Care Team co-chair Rev. John Helt encouraged the group to make use of the UCC’s 2020 Kairos Call to Action, which encourages grounding climate action in faith communities. John underscored the calls to churches to become “mobilization hubs” for climate justice work, and to share the success stories of our advocacy to strengthen the hopeful witness of others. He suggested that the Great Lakes Collaborative could become such a “mobilization hub.”
Michigander Mike Mulberry summed up the view of all the participants: “We should be good to Mother Earth so she does not shrug us off.”
Get Involved
Contact Rev. John Helt to get involved with the Great Lakes Collaborative.