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BY LINDA WORTHINGTON
UMCONNECTION STAFF

People from all over the world are gathering at their conference centers, at seminaries and in churches to discuss "In Defense of Creation."

At the 2004 General Conference the Council of Bishops was given the task of reviewing and revising the 1986 landmark document, "In Defense of Creation: The Nuclear Crisis and a Just Peace." Bishop Timothy Whitaker of the Florida Area has chaired the task force since 2005, when the review began.

The result of the earlier review process has led to a much broader vision of what is threatening creation.

"We're a global community today," said Sandy Ferguson, who heads the Baltimore-Washington Conference social justice ministries. "We've broadened our horizons and realize that many issues impact the whole world ‘in defense of creation.'"

The new study is concerned about three pivotal public policy issues: pandemic poverty and disease, ecological or environmental degradation, and a world filled with weapons and violence.

In a pastoral letter the bishops issued in 1986, they said they hoped they faithfully stated their understanding of the Word of God at that time in history.

As the world has changed, they now hope a new foundational document will call The United Methodist Church to "a more faithful witness and action in the face of the crises that threaten not only the whole human family but planet Earth itself."

Managing the worldwide listening and learning gatherings is Pat Callbeck Harper. She began work at the General Board of Church and Society last August.

When she's in the Washington area, and not traveling on behalf of the project, Harper stays with her mother, Irene Callbeck, in Pasadena where she grew up. Harper has been an advocate and community organizer for more than 25 years within The United Methodist Church. As a director of the General Board of Global Ministries, she was involved with the original "In Defense of Creation."

For the past five years, Harper was AARP Montana Associate State Director for Advocacy and Communications. She was director of lay ministries in the Yellowstone Conference and was a delegate to General Conference twice.

She has managed her own consulting business in organizational development and civil rights for 14 years. "It feels like my experiences in justice advocacy, policy development, community organizing and communications within the church and community have led me to this important opportunity," she said.

To provide insight for the revision of the original document, in essence to write a new, visionary "In Defense of Creation," Harper has called together groups, large and small, of church members in communities and churches all over the world.

Following a model Harper established, the listening and learning groups include clergy and laity, church and conference leaders, academics and theologians, people as young as 11 and as old as 90. Together they discuss and record what they would like the bishops to address on the global issues of poverty, the environment and weapons violence.

"The groups are a place where people can come and talk about their concerns," Harper said. The gatherings often begin with the question: "How do you feel when we talk about these issues?"

Harper emphasized the "issues" - poverty and hunger, environmental and ecological, and proliferation of weapons - are interconnected and can't be dealt with one by one.

Young people's responses show a lot of knowledge. "It's like putting a match to gasoline," she said. "They say they're worried and some are angry about putting money into wars, and about our lifestyles."

Older responders are "overwhelmed," and express concerns less about themselves than for their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, "because we've used up our resources."

Many participants express their gratitude for the bishops undertaking the study. "It gives us hope," they say.

"We're receiving wonderful stories of hope, especially out of Africa," Harper said.

"Outside the U.S., people talk about poverty because they are living it. They make a lot of connections," she said. In the U.S., the discussion is more localized, tied to local events, such as food banks.

Most responders want to do something about climate change and the ecology but many are less able to make the connection with the world "awash with weapons."

"The bishops want to make the point that we must deal with all three issues together, that there isn't time to deal with them one at a time," Harper said.

Another tool in Harper's learning tool chest is an online survey, which is currently underway. There were some 2,000 hits the first weekend it was posted.

Half of the respondents signed up for a newsletter, which is updated periodically.

The listening and learning groups began meeting in the spring of 2008. Many United Methodist Women's groups have participated. Every episcopal area is committed to holding a group.

Harper and the task force will pool the data and come up with the overall thinking in the church of ways to address the three pivotal public policy issues. They will present a draft statement to the Council of Bishops meeting in Washington May 7.

By November 2009, the Foundation document will be completed, and studies, audio visuals and other resources will be available online in time to use the material for Lenten studies in 2010.

"It will be a living document," Ferguson said, "so people in the pews can have ownership of it. It's timely in this very global world."

To take the survey and keep abreast of the process, go to www.umc.org/defendcreation.