Environmentalism The New Religion as 'Green' church tries to move heaven, earth closer
Pastor Dale Morgan
Environmentalism The New Religion as 'Green' church tries to move
heaven, earth closer*
The All Souls Interfaith Gathering's sanctuary boasts bamboo flooring,
local woods, compact fluorescent lighting and a furnace the burns corn
and grass pellets.
By Craig Wilson, USA TODAY
SHELBURNE, Vt. — All Souls Interfaith Gathering has a reputation for
being all-inclusive.
The small congregation, founded in 1999, recognizes just about every
faith you can think of. No one is turned away. And that includes Mother
Earth.
ASIG prides itself on being one of the greenest churches in one of the
greenest of states, and nothing proves that more than its spanking new
sanctuary building, which opened in October.
It's a model for ecological correctness: locally harvested wood, bamboo
flooring, compact fluorescent lights and a furnace that will heat the
facility using grass, corn or wood pellets. The congregation expects to
go through 30 to 35 tons of wood pellets this first winter in the new
building.
Even the air conditioning is provided by using water from an artesian well.
"I'd like to think we're cutting-edge," says the Rev. Mary Abele, who
heads the congregation that numbers 70 but is growing every week. "I
suspect some come now because of our environmental practices."
ASIG also took advantage of its prime location. The new sanctuary's
west-facing windows capture perhaps one of the most stunning views
you'll ever see — rolling farm land, Lake Champlain and the snow-capped
Adirondack Mountains beyond.
If you weren't a tree hugger before — or a believer — you'd be hard
pressed not to be one after taking in this view. "You sit here and the
sun is setting, and oooh," sighs Laurie Caswell Burke, ASIG's
environmental coordinator.
When the building opened, Abele told the Burlington Free Press that the
views are "an inspiration to help us understand who we are in connection
with the environment and the divine."
It's a theme that runs through everything ASIG does. Even the new
parking lots, cut into the property's forest, were put where they were
to preserve as many mature trees as possible.
"The building needed to blend with the surrounding site rather than
stand out. (We needed to) play the building down, make it inviting, make
it calm, play on the beauty of the site and surroundings, let the
building be the shelter from which one can appreciate the whole," says
Marty Sienkiewycz of SAS Architects in Burlington, who designed the
project with congregation members.
"They came to us with a wish and more of a dream," says Sienkiewycz, who
met with church members more than a dozen times. "If they had not had
such a strong influence, it would have turned out very differently, but
we're quite pleased with it."
It's all part of a trend in the religious world in which more worshipers
are looking to save the environment as part of their spiritual journey.
Dozens of ecumenical groups are tackling everything from global warming
to "eco-palms" for Palm Sunday services. The National Religious
Partnership for the Environment, for instance, says it represents 100
million Americans, an alliance of major faiths combining religion and
ecology.
"I see the environment as a portal to connect with the divine," Abele
says. Why now? "I think it had to get to the crisis level, and that's
where we are."
Abele and her flock leave no stone unturned. Literally.
An outdoor circle of stones, built by congregation members in 2003, is
"a place to connect with the Earth's energy." Members are encouraged to
walk the Sacred Earth Wheel often. Nearby is a labyrinth that members
also traverse.
In addition, the church has Flower Communions (congregants are
encouraged to bring flowers to share at a May service) and a Gathering
of Waters ceremony (water from springs, brooks and rivers are blended in
a communal bowl).
Don Stevens of the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi even used feathers from
a red-tail hawk to wave sage and tobacco smoke over members at the
opening service in October. The "smudging" ceremony is an American
Indian purification ritual to drive away evil spirits.
This winter, the church's adult and children's programs will focus on
environmental messages. The "green" theme has always been taught at an
early age here. ASIG's children's program this winter is titled "The
Sacred Environment — The Earth and Me."
Hoping children will "fall in love with the earth they live on, we're
teaching creation stories from the ancient myths to the big-bang
theory," Caswell Burke says. "I think we're ahead of our time. The earth
is woven into every service. There's a connection between the
environmental and the spiritual."
Each month a community member is invited by ASIG to talk about his or
her passion for the planet. A beekeeper has spoken to the children, and
Christopher Davis, who manages the 1,000 acres around ASIG, spoke over
the weekend about the congregation's new "green building, how it works
day to day."
"Once we started with the concept, (the environment) drove so many parts
of the project," Davis says. "It's a philosophy. It was always, 'Let's
use what we have. Let's reuse and incorporate.' "
Abele, in a homily on Veterans Day, drove the point home.
While honoring the veterans, she asked her congregation if it was too
much "to honor what they're fighting to preserve. … It means nothing if
we allow our air and our environment to deteriorate."
As for the sanctuary, Abele can't quite explain the spirit the new
building houses. "It's beyond what I expected," she says. "I'm not sure
what's happening, but it's all good."