David Rhoads is the editor of this collection of 36 Christian sermons about saving the planet. He is Professor of New Testament at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, Illinois. He notes in the introduction:
"At its most profound level, the ecological crisis is a spiritual crisis. It comes as a result of our alienation from nature, our estrangement from the very ground from which human life, indeed all of life, has emerged. Our civilization has built so many barriers against an attachment to the rest of nature: to the soil, to the incredible diversity of plants and animals, to the rocks, to the seas, and to the geological formations that comprise our landscapes. Most of us no longer have a sense of belonging to the earth, an experience of solidarity with plants and animals, such that we deeply desire for all forms of life to thrive along with us."
For the last ten years, Rhoads has directed a website, WebofCreation.org, which provides resources for faith communities around issues of ecology and faith. In this paperback, he has collected sermons from a wide variety of denominations, faith traditions, and ethnic communities. The preachers challenge us to care for the creation and to be good stewards of the bounties we have received. The sermons come from different contexts: a marriage ceremony, a commencement liturgy, a college chapel service, a ritual for the blessing of animals, Thanksgiving Day, and a children's sermon. Here are some that appealed to us:
• Peter Bakken on Earth Day
• Thomas Berry on "the great work of our time"
• Sally Bingham on environmental stewardship
• Margaret Bullitt-Jonas on eco-justice
• Dieter Hessel on the Lord's Prayer for Earth community
• Sally McFague on the dire effects of consumerism on the planet
• Bill McKibben on God and the environmental crisis
• Barbara Rossing on healing our "affluenza"
• Joseph Sittler on the care of the Earth
