Christians urged to be good stewards of planet, resources

Churches are embracing a message of conservation.

McClatchy Newspapers

DURHAM, N.C. — Mercy Udoji thumbed through a eco-fair brochure last Sunday in the lobby of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in West Durham before signing a pledge to do something in her everyday life to help the environment, such as recycling compost or using cloth instead of paper napkins.

She had just attended Mass inside the spacious sanctuary, where the Rev. Jacek Orzechowski told hundreds of parishioners their destinies were inextricably connected to God’s Earth and his creation.

Udoji, a resident physician at Duke University Medical Center agreed with Orzechowski’s ecumenical charge: We must all become better stewards of the planet and its dwindling resources.

“I think it’s important that as Christians we realize that we are a part of the circle of life,” Udoji, 27, said after 11:15 a.m. Mass. “We can’t use resources as if they are endless.”

Faith turned green at the church, where leaders sponsored the 2008, “Keepers of the Earth, Eco-Fair.” The fair’s purpose was to raise awareness of ecological issues among the parishioners while encouraging them to adopt specific, eco-friendly daily habits that would express their deep Christian commitment to the well-being of the earth.

Orzechowski, the church’s pastoral vicar, spoke of the need for an “ecological conversion,” among Christians.

“It’s part of being faithful to the teachings of the Bible and the teachings of the church, while being receptive to the times,” Orzechowski said.

The vicar’s call for parishioners to enlarge their circle of concern to God’s Earth and Creation was part the church’s second annual Eco-Fair. More than 3,000 people attended the event, which was part of Earth Day observed throughout the Triangle last weekend. National Earth Day was observed Tuesday.

The organizers of the eco-fair were motivated by their conviction that being responsible stewards of the Earth’s resources is an indispensable element to one’s commitment to God. The booths focused on food choices, rainforests, the oceans, energy and water conservation, gardening and making one’s home more eco-friendly.