Everyone has heard the old saying "Never mix politics and religion," which really has its roots in the separation of church and state by the U. S. Constitution. Probably not a bad idea, especially since today’s politics seem to be heavily influenced by money and special interests, rather than ethics and morals. But what about religion and environmental conservation? Is there common ground here, at least for some folks? For too long, really since the 1800s and the beginning of large industrial development, the church in America has stood by and kept silent on the abuse and desecration of our environment. Most efforts to bring about conservation and restoration have come from secular groups, such as Sierra, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and our own West Virginia Highlands Conservancy.

As a member of all of these, I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish, often against powerful opposition from industry and government. I personally sense that an unexpected ally may be emerging, that being the churches and people of faith. Witness the recent statements against mountain top removal by the Methodists and Episcopalians here in West Virginia as proof that even mainline denominations are awakening to the ecological destruction happening all around us.

Some among us would say that faith has no place in the environmental community, but I would say that we need to be tolerant, and open, and receptive to allowing people of faith the opportunity to participate. As a practicing Christian myself, I find particular satisfaction in connecting my faith with my words and actions. I believe we all need, deep down inside, to find a consistency between our deeds and beliefs, religious or not.

To that end, I have become the West Virginia co-ordinator for a new organization, the Religious Campaign for Forest Conservation, that has as its foundation the premise that Biblical Scripture places a clear mandate for proper stewardship of God’s creation squarely on the shoulders of people of faith. Our specific goal is the end of commercial logging on all public lands, with the redistribution of current government subsidies to the timber dependent communities for worker retraining and forest restoration which is very much in line with the objectives of several secular environmental groups.

Our goal is to awaken, and challenge, the faith community to take a stand on the issue of forest conservation, in a way that will bring about significant change in how people view their natural resources, not as commercial commodities for exploitation and profit, but as gifts from God to be carefully preserved and used for the good of all. I really see this as an additional way to reach out to people who might not otherwise consider conservation important to them, or see the connection between the environment and their faith. If you would like more information, or would be interested in helping, please write to me at 886 Z Divide Ridge Road, Kenna, WV 25248; or call me at (304) 372-7501.