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Finding God’s handiwork outdoors
Kate Cleland, left, Donna Breedlove, Dan Wise and Vern Crawford say their religious faith leads them to actively help protect the forests of Southern Oregon. They are part of a local effort, organized by the Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, to "adopt" and monitor 2,000 acres of national forest land in the Neil Creek drainage overlooking Ashland. Religious devotion leads group to care for roadless areas By Paul Fattig ASHLAND — Evie Strauss invariably feels God’s presence at her place of worship. God doesn’t utter a word, yet speaks volumes. He cannot be seen, yet she sees his handiwork in the flowers and trees, in the birds and butterflies. "My grandmother used to tell me that she felt closer to her God out in nature than any building ever built by man," the Ashland woman said. "And she was an Orthodox Jew. I have pretty much adopted that." Evie Strauss is a member of Temple Emek Shalom in Ashland which last fall "adopted" more than 1,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management land on Grizzly Peak overlooking Ashland. The temple and other church groups have undertaken the adoptions as part of a larger secular effort by the Oregon Wild Campaign, a project by a coalition of environmental groups and others to protect roadless areas. Basically, groups and individuals of all beliefs and stripes adopt forest tracts in an unofficial capacity to keep an eye on the public lands . But the involvement by the church groups is part of a growing national trend of environmental activism by people of faith, who see caring for the environment as an outgrowth of their spiritual beliefs and ministries. "As a Jew, I feel very, very strongly that the world was created for humans to take care of," she said. "We are to be stewards of earth, not rapacious users." High in the Neil Creek drainage overlooking Ashland, members of the Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship have adopted some 2,000 acres of the Rogue River National Forest. "When I’m in church services, I often feel uplifted," said Kate Cleland, chair of the environmental action committee for the Unitarians. "But I also feel that, out here in the natural environment. "We belong to it, it doesn’t belong to us," she said. "We may appropriate it but it really doesn’t belong to us." Although both speak as individuals, and not for their congregations, they represent what many in the religious community say is a growing relationship between faith and environmental concerns. "In the last few years the religious community has become increasingly aware of environmental issues," observed Medford Congregational Church Pastor Paul Robinson. "There is a growing network of concern about the relationship between the stewardship of earth and the way we express that in the religious community." That can be seen in the fact Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon has created what it calls the Interfaith Network for Earth Concerns, Robinson said. That program is aimed at enlightening congregations about environmental issues. Last year, the Northwest Jewish Environmental Project was established in Portland. And the National Council of the Churches of Christ now has a Eco-Justice Working Group. "The whole thing evolved out of the theological assumption that God works through nature," Robinson said. "The natural forces are actually God’s way of managing the earth’s system. "Being at the top of the food chain, we have an enormous responsibility." Ordained in 1971, Robinson frequently ties his Sunday sermon to environmental issues. His church celebrates Earth Day each year. "There is a growing consensus that we are God’s stewards of each other and the earth," he said. Strauss, who describes her age as more than 70, agreed. "A big part of Judaism is preserving this earth for future generations so our great, great grandchildren will be able to enjoy it," she said. Cleland, 53, who has master’s degrees in library science and anthropology, hails from a small town in New York state where her family attended a Protestant church. "My father also took me on nature walks in the woods, and taught me about trees and other plants," she said. "I never really had an analogous training in religion. But I’ve always felt a spiritual renewal out here." That’s echoed by fellow member Donna Breedlove, 42, a former landscape contractor and current massage therapist who has a degree in English literature. "I believe we are intrinsically connected to the earth, and that we are stewards of the earth," she said. "We need to respect our responsibility for the earth. Stewardship of roadless areas is part of that." Church member Vern Crawford was reared in the timber towns of Sweet Home and Prineville. He now teaches geology classes at Southern Oregon University. "I’ve always had a lot of questions about the relationship we should have with nature," he said. "My religious training wasn’t very strong but it was Protestant. Unnamed behind that was a lot of panethism from my parents. One of the wellsprings of spiritual experiences was the outdoors." Crawford, 56, who has a master’s degree in environmental education, is also a free-lance writer who penned the book, "Druidic Paths." The self-published book looks at adapting Druidism to Southern Oregon. "One of the Druids’ traditional themes from 2,000 years ago is the relationship of people to the land," he said. "I focused on that fundamental aspect of their sensitivity to the fact we are bonded to the land. "I don’t think of myself as a nature worshipper, but maybe a pantheist in that I ascribe deep values to all of nature," he added. Ashland resident Dan Wise, 48, a volunteer with the Headwaters environmental coalition, attended a synagogue as a youngster. A former school teacher who is now a consultant to small businesses, he practices meditation and has leanings toward Eastern religions. "I’m kind of Hindu-Buddhist now," he said. "I don’t really consider myself a member of any church now. "But when I come out to a place like this it is really my cathedral," he added. "There is a stillness out in nature where you feel a sense of wonder that you look for in religion." |
