Open Letter To CRS Members & Supporters:

Help Engage Your Faith Community

In Care Of Creation

The native name for the Cahaba River, “Waters from Above,”

reminds us of the origin of all our rivers and speaks to the sense of the sacred

many of us find down by the riverside.
 

Dear Cahaba River friend,

Are you a member of a faith community? Do you, like many river supporters, view the Cahaba River as a wonderful treasure of Creation? Are you willing to help CRS partner with your faith community to share in the stewardship of the Cahaba River?

How? If you belong to a faith community – a church, synagogue, or other spiritual group - please connect us with your fellow worshipers. The CRS Board and staff have begun a special outreach program to faith communities in the watershed, seeking opportunities to inform them, explore and share spiritual and moral aspects of water stewardship, and together renew our inspiration for stewardship action.

Faith and spirituality are fundamentally important components of the lives of many people who value, rely on, and affect the Cahaba. In most religious traditions there are deeply meaningful and persuasive teachings for why careful environmental stewardship must be part of a spiritual and moral life. Faith communities are well-respected networks in the Cahaba watershed and can help inspire change within their places of worship, homes, schools and broader communities.

Why now? Experts agree that we are at a very critical point in our watershed’s history. Our access to clean water, and the long-term fate of the river system that we and all our fellow creatures rely upon, is dependent on the decisions our communities will make in the coming years. There is a growing trend among faith organizations in the US and in our region to become more thoughtful and active stewards of the natural world as part of a faith life.

CRS recognizes that our members represent a great diversity of faith traditions. Here are resources CRS can offer your faith community and ways you can help us connect:

• Invite CRS to your place of worship to speak on issues of Cahaba River values, challenges, and stewardship of Creation (e.g., Sunday school, service groups)

• Help CRS bring your youth group or family group on a river trip as part of the Shane Hulsey CLEAN environmental education program.

• Work with CRS to organize a river restoration/clean up event sponsored by your place of worship.

• Have a Stewardship of Creation program for your Sunday school and invite CRS to speak as part of that program. A model 6 weeks study program is being developed by the Episcopal Diocese Task Force for the Stewardship of Creation, which will be adaptable to various faith traditions and available online in the coming months.

• Serve as a liaison to help connect CRS and your fellow worshipers.

• Learn more about the growing movement in our region for faith, science, environmental, and development leaders to collaborate at www.cahabariversociety.org/Cnews/careofcreation.htm

We are asking for and need your help. Time is of the essence. If you want to learn more about this initiative, schedule a river trip, or invite CRS to come speak to your faith group or join in discussion, then call 322-5326 or email us at kim@cahabariversociety.org

Thank you for anything you can do to help us realize the potential of this initiative. We look forward to exploring the possibilities with you.

Sincerely,

Beth K. Stewart
Executive Director