OUR VISION

“Thy Kingdom Come on Earth as it is in Heaven” (Matthew 6:10)

“Sanctification today means first of all rediscovering the sanctity of life and the divine mystery of creation, and defending them from life’s manipulation, the secularization of nature, and the destruction of the world through human violence.  Life comes from God and belongs to God, so it has to be sanctified through the people who believe God.  The earth is not ‘unclaimed property’ and nature is not ownerless.  It is God’s beloved creation.  So it must be encountered with reverence and drawn into the love of God.”   (Jurgen Moltmann, The Spirit of Life.  (Fortress: Minneapolis.  1992.  p. 171). 

Our vision will enlarge as our network enlarges in its prayer, its action, and its communication.  Right now a working vision is that Christians and their churches will step up to faithfully live lives of service and care for God’s creation.  Genesis 2:15 declares that the work God first called humanity was to serve (abad) and care take (shamar) the garden.  If we wisely care for the earth, it in turn will care for us (Genesis 2:16).  Our actions need to be in obedience and alignment with God’s creation order (Genesis 2:17).

In terms of the southern and central Appalachians, our vision positively put is that everywhere the land, air, water, living creatures, and human communities will live in a harmonious state.  That is, the water will be pure, the air clear, forests and fields will be healthy and sustainable, the landscapes will be attractive, all living creatures and plants will have space, and human communities will have wholesome work to sufficiently meet their needs and extend the promise to future generations.

Stated in more negative terms, our vision is to end destructive abuses that sully the land, pollute the air and water, destroy life-giving ecosystems and their creatures, and lay waste human communities or subvert them into simply consumers.

Our vision is not in terms of “us” versus “them.”  All of us have a stake in the health of this planet we call home.  Although at times we may speak a hard word because truth can be a hammer, as Christians our task is to be ministers of reconciliation (II Corinthians 5:18).  We invite all to join together as instruments of healing and peace and life to all that is upon this earth, to the glory of God.