THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 21, 1996 TAG: 9608210108
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Diane Tennant
LENGTH: 62 lines
For everything there is a time, and the time for Sacred Heart Catholic Church was Earth Day 1990.
On that day, the Norfolk church began its Earth Ministry, which has expanded to include political action, recycling, educational classes, trash cleanup, re-planting wetlands and banning Styrofoam from church functions.
``We're not trying to move any mountains, we're just trying to get people to think,'' said Nancy Rinkenberger, who works with the Earth Ministry. ``For me, making the connection between spiritual and day-to-day acts is what's most important. This is a way to act out what you believe.''
For one Mass in May, baskets of strawberries were carried in the processional and placed before the altar.
From another Mass, which focused on God's gift of water, parishioners were given tiny vials of holy water to take home. Rinkenberger keeps hers next to the faucet as a reminder to turn it off.
The sanctity of water is a big part of the Earth Ministry, and it is the focal point of Sacred Heart's listing in a book of environmentally active congregations, published by the Religious Partnership. The partnership uses Sacred Heart as a model for other congregations which wish to become active environmentally:
``According to the EPA, eating two fish per month from the Elizabeth River increases the risk of developing cancer by 100 percent. Sacred Heart Catholic Parish is working to restore the river.''
``A lot of people feel like it's an overwhelming pervasive problem, there's nothing I can do,'' Rinkenberger said. ``We say you don't have to do big things, you can do little things: recycle, be aware of water use, mulch your garden, make thoughtful decisions in the marketplace, walk instead of riding in the car.''
Some suggest that the earth doesn't have a prayer. But it does, in St. Christopher's Episcopal Church in Portsmouth.
``We realize that all God's creations are interdependent and interconnected. One part of it falters and everything suffers,'' said Dorothy Seward, chair of the environmental stewardship committee for the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia. ``We see our main vision to educate the parishes of this diocese to the severity of the environmental crisis and to see environmental issues as a matter of faith.''
Seward is also director of the church's primary and preschool, and it is through children that much of the environmental education is done. St. Christopher students canoe through salt marshes, examine freshwater ponds, study the ecosystem at Back Bay. Children are taught not to take more than they need, that to do so diminishes for others, that all life is interconnected.
``We need to serve as a role model in our lifestyles that's tailored to the needs of creation,'' Seward said.
Adults in the diocese were encouraged to sign postcards in support of the Endangered Species Act and mail them to Congress. Parishes will receive an eco-audit this fall to check whether their buildings are energy efficient and environmentally friendly.
``Caring for the environment is a faith issue,'' Seward explained. ``I think people tend to think someone else is going to do it.
``This is on a daily basis that we're living our concern.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
CANDICE C. CUSIC/The Virginian-Pilot by CNB