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BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL of THEOLOGY Project Thesis A BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY Project Thesis A WATERSHED MOMENT: CARE FOR THE CHURCH AND EARTH’S WATERS by NANCY G. WRIGHT B.A., Barnard College, 1970 M.Div., Union Theological Seminary, 1973 M.A., New York University, 1991 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Ministry 2018 © Copyright by NANCY G. WRIGHT 2018 Approved by Project Thesis Advisor __________________________________________ Mary Elizabeth Moore, Ph.D. Professor of Theology DEDICATION I dedicate the thesis, first, to my parents, Dorothy and Robert Wright, who instilled a love of nature through many trips into the Colorado Rockies. Second, Fr. Thomas Berry always offered a deep sense of the human community, consciously abiding in the natural world, and supported by the depths of religious traditions. Friends and colleagues, especially Drs. Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim, accompanied me all along the way. My parish, Ascension Lutheran church, South Burlington, VT is faith-filled and open to new expressions of the faith, such as watershed discipleship demands. Finally, I dedicate this work to all the world’s waters, truly “living water.” Nancy G. Wright February 2018 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply grateful to Dr. Mary Elizabeth Moore, who oversaw the completion of this project from outline to conclusion. She engaged in a process of inquiry about the project and its sources that felt both liberating and challenging, as well as deeply sustaining and supportive. I thank my Cohort 3 in the D.Min. program, at Boston University, School of Theology. Our Group Me texts, as well as classes together, created moments of deep learning, personal exposure and challenge, and laughter (and tears). I thank my friends, who sustained me during this period, including Drs. Mary Evelyn Tucker, John Grim, Lora Gross, Kit Anderson, Mary Coelho, and Stephanie Kaza, among others. Finally, I thank the members of Ascension Lutheran Church, who created this project, enjoyed it, and continue to work for watershed stewardship. The New England synod and Bishop Jim Hazelwood supported out work. We hope that many other congregations will benefit from our learning. I also deeply thank my wonderful copyediter, Dr. Abigail Carroll. v A WATERSHED MOMENT: CARE FOR THE CHURCH AND EARTH’S WATERS NANCY G. WRIGHT Boston University, School of Theology, 2018 Project Thesis Advisor: Mary Elizabeth Moore, Dean of the School of Theology, Professor of Theology and Education, Co-Director of the Center for Practical Theology ABSTRACT We live in a watershed moment for the planet and for the church. A threatening planetary water crisis asks now for a strong church response. Ascension Lutheran Church of South Burlington, Vermont, engaged in water-focused activities, education, and worship to respond faithfully to God’s call to care for Earth and its water. In so doing, the church developed a potential model for watershed stewardship that enhances a congregation’s discipleship, spreads the vision of creation care through watershed stewardship, and offers practical guidance for churches and judicatories. This project, and other national and international water stewardship projects, offer insight into Christian leadership and education for water care. Relevant Christian theological resources and transformational educational and leadership studies grounded the project. Among recent Christian calls for action is the vi Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Resolution Urging Stewardship of the Gift of Water, passed at the 2016 Churchwide Assembly (Appendix IX). Further, Lutheran theologians, among other Christian theologians, have proposed insights into the sacredness of creation that undergird effective congregational watershed action. Their reformulated theology, plus transformational leadership and education theories, helpfully ground planning for congregational learning and action and were applied to Ascension’s watershed project. Caring for water orients a congregation in a new and deep way to its social, cultural, and ecological community, while also positioning it to develop supportive ties to other congregations and groups in the area to foster watershed health. When a congregation cares for its local watershed, it potentially promotes awareness and action to ameliorate worldwide water justice issues, including climate change and the feminization of poverty, both of which reflect and create water justice issues. A watershed discipleship church faithfully responds in our time to Jesus’ timeless words, “I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink [Matt.25:35].” vii Table of Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 PART 1 EXPLORING THE TERRAIN .................................................................... 4 Chapter 1: Creation Care Theology for Watershed Stewardship ....................................... 7 Theology................................................................................................................ 7 Christology ....................................................................................................... 8 Nature as Commodity or Sacrament ................................................................ 11 Sin and Salvation ............................................................................................ 15 Baptism ........................................................................................................... 23 Congregational Efforts toward Watershed Discipleship ........................................ 31 Liturgy and Preaching toward Creation Care ................................................... 31 Water Care and Love of Watershed ................................................................. 40 Watershed Discipleship ................................................................................... 41 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 45 Chapter 2: Water Facts and Environmental Justice ......................................................... 47 Water Facts .......................................................................................................... 47 Environmental Ethics and Eco-justice .................................................................. 51 Lake Champlain ................................................................................................... 62 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 65 Chapter 3: Transformational Leadership and Education ................................................. 67 Transformational Leadership................................................................................ 68 Getting on the Balcony .................................................................................... 70 viii The Importance of Values ............................................................................... 72 Transformational Education ................................................................................. 78 The Need for Exposure to Nature .................................................................... 80 Dialogic Teaching for Transformation ............................................................. 82 Addressing “Wicked” Environmental Problems .............................................. 84 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 88 PART 2 CONGREGATION ACTION PROJECTS ................................................. 90 Chapter 4: The Action Project, “A Watershed Moment” ................................................ 92 Jane Vella’s Structures of Dialogue Education: The Seven Design Steps.............. 92 Who? .............................................................................................................. 93 Why? .............................................................................................................. 96 When? ............................................................................................................. 97 Where?............................................................................................................ 98 What? ........................................................................................................... 100 What For? ..................................................................................................... 100 How? ............................................................................................................ 102 Action Project at ALC through Ronald A. Heifetz’s Adaptive Leadership Framework ......................................................................................................... 102 Get on the Balcony ........................................................................................ 103 Diagnose the Adaptive Challenges ................................................................ 104 Keep Attention Disciplined, and Give the Work Back to the People .............. 108 Build Trust and Regulate Distress ................................................................. 109 ix Generate More Leadership ............................................................................ 112 Infuse the Work with Meaning ...................................................................... 112 On the Balcony Again—Personal Pastoral Reflections .................................
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