As the son of a United Methodist minister in rural Wisconsin, church life has always been a familiar, central part of my life. My family directed a popular family camp at a UMC camp in Wisconsin for 18 years, which is where my interest in a faith-rooted experience in creation began. Over time, I’d end up spending more than a year of my life as a camper, counselor, director, and staff person at that and other church camps. College study trips to Haiti, El Salvador, and Zimbabwe introduced me to global justice, religious, and environmental issues, opening my eyes to the ways our lives, politics, and planet are intertwined.
Eventually, I married an Iowa farm girl and we moved to Dayton, Ohio, where the seminary I attended was (to the best of my knowledge, at least) the first in the country to have an environmental emphasis in many of its courses. My focus was on youth ministry, religious education, and technology in ministry. At a youth ministry conference, I was (rather accidentally) asked to write a book about creative ways to use music with youth, which led to a newfound passion and opportunities to write for the United Methodist Publishing House. At the moment, I’m working on a number of books in my spare time, including several picture books related to climate change and environmental issues for young children.
While lemon basil seems to be the only thing I can actually grow well in my garden, I’m a person of perpetual hope that one day I’ll grow at least one green thumb. For now, I try to live by the 7 R’s of environmental ministry: Repent, Reclaim, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Renew, and Rejoice. In all of these, I try to remember the words of one of my seminary mentors, Len Sweet: “Life is not a do-it-yourself project.” The significant challenges we face due to climate change are our critical do-it-together, “home repair” projects.
Whether I’m cycling on RAGBRAI, cooking a delicious vegetarian meal, cleaning and identifying an ancient Jewish coin, playing a new strategy board game, or reading the latest book by environmental leaders like Bill McKibben (who I once got to take out for lunch), I delight in opportunities for learning, innovation, connection, and creativity, which have all been the seeds of growth in my own life. As I start this new role and continue the development of the Faith Farms & Climate program at Iowa IPL, these are the seeds that I’m excited to plant, grow, and nurture this year as part of the important creation care work we all do together.