Responding Together - January 2026

Our co-founders, Mary Anne and Victoria, each answered a question from the our Listening Cards.

Mary Anne Inglis, Co-Founder

Much of our stewardship of this Earth has turned our natural resources into money or these resources are needlessly destroyed for our pleasure or from our ignorance. Why do you think some of our faith traditions have been slow to respond to this devastation? As a person of faith, what are your suggestions?
Faith, Justice, and Mercy Category

One of the many debated verses of the Old Testament is Genesis 1:28: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it.  Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’ ”   Many have taken the verbs “subdue” and “rule” in the negative sense here instead of in the positive.  The result of the negative interpretation is one that allows for abuse of our natural resources.  Those who follow this line of thought see the earth’s resources are there for the taking, no matter what the cost to the land, air or sea and all the creatures within it.  

On the positive side, this directive is one of stewardship where we are to join in taking care of God’s creation as fellow creatures on this Earth.  This is where I land in my interpretation of this Scripture and I feel like it is an interpretation that is supported by many other passages in the Bible, especially in the Psalms. See Psalm 104 in particular for an explosion of celebration of God’s creation.

To look at this question another way, the first approach is sometimes known as Dominion Theology which teaches that all the resources of the world are here to be used now because there will one day be a new heaven and new earth, a new kingdom. On the other side of this coin is the theology that says that God’s kingdom is already amongst us through the work of the resurrection of Jesus and is continuing to come.  As N.T. Wright, former Bishop of Durham in the Church of England and a New Testament scholar, says in his book On Earth as in Heaven, “And, despite the chorus of skepticism, the world really has changed. It is still changing. God’s kingdom is coming on earth as in heaven—in the ways Jesus said it would, through the pure in heart, the meek, the mourners, the people hungry for justice, and so on.”

Therefore, it is not a wishful hope that the kingdom of God will come someday far off in the future.  It is here amongst us now which has implications as to how we treat this Earthly home of ours. Grounded in these truths, I see that we are an integral part of creation ourselves and that taking care of this creation that is “becoming” more and more like the kingdom of God is a wonderful opportunity to share in this transformation. This means that we see the resources of our world as ones to use with care and thoughtfulness of how we can enjoy them without destroying them. 

This leads us to care for our home in many different ways, both individually and as a community.  Examples range from home recycling to joining a local or national conservation effort to educating ourselves about how we can understand and work with and not against the place that nourishes us. It also extends to other areas of work bringing health to our communities, both in the natural world and in and amongst ourselves.  
 I am reminded of an interview that Krista Tippett had with Jane Goodall in 2020 when Jane answered a question about what it means to be human.  Her response was this, “It was some point earlier, you talked about our intelligence. But we’re not really a very intelligent species, are we, when we destroy our home.” (Krista Tippett, On Being, October 2025).  May we all choose to cherish our home as we move forward.

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Victoria Chance, Executive Director

How do you think American Consumerism reflects the ideals of faith and justice?
Faith, Justice, and Mercy Category

The local Goodwill Billboard says it all: “For the holidays, expect 100% accumulation.” Holidays/Holy Days. Traditionally, holy days were characterized by simplicity, sacred quiet, light, beauty, and communal joy. Now many of our winter holidays are frantic with shopping, feasting (a friend called it “being over fed”), complicated gift-giving, and unusual family crazy and bad behavior. No one benefits from this excess—except maybe our foreign and domestic manufacturers who advantageously stock our shelves with plastic, glittery, shiny baubles and blow-ups that will never biodegrade but will pile up in our landfills to pester and potentially poison us and our children’s children.

We are not paying attention to our neighbors, we are not stewarding the water, air, plants and creatures on which we depend for our health and livelihoods.

Our consumerism is always a choice, but often it is not always a conscious, thoughtful, or considered choice.

For example, on my kitchen sink are two cleaning sponges. The brownish one is made of biodegradable materials—soft on one side, scrubby or the other. The other bright yellow one is made of abrasive plastic, a polymer foam, is somewhat flexible and very scrubby.

Both of these sponges are ready for duty. I bought a pack of the brown ones, happy for my find. My husband, who does much of the dishwashing, brought home the happy yellow one. Oops. Our domestic conversations haven’t extended to the mundane enough.

Two people, two sponges. One person moved enough to write about it; the other sweetly oblivious and ready to do the dishes with a bright and happy heart. It is a dilemma for all of us, and it means we just need to start taking a longer more loving view at our choices, our conversations, and our investments.

Living in good faith and harmony with our world means acting; it means serving; it means scrubbing a little harder sometimes…going to the store instead of clicking next day delivery. It means protecting the next deep breath for everyone, and the sparkling water at our fingertips, and the very soil of our bones.

When I eventually throw away these two sponges, and I will, one will return to the earth, back into the phenomenal natural cycle. The other will breakdown over centuries into harmful microplastics that will hopefully be contained in our landfills.

There is no justice when a manufacturer sells harmful products that cannot be recycled or reused—that’s greed, and as consumers we should try whenever possible not to buy them. We need to pay attention and pause before we buy. As men and women of faith, we must look a little deeper at what is true, noble, and just within ourselves and our society, so we can educate ourselves to try and consume everything that we need and desire wisely, sanely, and beautifully.

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Thank you for joining us for this special opportunity to hear the voices of the women who started it all, Mary Anne and Victoria.

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