Ejemplificación

For pastors like Rev. Lehrer, solving such quarrels is more than just than just a means to an end. For the conflict is more than just an inconvenient barrier to ecotheological success on issues like fracking. Rather, the discord that manifests itself in the synod’s fracking debate is indicative of the very sin that causes ecological predicaments like fracking. To sin—or to distance ourselves from God—is what causes the breach between divine understanding about harmonious ecosystems and between each other as we seek to address such issues. Alfred Poirier, the specialist on church conflict referenced above, writes that the role of the pastor is to build bridges over these chasms, to mediate the ecological and social conflict: “We who say we have been called to the ministry of reconciliation ought to be most familiar with and

transformed by this story of mediation [in Jesus’ life]. If we know our Bible and our God, we know that the call to peacemaking—to mediation—has its roots not in a few scattered [Bible] verses but in the rich, deep soil of the divine story that extends as far back as the garden, the fall of man, and God’s promise of a mediator [in Christ].”171 _{In the Christian community, we assert}

that we have divine assistance with mediation, if we rest our faith in that source of guidance and strength.

Rev. Schumann says that he respects the courage that Rev. Adler has demonstrated in taking an activist role on fracking:

It usually takes a passionate pastor or passionate church members [to inspire action on something like fracking], in some ways at great risk. Because that really can disturb the status quo.

Rev. Adler says that her faith in Christ is the only thing that keeps her going through this process, as leading church on the issue has been arduous. Though some in the synod think Rev. Adler’s ecotheological rhetoric is not accepting of pro-fracking synod members, members of her

own congregation think that she has led the charge with grace and understanding. Mr. Lowe says that she is very respectful and attentive to his position as a gas worker and communicates with him often about what she is going to include in her sermons about fracking. Though initially taken aback by her strong stance on fracking, he says that her kindness won him over:

I think her stance on the environmental side of things was really good. I think it was an added benefit that she has me as one of her parishioners, because there have been a couple of times when she would call me and ask me and about what was going on. And I was able to give her an inside perspective about what was really going on out there. He likes to see leaders in the church take action on fracking safety, he admits:

I like to see [the church] actually going out and doing something. I think it’s really great that Pastor [Adler] is going to these rallies and things. Listening to what they’re talking about and listening to what the concerns are. I think that’s a really good thing for us as a church to be involved in.

Mrs. Loft adds that Rev. Adler’s passion has inspired her to get involved in the advocacy work surrounding fracking and that Rev. Adler has helped guide the church through the tough issues:

My feeling is that Pastor [Adler] talks about it often, but I don’t feel that she talks about it a way that threatens anyone. And we have talked, she and I, and I’ve said to my husband: ‘If someone said that they found gas under our property and they were going to pay us big bucks (I’ve heard $30,000 a month). But say that someone said that to you. And it meant that we could live on easy street. What would we do?’ And I talked to Pastor [Adler] about that and she said, ‘That’s when you really have to think about what is the morally right thing.’ If someone [offered] that to me, I would love to say that I would definitely turn my back on it. I know it’s a bad use of our resources. But could I walk away from the money? I think I would. It would be a really hard thing, but I think I would.

Rev. Adler discloses that she prays often, asking God to give her strength as she tries to lead on this complex issue.

Many pastors I spoke with express that one of the biggest challenges is finding ways to effectively articulate the theological imperative to care for the earth and for each other in a way that motivates action on fracking and other issues. Rev. Engel explains:

Creation has always been part of my personal theology. At the same time, [it is]

something that few of my members have been open to. When I first came here, I got some funny comments about [my emphasis on Creation theology] was strange and new. But after twelve years, they are getting used to me. Though I still haven’t convinced them to stop using disposable dishware at the church. These kind of habits are hard to change. Some have made significant progress.

Rev. Jim Erikson’s seminary training was only partially sufficient in preparing him for this work, he acknowledges:

I had one professor who laid out this vision of the church as a community of discourse. That should be the place where people can come together from a theological perspective. But in seminary, we are trained in the categories of analysis and dialogue and discourse. [I recently read] Ministry in an Oral Culture, by Tex Sample. And I wish I had read this ten years ago, when I first came here. Because people in an oral culture, which is usually rural areas and probably the majority of Americans, think in terms of relationships, stories, and proverbs. And how we are trained in seminary, if we use that language and that thought process, you’re speaking a different language. So, what we have to do in an oral culture, we have to translate the way we think into the oral culture categories of stories, relationships, and proverbs.

This translation requires that ecological facts and figures about fracking be translated into stories that can be used as parables. Rev. Dr. Vogt and Rev. Engel both see this occurring already, as pastors witness the health effects of fracking during routine hospital visits, or experience community feuds that stem from some parishioners getting rich and others

remaining poor. These stories already are “bubbling up,” Rev. Dr. Vogt claims. And pastors can use them to help relate fracking to Biblical subjects such as healing, sharing, wealth, and

stewardship. Some, like Rev. Hahn, think that pastors’ time would be better spent learning to articulate the Gospel in a more convincing way to help grow the churches. But others believed that this focus on fracking is a focus on the gospel and will help grow the churches.