Olivet Nazarene University, a small Christian university in the suburbs of Chicago, is not where most people imagine a panel on community engagement and environmental conservation to be held. On October 28, 2017 a group of community leaders including pastors, nonprofit directors and professors gathered together to do just that. The event titled The Creation Care Practicum focused on how Christians can be involved in conflict resolution on issues such as environmental stewardship and racial discrimination. It was hosted by The Center for Law and Culture, a nonprofit that seeks to restore biblical truth and a higher moral law tradition to American society today.
The event’s keynote speaker was Dr. Susan Emmerich, who is known for her use of biblical principles to bridge gaps between scientific and faith based communities. She opened the event by discussing the factors that lead to conflict escalation such as fear and resource competition leading to how leaders can overcome this to find common ground. Dr. Emmerich’s documentary When Heaven Meets Earth, which discusses her innovative methods of mediating between the Tangier watermen and an environmental protection group, was also shown. In this study she used biblical stewardship principles to foster sustainable fishing and crabbing practices on the faith-centered community of Tangier island. This documentary was used as a springboard for discussion on how these techniques could be used to by present day community leaders in local issues like race relations and conservation.
