2021: A Year in Review
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

NC Council of Churches

Strength in Unity, Peace through Justice

  • Voices
  • About
    • Overview
    • Staff
    • Members
    • Covenant Partners
    • Issue Statements
    • Governing Board
  • Programs
    • NC Interfaith Power & Light
      • NCIPL Overview
      • Faith in Action NCIPL
      • NCIPL Articles
      • NCIPL Resources
      • Upcoming Events for NCIPL
      • Contact NCIPL
    • Partners in Health & Wholeness
      • PHW Staff
      • Mini-Grants
      • PHW Collaborative Pledge
      • The Overdose Crisis: The Faith Community Responds
      • Mental Health Advocacy
      • BIPOC Mental Health Grant
      • Growing Communities of Inclusion: A Faithful Response to HIV
      • Citizen Science
      • PHW Articles
      • FAQs
  • Priorities
    • Racial Justice
    • The Overdose Crisis: The Faith Community Responds
    • Gun Violence Prevention
    • Criminal Justice
    • Immigrant Rights
    • Public Education
    • Farmworkers
    • Legislative Advocacy
    • Christian Unity
    • Peace
  • Events
  • Resources
    • COVID-19 Resources
    • Publications & Reports
    • Raleigh Report
    • Lectionary
    • Sermons
  • Donate
  • Council Store
  • Show Search

Search NC Council of Churches

Hide Search

Faithful find ways to respond to oil spill

Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate · June 17, 2010 · Leave a Comment

By Yonat Shimron, Raleigh News & Observer

When hurricanes or earthquakes hit, religious congregations know how to respond with acts of good will and charity. But what about an oil spill?

Many Triangle congregations are finding their voice.

Tonight two churches will hold vigils to pray and reflect on the BP oil rig disaster. On Sunday, the two-month anniversary of the oil spill, many Christians will attempt a daylong fast from oil in whatever way they find appropriate.

“We’re looking for God to show us a direction in our own lives,” said the Rev. Anne Hodges-Copple, rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Durham, which will hold a vigil at 7 tonight.

Although multiple issues are involved in the spill, lament and repentance for the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels is probably the first and most natural response, several clergy said.

“This didn’t happen as an act of God or by nature or by chance,” said the Rev. David McBriar, a priest at Raleigh’s St. Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church. “We did it.”

St. Francis is also holding a vigil at 7 tonight, at St. Mary’s of the Angels Chapel. Franciscans – who follow St. Francis, the patron of the environment – have dedicated the month of June for “prayers and deeds” in response to the disaster.

The Southern Baptist Convention, meeting in Orlando, Fla., on Wednesday, denounced the spill in a resolution that urged communities to protect the Earth for future generations.

Clergy have also begun preaching about the spill. The Rev. Jill Edens’ recent sermon at the United Church of Chapel Hill was a reflection on what happens when humans breach God’s created boundaries.

“We’re not going back to the Garden of Eden,” she said Wednesday. “Creation will forever bear the stain. But God will show a way forward.”

The Duke Divinity School’s Center for Reconciliation is offering a first step. The center has created a petition and a litany for worship use.

“We mourn the human and animal lives lost, the economies and ecosystems destroyed, and the gifts of God, created from and for his love, squandered and poisoned,” the lament reads. “Most of all we mourn our complicity and active participation.”

Filed Under: In the Media Tagged With: Environment

About Chris Liu-Beers, Former Program Associate

Chris worked on immigrant rights, farmworker justice, sustainability, worship resources, and the Council's website. He left the Council in 2014 to run Tomatillo Design, a company that builds affordable websites for nonprofits.

Reader Interactions

More Like This

A Season of Renewal
Together: Wholly Sacred and Beautifully Ordinary
Ken Lund | Flickr
NCIPL Director’s Testimony on EPA Methane Rules

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Anonymous comments or comments that target individuals will not be posted (please include your first and last name). All comments must be on topic and respectful. Comments will not be posted until they have been reviewed by a moderator. Comments do not reflect the positions of the NC Council of Churches.

Footer

Contact

NC Council of Churches
27 Horne St.
Raleigh, NC 27607
(919) 828-6501
info@ncchurches.org

Facebook

Partners in Health and Wholeness

Featured

Faithful find ways to respond to oil spill

Latest Tweets

People of faith have the power to change the world. Join us and partner organizations for an important event on voting rights! #2022CriticalIssues bit.ly/3KZgi7z pic.twitter.com/ag75…

About 8 hours ago

Your Vote is Your Voice! Learn more about Democracy in Action on 5/27 with Blueprint NC’s Executive Director, Serena Sebring. We will hear about the political movement and how we can take action. Register for our #2022CriticalIssues at the link! bit.ly/3KZgi7z pic.twitter.com/CrMe…

About 2 days ago

Learn what’s at stake for North Carolinians and how our courts impact our daily lives on 5/25 with @NCVCE Director, Melissa Price Kromm. The U.S. courts play such an important role in our lives no matter what the issue. #2022CriticalIssues bit.ly/3KZgi7z pic.twitter.com/1z1v…

About 4 days ago

Since redistricting affects who is elected to governmental bodies, the decisions about boundaries also affect policies these bodies enact. Anyone who cares about the way laws affect communities should care about this. Learn more #2022CriticalIssues bit.ly/3KZgi7z @scsj pic.twitter.com/sls7…

Last week

Through the assistance of @CarterCenter, Jennifer Roberts & Bob Orr are assembling a cross-partisan network of respected North Carolinians advocating for adherence to democratic & civic values in NC elections. Learn more & register: bit.ly/3KZgi7z #2022CriticalIssues pic.twitter.com/dCTl…

About 2 weeks ago

Follow @ncchurches

Latest Tweets

RT @FaithCompassWFU Consider becoming an HIV & Faith Ambassador! To learn more, plan to join us for a virtual information session on 05/18 at 2 PM, 06/30 at 2 PM, or on 07/20 at 11 AM, all EST. Register now: bit.ly/FaithAmbInfo #faithandHIV #faithcompassWFU #transformthestory pic.twitter.com/oZo7…

Last week

Join us now Attorney General Josh Stein for a virtual conversation, “A Faith-Based harm Reduction Approach to the Opioid Crisis.” youtube.com/watch?v=…

About 2 weeks ago

RT @NCAGO Join Attorney General @JoshStein_ today at 1 p.m. for a discussion on a faith-based harm reduction approach to the opioid crisis with representatives of Olive Branch Ministries. Register here: us06web.zoom.us/webi… pic.twitter.com/XB05…

About 2 weeks ago

Register here! #phw #MentalHealthAwareness ncchurches.ourpowerb… pic.twitter.com/VTN7…

About 3 weeks ago

Please Join Us! ncchurches.ourpowerb… pic.twitter.com/KG6o…

About 3 weeks ago

Follow @healthandfaith

Latest Tweets

RT @mocleanair Read our editorial in @GeorgiaRecorder. georgiarecorder.com/… @EnergyFdn @GCVoters @cleanenergyorg @GeorgiaIPL @gasierraclub @CleanAirMoms_GA @PSEquityMatters @SouthfaceInst @GAChapterAAP @CEHN @docsforclimate @enviRN @schoolnurses @uwomenfaith @eldersclimate @NCIPL @AlabamaPJC

About 4 days ago

RT @mocleanair Comments due in 3 days - if you haven't submitted one yet, do it today! For tips, read our blog about the different kinds of air pollution heavy duty vehicles make. #HealthyAirIsHealthCare #CleanAir @CEHN @TheOxygenProj @eldersclimate @uwomenfaith @GeorgiaIPL @AlabamaPJC @NCIPL twitter.com/mocleana…

About 4 days ago

RT @WECAN_INTL 📢Today, Indigenous women leaders & 200+ groups sent a letter calling on @USACEHQ to deny the permits for Line 5, conduct a federal EIS & respect Indigenous rights! To protect communities, water & our climate we must #StopLine5. Learn more👉bit.ly/3MBazW4 pic.twitter.com/FqeQ…

About 4 days ago

RT @interfaithpower North Carolina congregations with @NCIPL are taking advantage of their utility's solar panel rebate program to save on their lighting and space heating and cooling costs. #Faiths4Climate #EarthWeek twitter.com/PNS_NC/s…

Last month

RT @scennetwork1 This past weekend, Alexander Easdale, our Executive Director, attended the Fight for Our Future rally in Washington D.C. to advocate for climate action! Read more about this event here and see if you can spot our SCEN T-shirts in one of the pictures: nytimes.com/2022/04/… pic.twitter.com/5voq…

Last month

Follow @ncipl

Latest Tweets

Copyright © 2022 NC Council of Churches · All Rights Reserved · Website by Tomatillo Design · Hosted by WP Engine