Florida bishop speaks on God's creation

Florida bishop speaks on creation

“The whole earth is full of God’s glory,” said United Methodist Bishop Kenneth Carter. He told members gathered
for the Lewis Lecture Series that he hoped his remarks at First United Methodist Church Rogers helped “each of us through our own journey on this earth.”
“The whole earth is full of God’s glory,” said United Methodist Bishop Kenneth Carter. He told members gathered for the Lewis Lecture Series that he hoped his remarks at First United Methodist Church Rogers helped “each of us through our own journey on this earth.”

Our God is the divine author, the master designer, the giver of life," said Bishop Kenneth Carter, who leads the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. He spent last weekend in Northwest Arkansas, the featured speaker for the biannual Lewis Lecture Series at First United Methodist Church in Rogers.

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First United Methodist Church in Rogers featured Kenneth Carter Jr., bishop of the United Methodist Florida Conference, as the keynote speaker for the biannual Lewis Lecture Series. Carter spoke about the Creation and Christian’s responsibilities to it.

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The Rev. David Bentley, pastor of the Rogers church, poses a question to Carter during a luncheon Monday. Carter responded that living in Creation is redemption, as are acknowledging and being humble before God and not taking it for granted that Creation is not just for the here and now.

Carter was not in town to push an agenda. Instead, in several presentations, he focused on the Christian responsibility and reason "to help each of us through our own journey on this earth," he said. "The whole earth is full of God's glory."

Carter admitted a Christian stereotype: The Bible begins with the third chapter of Genesis, the fall of Adam and Eve. "We focus on human sin -- the sin of others or maybe our own," he said. "But what if it begins with chapters 1 and 2? Imagine that it begins with the presence and blessing of God in creation."

Carter put forth the creation of the Earth as a sacrament -- which he described as an outward, invisible sign of inward and spiritual grace.

He drew a variety of images for his audience: watching a sunrise or sunset, resting on a beautiful mountain ridge, the eternal return of the waves, being caught off guard by the promise of a rainbow, taking a morning walk, even walking around the spaces at Crystal Bridges [Museum of American Art] -- "which is stunning and right in your own backyard," he said -- "and communing with God.

"All of the natural world is a sign pointing us to the divine author, the master, the giver of life," Carter said. "Through the Creation, God is making himself known to us. He becomes real, tangible."

Carter noted, that when he asks people where in their own lives they have "most powerfully experienced the presence of God," they give three answers: In beautiful music, in working with the poor and suffering, and in the beauty of God's world.

He spoke of a pastor in North Carolina, assigned to a small, traditional church in a growing area. The pastor also completed a vision of worship services at a popular outdoor center, which offered recreational adventures in the state's natural features.

"The groups were on opposite ladders," Carter said of those who worshiped at the two places. "But together, they have a whole communion. God is moving in both of their services.

"God speaks to us in many ways," Carter continued. "That's the beauty of the Christian spiritual life.

"We need all these open places, not so much for recreational purposes or beauty, but for spiritual reasons," Carter said.

"What are our needs for those places of silence? What will our descendents need centuries from now in a world that is far more likely to be drained of contemplative resources?"

Carter listed several ways Christians could approach the Creation, "all of which are rooted in the Bible, and prominent people are immersed in them."

People could use the Creation as a place of contemplation, or set it aside as holy. Those who are charismatic can use their energy and passion to concerns of the earth. In the social justice tradition, degrading the environments of the poor might become a focus of laws. "But laws are just part of the tradition," Carter said. "We need Christians as part of the conversation about watershed issues or the depletion of topsoil."

Evangelical Christians can share the biblical text and scriptures in which God calls his people to be stewards of the earth, he continued. And in the sacramental tradition, Christians take note of how the food they eat is grown or dig water wells in other countries.

Carter noted that a small church might follow just one of these traditions, but larger churches "allow more than one tradition to co-exist side-by-side."

"The wilderness exists for our own care along with that of the rest of the world," Carter said. "To live in a throw-away culture is to deny our heritage, squander our birthright.

"The way we care for the world mirrors our care for God," he continued. "And God cares for us so much, that we might care for each other and all of Creation. To care for the Creation is to care for the Creator. To have reverence for the mountains or the shoreline are to be in communion with God."

Carter told a story from a trip he and his wife, Pam, took to Ireland. Everywhere, they noticed stone Celtic crosses, some 10 to 12 centuries old, standing 7 to 10 feet tall in open fields, he said.

"The Celts believe that heaven begins 1 foot above your head, and that heaven ends 1 foot below your feet," he said. "And Calvin calls creation 'the theater of God's glory.'

"And in the face of that astounding display of power, we ask ourselves, 'Who am I among all this?'" the bishop continued, quoting a poem by Richard Foster. "And we tend to answer, 'Not much, really.'"

Carter noted that Scripture describes humans "as a little less than God, but in the Psalms 8:6 ...

"... We are made stewards, you and I. He's got the whole world in his hands. Well, he put the whole world in our hands."

Carter recommended following the path of the shepherd, and to care for the earth as the shepherd cares for his sheep. "The shepherd does not dominate his sheep. The shepherd knows his well-being and livelihood are very connected to the well-being of those sheep.

"Does the way we spend our lives reflect that our father God is our creator, Jesus is our Lord, and the Holy Spirit is our sustenance?" Carter asked. "We are the stewards of the spiritual gifts of God's mission."

Carter told members of the local church that God planted First United Methodist Church in downtown Rogers with a purpose.

"We are the stewards of the time and space in our lifespans -- which are finite in this life," he said.

"Who am I?" Carter asked again. "If I am connected to the God of the Bible, the God that the Psalmists praised, the God that Jesus loved, I have to be a person that is filled with gratitude."

If the only prayer you say in your life is "thank you," that would suffice.

-- Meister EckhartGerman theologian, mystic(1260-1328)

Laurinda Joenks can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWALaurinda.

NAN Religion on 04/30/2016

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