Last week, the ADF Mother Grove Discussion Log came out, including a bit from June 2017 about an environmental protection statement.
As a result of the Mother Grove being unable to even bring a statement to a vote, we at Three Cranes Grove, ADF [Patreon Link], have taken it upon ourselves to release the statement and invite others to sign on in agreement, should they choose to do so.
Check out the full statement (and sign onto it if you wish).
The statement was clear: “we support policies that protect our natural resources for the health and well-being of all living creatures on the earth.” It doesn’t advocate for particular policies, certain legislation, or even suggest that this is about a specifically American problem (though it does indicate that recent positions by the U.S. administration are a catalyst for the statement).
Some discussion was had on the MG with support and counterpoints offered. By far the most bewildering commentary came from ADF’s Archdruid, though, where it was pointed out that we’re obviously for the environment, that individual action is plenty, that we’re not a “political organization,” and that the church should not lead on political solutions that affect us all.
The fact is, it’s not obvious that because we “honor the nature spirits so we necessarily support the environment” (to quote our Archdruid’s contribution to the discussion), and even if it was obvious, our silence indicates that the support is not serious. An offering to the Spirits of Nature cannot replace calls to government officials. The Spirits need more than our gifts. They need our voices, raised in friendship and concern.
Just because one member believes that they are “more than active” on this front doesn’t mean that we appear active as a church. It doesn’t mean that we can replace organizational activity with individual actions and have them read as anything other than intentional, organizational silence.
The notion that a church, especially a church like ours, should not provide “political” solutions denies the role that churches, both progressive and conservative, have played in our history. It also denies ADF’s own founding as a catalyst for political change.
When Isaac Bonewits started ADF, he did so with a Vision. All of us read and sign on for that Vision when we become members of ADF. In part, it reads:
“We see talented and well trained Neopagan clergy leading thousands of people in effective magical and mundane actions to save endangered species, stop polluters, and preserve wilderness. We see our healers saving thousands of lives and our bards inspiring millions through music and video concerts and dramas. We see Neopaganism as a mass religion, changing social, political, and environmental attitudes around the world and stopping the death-mongers in their tracks.”
Isaac saw ADF and Druidry as providing the “chaplains of the environmental movement.”
To end, I’ll leave folks with this, also from Isaac and ADF’s Vision: “We believe that ADF has an important role to play in the future of Neopaganism and the survival of the Earth.”
Let’s practice the Vision we all signed up for. Email act@threecranes.org if you’d like to sign onto the environmental statement with us. You’re welcome at our fire, friends.
