Renewing the Sacred Balance: Overview
Why the Renewing the Sacred Balance Initiative?
We at Faith & the Common Good recognize that all major faith groups give central credence to the divine importance of humans living respectfully and harmoniously with the natural world, to the whole cosmos. As faith communities, we also know that we have been part of the ecological problem through our inaction, silence, or misguided religious views of how humans should relate to the natural world.
We at Faith & the Common Good recognize that all major faith groups give central credence to the divine importance of humans living respectfully and harmoniously with the natural world, to the whole cosmos. As faith communities, we also know that we have been part of the ecological problem through our inaction, silence, or misguided religious views of how humans should relate to the natural world.
Faith & the Common Good has been working across the country to encourage interfaith dialogue and action on eco-sustainable and ethical issues of the common good for all Canadians. We call this Renewing the Sacred Balance (RSB). We support churches, gurdwaras, mosques, synagogues, temples and a variety of interfaith groups in considering eco-justice issues such as spirituality and consumerism, energy conservation and the impact of global trade.
The campaign theme, Renewing the Sacred Balance, grew out of conversations with David Suzuki on his book, The Sacred Balance. As a scientist, with little interest in organized religion, he has come to recognize that saving the planet from ecological disaster involves a spiritual conversion as well as changed practices. One needs a change of heart; a belief in the sacredness of all life and a willingness to strive for a balanced relationship with the natural world.
Faith & the Common Good emphasizes the spiritual/ethical dimension of Climate Change, pollution and the loss of biodiversity. As we all open our eyes to these issues we need to be deliberate in offering spiritual wisdom and organized action that will Renew the Sacred Balance. This requires both remembering our sacred relationship with the cosmos as described in our faith traditions while finding new spiritual expressions that fit our twenty-first century reality.
Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party and a FCG supporter, eloquently expresses this conviction at the beginning of our RSB video. In our GSS video, many faith communities describe what they have done so far to Renew the Sacred Balance through our Greening Sacred Spaces program. Faith & the Common Good welcomes your participation and is committed to working with you on this spiritual/ethical quest.
Ted Reeve
Executive Coordinator