GOD AND THE GREEN MOVEMENT
In 1970, Ann L. Whitaker attended the first Earth Day celebration in Washington, and was one of 20 million nationwide observing it.
"It was part of my formation," the Clinton resident said. "I was a senior in high school. There were many changes taking place, and there was this notion of getting back to the garden. People were saying we have this planet, and we need to do something to save it or take care of it."
Today, Whitaker is still leading people back to the garden. As the rector of Clinton's Episcopal Church of the Creator, she's helped introduce environmental initiatives there while emphasizing a connection between being green and being godly.
On Wednesday, Whitaker led an Earth Day-themed program for children during which they discussed creation care and planted a dogwood.
"My take from the book of Genesis is that God has given the care of creation to the created man and woman," she said. "I think that the instructions, right from the beginning, were that we are to care for the garden and care for the Earth."
Whitaker's congregation does that by recycling church bulletins and aluminum. They use energy-saving compact florescent light bulbs, turn their computers off daily and hope to install programmable thermostats in the future to save money and energy.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20090425/FEAT04/904250310/1023/FEAT03
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