Green Zone and Web of Creation

Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC)
Chicago, Illinois

Seminarian Steve Jerbi says, “I chose LSTC because of the environmental opportunities. I came in expecting to take classes on the book of Genesis or putting together Earth Day worship services. And I've done both. But I never expected to take a toxic tour of the southeast side of Chicago, where steel mills have been abandoned and brownfields dot the landscape. I never expected to work with an interfaith environmental program where Latino youth teach congregations how to have worm composting. Environmental theology is about justice.”

LSTC has a legacy of environmental commitment. For 16 years LSTC has functioned as a Green Zone, a place dedicated to practicing care for the earth in its geographical space and its communal life. For over 10 years, students, staff and faculty have supported the Web of Creation, an extensive web site dedicated to resourcing churches and individuals on care of creation. A few years ago, LSTC buildings underwent a lighting retrofit, stopped using herbicides in landscaping, and placed recycled furniture in student housing. As this witness continues and grows, students can care for creation through a variety of opportunities: weekly chapel services, Earth Day celebrations, comprehensive recycling program, tree planting, environmental courses, and more.

The Green Zone committee, sub-committee of Community Life, "creates a space for sharing between students, staff, and faculty and encourages us to stretch creation care into future parishes," explains student Stephanie Lord. Goals of the Green Zone are to promote transformation through worship and education, to maintain buildings and grounds in environmentally friendly ways, to foster earth-keeping disciplines, and to exercise responsible public ministry.

A meeting of the LSTC Green Zone Committee

In its dedication to serving a wide audience, LSTC has produced two books Care of the Earth: A Manual for Church Leaders and Creation and the Future of Humanity: LSTC Writings on the Environment. Anticipated future publications include a two-volume series of sermons on the environment and a “systems analysis” comprehensive analysis of the environmental crisis. LSTC also has co-sponsored four eco-justice conferences.