Loving Our Neighbors Downstream cont.

Bethel Christian Church
Sideling Hill Creek Watershed, PA

Moved by their experience on the island, the Bethel Christian Church developed a deeper understanding of the biblical mandate to love one’s neighbor: to love one’s neighbors, they realized, was to explicitly act to do what was right for them, and not just talk about nature. They committed themselves to making sure that their farmland would not add sediments or fertilizer to the water running towards Chesapeake Bay, as well as to share their story with their more immediate neighbors in the region, so that they too might help prevent such pollution. A video to publicize the issue is planned, and the church intends to maintain close relations with the islanders as a reminder that the two communities are indeed neighbors, with deep ecological and spiritual ties, even if they’re not always in sight.

Adapted from an article by Kara Unger in Creation Care magazine.