How do we become spiritual stewards of the Earth?

We are organic members of our Earth home, we are responsible for it.

For too many of us, nature is something to be navigated around, managed or profited from. It's a GPS route to my destination, weather reports affecting our weekend plans, and making sure that my kids are wearing enough sunscreen. This haphazard attitude toward our Earth home denies the reality that we are organic members of our planet. A neighbor of ours, Chief Si’thl (Seattle) voiced this so well: “The earth does not belong to man. Man belongs to the earth... Whatever we do to the earth, we do to ourselves.”

Perhaps mistreatment of the planet is reflected in recent pandemics, the fall in population, and the rise in health problems in our children. Also, how many illnesses result from environmental pollution? Not a pretty picture.

The information is in front of us—what the most urgent issues are and the solutions for the clean up. But... what holds us back from doing it? Could it be our attitudes? "Me first! What I do doesn't really matter." Perhaps it’s time to rethink our attitudes while there is still time. 

We cannot segregate the human heart from the environment outside of us and say that once one of these is reformed everything will be improved. Man is organic with the world. His inner life moulds the environment and is itself also deeply affected by it. ~ Baha’i Writings

The Salem-Keizer Baha'i Community invites you for a deep conversation about our relationship with each other and our planet home. The focus cannot be only on the material world but also about our spiritual responsibility to it.

We welcome you to join us:

Finding Common Ground

Saturday, November 14 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. IKE Box Cafe, Bay Room 299 Cottage Street Salem, Oregon