'Stewards' seek to protect God's creation

Sandy Webb picks peaches in her backyard garden. Webb uses a system of rain collection barrels, shown in the background, to recover rain water which she uses to water her garden. Members of the local Interfaith Stewards of Creation say they would like to see the City of Gallup educate residents more about the use of rain collection barrels and grey water systems. [Photo by John A. Bowersmith/Independent]

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff Writer

We are part of the earth and the earth is part of us.
— attributed to Chief Seattle

GALLUP — It's hard to talk about New Mexico's severe, long-term drought when almost each day Gallup is getting drenched with summer rain showers.

And with the local landscape green, muddy, and sometimes flooded, it's hard to remember that this water is mostly surface moisture that's not really feeding the underground aquifers very much.

It's also hard to talk about environmental issues alongside issues of spirituality and faith. Most people don't see how the two subjects are connected. It's the old science versus religion stuff. The more scientifically-oriented environmentalists are thought to look down their noses at religious faith, the stereotype goes, and the more spiritually-minded people are thought to have little interest in caring for the earth they one day plan to leave.

But three women in Gallup see lots of connectedness between their Christian faith and their concern for the environment. They may appreciate the summer rain as a blessing from God, but they also feel a strong commitment to conserving the water we have along with other natural resources as a way of demonstrating responsible stewardship of the earth God created.

Sister Rose Marie Cecchini and Sister Maureen Houlihan are both Catholic sisters who work in programs based out of the Gallup Catholic Charities office. Betsy Windisch is the education director for the First United Methodist Church of Gallup. And while the three would fit in comfortably in just about any theological discussion, they all hold very strong views related to uranium mining, recycling, economic development, green building, water conservation, and other environmental issues.

WWJD?
At the most basic level, they are always seeking answers the question: What would Jesus do about the environment? And what would He have us do?

The women are members of three groups that help support their dual interests in environmental and spiritual matters. They are members of Stewards of Creation, a statewide organization that began in New Mexico in 2001. According to its literature, the group is made up of people from diverse faith traditions who "grapple with the complexities of mysticism and science, faith and technology" and who "work to receive the gifts of creation as wondrous trusts that reveal the creator rather than simply as materials to be exploited."

The SOC has a yearly training program for adults interested in its environmental faith philosophy that involves several weekend retreats scheduled throughout the year and around the state, including Gallup. A new training program will be beginning in early October, and Windisch is the local contact person.

Secondly, the women are also members of Interfaith Stewards of Creation, a local group that was founded in 1998 after a Western New Mexico Water Stewardship Retreat was held in Gallup. The retreat, which was sponsored by the New Mexico Conference of Churches and the New Mexico Catholic Conference, sought to bring people from Christian churches together with Navajo people holding traditional Navajo spiritual beliefs.

The subject of uranium mining came up in the retreat, said Cecchini, a subject which was raised by the local Navajo participants. "Why aren't the churches taking any kind of stand?" Cecchini recalled some of them asking. "So they challenged us."

Since its founding, the local Interfaith Stewards of Creation has tried to involve area Navajo and Pueblo people in its meetings and projects and to draw from native spiritual teachings. In addition, it has helped connect the state SOC with local native communities, and, in fact, the SOC's weekend retreat in Gallup has a Native American focus.

"Native Americans have always been connected to the earth," said Houlihan. "I think that's just a real gift of this area."

And thirdly, the women are also members of the Deep Ecology Group, a local group for people who care very passionately about environmental issues. The group is a place, they explained, where they can talk about issues with others who share their concerns.

Voice for the earth
"We wanted to be a voice for the earth...," said Houlihan of the different groups. "If you're just talking about people, you're leaving out a whole part of the ecosystem."

"It's all related. We're all related... we're all part of the small, beautiful, little planet," she added. "What we do to one person, we're doing to ourselves," she said.

Referring to the famous quotations attributed to Chief Seattle, Windisch added, "It's that understanding that what we do to the environment, we do to ourselves."

Gallup is a prime example of this, said Cecchini. The July 16, 1979 uranium spill in Church Rock, just a few miles east of Gallup, was the largest nuclear waste accident in the United States to date, she said, yet many local residents are either unaware of the accident or unconcerned about its impact.

"We are in a surreal situation when the disconnect is so profound," she said.

Cecchini, Houlihan, and Windisch also question Gallup's emphasis on attracting more economic development when the city is struggling now to insure a water supply for the city's current population and business community.

More growth in Gallup and more industry brings an increased demand on the city's already limited water supply, said Cecchini. With every new push to attract more tourists or more industry, added Windisch, city leaders need to ask themselves, "How is this going to impact our water resources?"

The women did commend Gallup's efforts thus far to conserve water and to educate the public, but they suggested the city look to other desert communities for more water conservation methods.

"Alamogordo seems to be a model community," said Cecchini, who explained that city has adopted many aggressive water conservation methods. Cecchini recommended the film "High and Dry," a documentary about New Mexico's problems with drought, that includes information about Alamogordo's water conservation strategies that have reduced the per person use of water by about two-thirds.

The group would also like to see the city work with local contractors to bring more environmentally friendly "green building" techniques to Gallup and educate home owners about the use of rain collection barrels in their yards and grey water systems in their homes.

Ultimately, Windisch said, everyone in the community needs to look at how they use natural resources and challenge themselves to more responsible use. "Let's go one step further," she said, "what more can we do?"

Resources

• New Mexico's Stewards of Creation: Contact Betsy Windisch at (505) 863-4512 or fumceducation@centco.com
  
  
• Gallup's Inter-faith Stewards of Creation: Contact Rose Marie Cecchini at (505) 726-9197 or rcecchinimm@hotmail.com
  
  
• Gallup's Deep Ecology Group: Contact Maureen Houlihan at (505) 722-4407 or cathcharities@yahoo.com