Title: Taiwan's Presbyterians Sign On to Earth Sunday Proclamation Taiwan Church News 2831 29 May - 4 June 2006 Reported by Lin Yi-ying. Written by David Alexander
On May 29th officers of Taiwan's Environmental Concern Association visited the offices of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) to sign a joint declaration on the environment. PCT General Secretary Chang Te-chien and Church & Society Programme Secretary Chang Meng-yi represented the church. The declaration proclaimed the first Sunday in June as "Earth Sunday" and suggested a theme of "The Church on an Injured Globe" for the upcoming Sabbath. Through entering the agreement, the church invited all its members to actively care for the environment.
The declaration's preface reads, "We are people who follow Jesus Christ. In today's environmental crisis we are together. We are willing to voice support for all environmental protection movements of the globe so that life might be sustained and develop throughout God's created world." The declaration's scope is global, and includes all aspects of the environment, including: social justice, economics, justice, democracy, anti-violence and peace.
In the year to come, emphasis will be placed on "Four R's": REFUSE (do not use disposable dishes, packaging, wrappings): REDUCE (reduce the amounts of garbage produced AND of water and electricity used at home); REUSE (bags, rags, and paper); and RECYCLE (separate waste into recyclables and disposables and properly deal with each). PCT General Secretary Chang Te-chien said, "According to Genesis, God wants people to serve with him as co-managers of the world. Sisters and brothers in Christ must support the aims of environment Sunday, enter into covenantal relationship with god, and respond to the God's grace in a mission of good stewardship."
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