A Christian conference gatherings within its own footprint… time for a change?—The Ongoing Adventures of Asbo Jesus
Given God entrusted us with the care of creation, how do we reduce the amount of environmental damage we do to the planet? Before I point my fingers at a corporation or country, perhaps I should start to look at my environmental habits.
Upon examination of my lifestyle, it became crystal clear that I needed to reassess my travel schedule so that when I report on new ministries, I am not leaving behind a dinosaur-sized carbon footprint. One of my first goals was to start multi-tasking by combining visits (e.g., on a trip to cover the American Academy of Religion’s 2008 conference in Chicago, I also took a bus ride to visit the Missio Dei community in nearby Minneapolis). When possible, I try to stay at a place for at least a week (preferably more) so I can do as much reporting as possible, thus avoiding making frequent short trips to the area.
Next, I began using a carbon footprint calculator to help me determine the most environmentally friendly method of getting to my destination. This calculator helped me explore more sustainable modes of travel such as staying in people’s homes or if that’s not doable, then searching for more environmentally friendly hostels and hotels. When possible, I try to eat locally grown food in lieu of grabbing some commercial crud on the run.
As I was exploring ways to travel in a more eco-friendly manner, this current recession hit, which caused many of us to put a temporary slowdown to our travels. But instead of returning to our current practices once the economy improves, what if we used this time reflect on how we as individuals, church communities and institutions try to operate in a more sustainable fashion?
Missiologist Andrew Jones, who has been blogging about sustainable forms of ministry for years, made the very astute analysis that one of the major culprits are these extravagant Christian conferences (PreacherFests) where participants are asked to pay an exorbitant admission price to go and hear their favorite speaker. Add to that a flight, meals and a hotel room, and there's not much change from A THOUSAND from which to buy the speaker's book to support this weird cottage industry.
Already, I am seeing some signs of change. As I reported on the God’s Politics blog in February 2009, Trinity Institute’s 2009 Conference titled Radical Abundance: a theology of sustainability, took some significant steps toward carbon offsetting. One change that caught my attention was that through web conferencing, over 80 groups of people gathered offsite location to participate in this conference. As they were given all the participant materials and could email their questions for the speakers, these groups could participate fully in the conference even though they were not physically present. While fewer people were present in the pews this year, more individuals participated overall in this conversation than had attended in previous years.
On 9/09/09, Leadership Network and Catalyst launched The Nines, a free one-day online event. A sizable number of well known US based religious speakers spoke for nine minutes via a live webcast with over 20,000 unique IP addresses viewing at least part of this event. Thanks to current technological developments, anyone with access to a computer, a web camera and high-speed Internet access can participate in online discussions via programs such as Skype where the video streams in very close to real time. Also, virtual projects like The Wikiklesia Project enable Christians to come together and share ideas in collaborative formats that leave little trace behind.
While I celebrate these technological advances that enable us to connect across the world, I think we need to occasionally interact with our brothers and sisters in Christ in person. I can’t hug my laptop and a ritual such as the Last Supper means that we feed each other actual bread and wine.
Andrew Jones reflects on the environmental benefits of gathering together at Christian festivals. “Festivals in general leave a far smaller footprint than conferences that rely on hotels and airports” Also, one can often camp at a festival, thus reducing the cost associated in staying with a hotel."
I’m a major proponent of festivals over conferences, because I find that festivals bring together a wide swath of people from different cultures together for one giant communal party. Here one can experience God through those means that speak to one’s heart such as interactive art, talks, dance, music, worship services, prayer stations and other activities.
This past summer, I was invited to participate in the Global Roundtable of Global and Emerging Ministries, which was held in Lubiaz, Poland as part of the Slot Art Festival. Andrew describes the overall environmental ethos of slot: “People generally come from the area and the few countries around Poland. Most people stay in tents and the monastery is not air conditioned. Very little energy is used up and the footprint is tiny.”
When I asked the organizers of Slot what steps they took to make this festival sustainable, they told me they make sure their garbage is sorted by a local waste management company, they promote and sell fair trade products, the issue of ecology is discussed during the seminars and organizations like Greenpeace and Lepszy Świat are invited to the festival. Also, due to their low budget, they need to arrange for cheap transport, which has the added benefit of producing a very low carbon footprint of this event when compared to similar events.
Another festival I attended that has made significant strides towards minimizing it’s environmental impact is Greenbelt. Among the practical measures they’ve introduced include: setting up an online liftshare group on the website, establishing an environmental levy that will help offset the carbon emissions from people traveling by car to the festival, establishing a massive recycling operation at the festival, using 100% biodegradable and compostable cups, provide onsite composting to campers and caterers, encouraging the use of fair-trade products including using fair trade organic cotton in the manufacturing of all Greenbelt branded garments, printing the festival guide and all other publicity materials on 100% recycled paper stock, and monitoring the sound pollution in the surrounding areas during the festival.
Moving forward, as I’m starting to research a forthcoming book that will require some extensive travel, I am starting to craft out a travel plan that takes the environment into account. By forcing myself to reduce my carbon footprint, I’ll be able to spend some time to really sit and reflect in an area instead of hopping around to see how much I can see. Something tells me I’ll end up with fewer touristy snapshots, but much better stories.
