Editor's note: The Rev. Mark Davies chaired, and the Rev. Sharon Delgado served on the initial team that was convened by the General Board of Church and Society to draft the section of the Revised Social Principles that focuses on creation. Here they explain why they support passage of the Revised Social Principles at the upcoming General Conference.
By Sharon Delgado and Mark Davies
Special to United Methodist Insight
“The great lesson that our blessed Lord inculcates here…is that God is in all things, and that we are to see the Creator in the glass of every creature; that we should use and look upon nothing as separate from God…who pervades and actuates the whole created frame, and is, in a true sense, the soul of the universe.” – John Wesley (9)
The Community of All Creation
The above quote by John Wesley introduces the section of the United Methodist Revised Social Principles that has previously been called “The Natural World.” In the revised version, the title has been changed to “The Community of All Creation.”
Revised Social Principles Cover
UM Insight Image from PDF
In the revision process, our writing team took note of the fact that all the major sections of the Social Principles focused on communities of which we as human persons are participants (The Economic Community, the Social Community, the Political Community). The Natural World” section was the exception. We were concerned that the absence of the word “community” in the heading perpetuated the problematic dualistic view of persons being separate from nature rather than seeing human persons as part of the ecological community. The proposed title, “The Community of All Creation,” suggests that we as humans are not set apart from nature but rather are participants and members of the community of all creation. This does not diminish the responsibility we have to care for creation and do justice in creation, but it does emphasize that we accept this responsibility as participants within the ecological community, not above creation or somehow over against it. It also emphasizes the reality that human flourishing is intimately and inextricably connected to ecological flourishing.
This title informed our language in this section, which begins with updated theological language about God’s creation, its value, and our human role as responsible members of the interconnected and interdependent community of life. This section also emphasizes our United Methodist commitment to justice for the most vulnerable people. For example:
“We call for the institution of environmentally just principles, policies and practices. We affirm the wisdom and agency of indigenous peoples and marginalized populations to determine for themselves practices and policies that best provide for their basic human needs, including food, water, shelter, and land free from toxic wastes. Self-determination entails, among other things, access to all pertinent information and significant decision-making power over industrial, agricultural, and other developments that have potential to wreak significant harm on land, air and water.” (11)
Our work on the “Community of All Creation” is an example of the purpose and process of revising the Social Principles. The Revised Social Principles is a summary of principles based in biblical and Wesleyan thought that will help equip United Methodists to engage the difficult issues of our day and to take action for peace, justice, and the healing of God’s world. According to the document:
“The Social Principles are not church law. Instead, they represent the prayerful and earnest efforts of the General Conference to speak to issues in the contemporary world from a sound biblical and theological foundation that is in keeping with the best of our United Methodist traditions. The Social Principles are thus a call to faithfulness and to social engagement and intended to be instructive and persuasive in the best of the prophetic spirit. Moreover, they challenge all members of The United Methodist Church to engage in deliberative reflection and encourage intentional dialogue between faith and practice.” (5)
The Purpose and Process of Revision
In 2012, General Conference began the process of moving the church to update the Social Principles. The purpose was both theological and practical. After the 2016 General Conference, globally diverse writing teams were convened for several days to draft new language for each section. The goal was to make the Social Principles concise, theologically grounded, and globally relevant (not centered on the U. S. church). Then the draft was circulated around the world. The Revised Social Principles cover page describes this process:
“Capturing the Wesleyan spirit of social holiness and ethical action, over 4,000 United Methodists from around the world participated in an eight-year process to review and update the United Methodist Social Principles. Completed in 2020, this new draft document reflects the United Methodist response to today’s most pressing social issues and is pending adoption at The General Conference 2024.”
The Importance of Passing the Revised Social Principles
Since completing the original draft, thousands of people have reviewed, critiqued, and edited each section. The current version was finalized to present for a vote at General Conference 2020, then was delayed four years until 2024. This year General Conference delegates can finally vote for its passage. We support its approval, even though we don’t agree completely with every detail in it. Since the original draft was completed, thousands of people have reviewed and edited each section. In that process, it should be no surprise that a few details have been changed in “The Community of All Creation.” We do not agree with all of them.
In fact, Fossil Free UMC is proposing a change to the Revised Social Principles even now. Where we drafted language about harm caused to creation “by coal, oil, and natural gas,” in the review process someone inserted “to a lesser extent” before the words “natural gas.” This downplays the harmful effects of natural gas, which is primarily methane, a strong greenhouse gas. Fossil Free UMC wants to take out the exception for natural gas, and we may have the opportunity to argue for that change in committee at this General Conference.
The problem is that there may be hundreds of changes proposed, and there may not be time to focus on each suggested change. But whether our suggested changes are adopted or not, we support the passage of the Revised Social Principles as a whole. The final version, including any edits that are approved at General Conference, will be the culmination (for now) of the efforts of many United Methodists from around the world to summarize and challenge our thinking and action on the social issues of our day.
Although this is the first time the Social Principles have been rewritten as a whole, conversations about social issues and amendments to the Social Principles have been ongoing at every General Conference. After the passage of the Revised Social Principles, this process is sure to continue. We do not have to accept every word of the document. It is not church law, but a prophetic challenge to our thinking. It is a living document. We will have the opportunity to change it as we go, especially if we are persistent and organized. This openness to differences is addressed in the Revised Social Principles:
“Therefore, whenever significant differences of opinion occur among Christians, some of which continue to divide the church deeply today, faithful Christians need to face their disagreements and even their despair, and not cover differences with false claims of consensus or unanimity. On the contrary, the church needs to embrace conflicts with courage and perseverance as we seek together to discern God’s will. With that understanding and commitment, we pledge ourselves to acknowledge and to embrace with courage, trust, and hope those controversies that arise among us, accepting them as evidence that God is not yet finished in sculpting us to be God’s people.”
It is for these reasons that we join with the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement, Fossil Free UMC, the Love Your Neighbor Coalition (LYNC), and siblings around the world in promoting passage of the Revised Social Principles. The updated theological language, together with a broad and inclusive input into today’s social issues, make this document an important starting point for discerning a faithful response to today’s social issues.
We close with one more example of the language in The Community of all Creation section: “We recognize the inherent worth of God’s creation, celebrate earth’s abundance and diversity, and, along with the entirety of the cosmos, give praise to its Creator. We recognize we are interconnected members of complex ecosystems, intricate webs of life, all of which have their origins in God’s gracious act of creation.” (9)
References
United Methodist Revised Social Principles.
Church and Society’s overview, “Revised Social Principles for General Conference Charlotte 2024.
Article by Kathy L. Gilbert, UM News (2019) “Revised Social Principles reflect worldwide church”.
Davies and Delgado
The Rev. Sharon Delgado is on the Coordinating Committee of the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement and is the Convener of Fossil Free UMC. She is author of The Cross in the Midst of Creation, Love in a Time of Climate Change, and Shaking the Gates of Hell.
The Rev. Dr. Mark Y. A. Davies is the Wimberly Professor of Social and Ecological Ethics and Director of the World House Institute for Social and Ecological Responsibility at United Methodist-related Oklahoma City University. He is Executive Director of the Leadership, Education, and Development (LEAD) Hub North America of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church.