This project seeks to assist congregations and church leaders in re-envisioning what it means to be human on a changed planet. God’s creation is threatened by a misuse of human power caused by a flawed understanding of human identity and vocation. We need new stories and practices, as well as the recovery of ancient ones, which reveal ways of being human that are restorative for human and earth community.

This project will bring into dialogue three Stories, explore related practices, and provide practical resources for faith communities that wish to nurture and educate earth-honoring, justice-loving human beings. These Stories include ecological interpretations of Scripture, the Common Creation Story, with insights from evolutionary science and ecology, and Native American teachings. Because of my doctoral research with the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, I will return to this tradition for wisdom that Christians need in order to recover our proper place in the family of creation. The intended outcome is a book for use in congregational, ecumenical and seminary settings.

I will visit both Christian and Haudenosaunee communities that are living into the Stories and practices outlined above. I will spend a month in residence at Yale where faculty and library resources critical to this project are located. The bulk of the new research and writing will take place during a three month sabbatical beginning in April 2011.