The Earth - our shared home
The Greek word ‘oikos’ (pronounced ‘eekos’) describes a household, or a shared dwelling place. It’s the root of both our English words ‘economy’ and ‘ecology’, as well as various words used to describe a village or community.
This is not just clever etymology: we’re reminded that how we live together with other humans as well as other creatures, and how we use the Earth’s resources, are all part of the same, interconnected challenge.
The Kingdom of God could be said to be the perfect ‘oikos’ and our job as Christians is to learn (perhaps re-learn) what it means to inhabit and develop that sort of perfectly balanced, harmonious and fruitful ecosystem.
The Eco-church movement seeks to give local churches a framework to work towards just that kind of vision.
Flax Bourton in particular has embedded the Eco-church goals in its worship, teaching and community outreach during 2022. As we’ve done so, we‘ve discovered new ways to connect with our community, initiated new conversations about faith and, most importantly, begun to see the shoots of both the repair and the new flourishing of God’s ecosystem around us.
