Source: A Parish Handbook for Christian Environmentalism in the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania
1. Creation is a work of God's grace. The cosmos reflects God's beauty, mystery and glory. Creation is to be respected and honored as a marvelous work of a gracious God.
2. The whole creation is interdependent. There is an essential balance upon which the well-being of all the elements of creation depend, a reflection of the tri-unity of God's own way of being, a community of love. The whole natural order, air, water, minerals, plants, animals and humanity, together form a universe. There is, to beg a phrase from social thought, a "common good" between them that needs to be respected and observed.
3. God has appointed the human family as the "stewards" of the earth, to care for the natural order, so that it may be a blessing for all, not only the present, but all future generations. God's promise of "abundant life" is a legacy that must be passed on to those that come after us.
4. In our sin, we deny our rightful relationship to God, the human family, and the natural order. In humility we must seek God's forgiveness and the grace to be in harmony with all creation.
5. The incarnation of the Son of God is a telling sign of a continuity between the work of creation and salvation. What was assumed was saved, not only human nature but the whole of creation which groaned and travailed for the coming of the Lord. Jesus embraced not only human nature but all of nature of which we are a part.
6. Sacramentalism, which is the key to Christian worship and life, preserves the unity of the natural order, imbued with the qualities of matter and spirit. Christianity rejects a dualism that opposes the physical against the spiritual. It affirms a marriage between the natural and supernatural orders. God is at home in both.
7. The Holy Spirit is revealed as a life-giving source not only to human inspiration and endeavor but constitutes the fullness of God's presence that fills the whole world. The world is filled with the glory of God and every common bush burns with a divine glory.
8. Christian eschatology does not look forward to the abandonment of "this world" but the transformation of it into the Kingdom of God. In the Kingdom to Come, the world will not be left behind but gathered up and fulfilled in the establishment of God's perfect reign. God is the ultimate preservationist.
