August 6, 2001
BGCT's environmental emphasis
gaining steam as ethical concern
___By John Hall
___Staff Writer
___HOUSTON--The American people are participating in "voluntary genocide" by allowing harmful chemicals in the air around poorer minority neighborhoods, according to a Houston pastor.
___Roy Malveaux of Shining Star Baptist Church said he sees the effects of pollution from nearby industrial facilities on the health of his largely African-American congregation and neighborhood. Children across the nation have poor memories, behavior problems and asthma due to the chemicals around them, he asserted, and yet the American public does nothing to change the environmental conditions.
___Malveaux is not the only Houston-area pastor to experience the effects of increased industrialization around his church.
___Rob Purdy of First Baptist Church of Seabrook said he is facing a similar problem near his church since the Houston Port Authority has proposed to expand the port toward a poor community. The proposal will increase congestion in the area as well as damage the air in an area that already has air-quality problems, he said.
___Terri Morgan of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Christian Life Commission confronts situations like this on a regular basis. She has worked with Malveaux, Purdy and several other pastors for the past several months trying to network churches facing environmental problems in the Houston area.
___"We are in a world now where global environmental issues impact every aspect of industry, commerce and life," Morgan said. "There's not a community in the world that does not have a circumstance ... that is not at its core an environmental issue."
___However, Morgan does not view these issues solely as environmental problems but as economic and racial as well.
___"These industrial sites are placed in poor neighborhoods and communities of color," Morgan said. "A recent survey done by thhe American Law Review documents that industrial sites and landfills are almost always placed in communities where there are very poor people or there are minority groups. So, this has become a justice issue and becomes an issue about what we do as Christians to help the weakest."
___Along with networking churches, Morgan works with lawmakers to rally support for environmental legislation, representing those who have little power in the government by working with other faith-based environmental groups.
___"They have no political clout, but Jesus does," Morgan said. "You simply build coalitions supporting conservation, and you simply make your voice heard. You just do what you can in every opportunity and stick to the word."
___Malveaux also is working with government officials on legislation that would require a buffer zone between residential and industrial areas. He believes the buffer zone is best for the neighbors and the businesses.?
___Christian environmentalism has gained strength over the past 15 years, as ministers, professors and laypeople have joined the movement. However, being a Christian environmentalist often requires people to reconsider their conception of what it means to be a Christian, Morgan said.
___"God offers the right to people to change the course of their own lives," Morgan said. "Sometimes we think of Christianity as being a passive religion. And while it is passive in one way, the gospel is radical. And if you believe the gospel can change lives, you have to obey that central call to one's fellow man."
___For more information about the environmental ministry resources offered by the BGCT, contact Morgan at (214) 828-5199.
Send this story to a friend
Get printer-friendly version of this story
News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.
Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!/ Signup for FirstLook