Spanish 
"Responsibility for Creation" Part 1 from the Autumn 2016 Vision Newsletter
We, as a church, don’t often talk about the earth and nature. We have a tradition that tends to disdain the material world, contrasted with our views of the spiritual world. However, we cannot conclude that the invisible, spiritual world outranks the visible, natural world because all was created by God and, as He said, was “very good.” The earth is part of the plan of salvation. This planet is a gift from God to us and it is one that continues to provide for us, even in our misuse of it.
Gratitude and appreciation for what God has given us must be forefront for us as Christians, as we can see from the lyrics of the hymn. One of the definitions of the word appreciation is “thankful recognition.” To be thankful and appreciate, we must first recognize what we have been given. And when we truly recognize, then thankfulness and gratitude lead us to the next step: stewardship. Stewardship is the responsible overseeing and protection of something considered worth caring for and preserving. So what should we be stewards over? I would suggest three relationships that were laid out in the Garden of Eden: our relationship with God, our relationship with each other, and our relationship with nature. All of these relationships are interwoven and it’s important that they stay in balance with one another.