Plantation Of The Kingdom Of God: Ecology And Ecological Sensitization - A Paradigm Shift In Pedagogical Pastoral Milieu

Abstract

My long essay will be based on our missions in Africa and in particular Kenya under the pastoral care because this is the environment that I am familiar with and in this way, it gives me a reason to reflect on the situation of missions in Kenya and in the light of Laudato Si.

Pastoral care is about Missio Dei, that is plantation of the Kingdom of God. To build the Kingdom of God, there are various ways. Formation of a person ought to be holistic because pastoral is dynamic; there is human formation, spiritual formation, intellectual formation.

However, pastoral agents have overlooked some of the aspects in the building of the Kingdom of God. In the cosmos, there is interconnectedness, inter-relatedness of things. In this connectedness how do we build the Kingdom of God?

This will lead to the problem of my research on Ecology and Ecological Sensitization as A Paradigm Shift in The Pedagogical Pastoral Milieu. In this I will give a way forward on how in pastoral care we can use nature and all that are within us to build the Kingdom, how to experience the presence of God in the ecology and ecosystems.

Introduction

1.1. Background of the Study

Apostolate in the missions has been building the kingdom of God; bringing the Good News to those who have not received it yet. The question is in our mission, what are the basic aspects that humanity should focus on? Most of the time pastoral agents have focused on the spiritual aspect and down looking the other aspects, though spiritual aspect is also paramount.

To pastor in the religious sense is to plant the mission. The mission plantation we talk about is the mission of God. It is God who mandates us in His mission which is a call to the Kingdom of God. As pastoral agents, the mission is not ours, neither is it of the Church, the church is just a channel, a medium to dispense the mission of God.

Our ultimate goal is to promote the reign of God. The Church is entrusted with “the mission of announcing and inaugurating [God’s Kingdom] among all peoples.. Mission Ad Gentes has the goal of promoting the Kingdom of God among the anawim, those who might be far away from. The anawim here particularly, the economic poor should be taken care of, transforming their lives.

As pastors, a new mechanism should be developed, a paradigm shift in the way of mission. Away of empowering the poor and showing them how to toil for their daily needs, not just giving as the past missionaries used to do. It is said that you teach a person how to fish than to give fish. Teaching will be a long time solution to begging. This how we develop economic ecology to live a standardized life.

God’s reign is not intended for the haves but the haves not. The haves not are the suffering, the poor. How do we help the poor appreciate their ecology and the resources that they have? They have to be shown the way transform their lives and the lives of others.

Pastoral cannot be separated from the mission. They go together. Pastoral as a fundamental way to carry the mission that we know the key. It is only through pastoral that our mission can be successful. All things we do as far as the mission of God is concerned is pastoral oriented. All the fields of theology are important. However, without pastoral we are doomed to fail.

In pastoral, we do the mission of God. How can we make God manifested in the mission? How can we build the Kingdom? Missio is action Dei. He himself takes the initiative. The Church draws her missionary nature from God because God himself is a missionary who want to reach all.

The Church becomes just an agent, participating in the work of the Blessed Trinity. Being created in the image of God we should participate in the evangelization that makes his creation better and appreciated.

1.2. Statement of the Problem

Our problem of discussion is ecology and ecological sensitization: a paradigm shifts in pedagogical pastoral milieu. Pastoral is missio plantatio and what we want to plant is the kingdom of God. But how do we do it?

When God created man, Gen. 1:28, he gave him the authority to have dominion over the earth. “Be fruitful and multiply.” Meaning the man must be co-creator with God, not creating new things but taking care of the things already in place.

1.3. Purpose of the Study

When man is placed in authority by God it means that he is the steward of God, and he ought to be a good steward, the earth becomes under his custody. At the same time man has freedom to obey and make the earth a better place or go against the will of God

Apparently, pastoral field is the best avenue to make the mother home happy because it is the paradise we are placed in. therefore talking about ecology and ecological sensitization is a wakeup call by God.

Ecology is a wide range, there is human ecology, social ecology, economic ecology, environmental ecology, political ecology. It is a concern an appeal that when these aspects are not given attention, we will be at risk of losing the pearl of our life, the mother earth will be groaning of the destruction caused by humanity.

1.4. Objectives of the Study

My major objective is to help sensitizing people on ecological problems that we have and possible get a long lasting solution to these problems we have. This work therefore will be reechoing of Laudato Si, by Pope Francis, in which he calls us to take care of the earth, giving touching analogy to the earth, personifying the earth as a mother, a sister and even our common home.

It will be also important to help others see the integrity of creation and even try to be responsible custodians of the gift granted to us by God.

I also aim at pointing out the interconnectedness or inter-relatedness of all that has been created by God and even lead to value them.

The other objective is also to help pastoral agents connect pastoral and ecology because ecological concern can be pastoral concern. Therefore, it is a call to change our way of mission, how we build the Kingdom of God. Not just building people spiritually but also addressing ecological issues that might be the reason for many problems in our society, villages, families and churches.

1.5. Research questions

• What is ecology?
• Why do we have ecological crisis today?
• How is ecology related with pastoral care?
• How can we proclaim the Kingdom of God based on ecology?
• What is the teaching of the Church on ecology?
• What is the impact of ecological sensitization pastoral care?

1.6. Justification of the Study

Addressing the ecological crisis might solve many problems when we evangelize people within the paradigm shift. We need revolution in our approach in the pastoral. Man is part of ecology and therefore, anything affecting the ecology affects man. That is why it should be a pastoral concern that as we evangelize we should know the land of mission and understand it in its ecological aspect in order to be successful in our mission of planting the Kingdom of God.

1.7. Limitation of the Study

This study will be within the current context of Kenya towards a neo-evangelization within the frame work of ecology targeting all people because ecology is not a personal concern, or an individual. Though the study can be used by anybody regardless of whom you are.

2.0. Literature Review

We must admit that ecological theology is a new field that has not must emphasized on though some individual scholars have written on ecology. The challenge facing our world today is progressive destruction of the world. The Mother earth is groaning in tears. These massive destructions of which some are caused by ignorance, technological advancement, lack of knowledge and sensitization. The main book of reference that others will built on is encyclical letter by Pope Francis, Laudato Si. Which gives me inspiration to do my research in the pedagogical pastoral milieu.

Ignorance here I mean, sometimes man ignores his responsibility to be custodian and good steward, for instance, not planting trees that are fundamental for fresh air and rainmaking, wind breaking and providing shade to avoid the severe direct sunlight that might be harmful to our bodies and even prevent soil erosions. Instead man cuts down, deforesting the earth.

There is need to sensitize man on the advantages and disadvantages of the massive use of insecticides, pesticides and herbicide that might lead to depletion and poisoning of soil. There is need to sensitize on crop rotation, its advantages rather than just seeing people annually putting one kind of crop to enhance the productivity.

There is a danger of environmental catastrophe if the trend of destroying the environment continues. The catastrophe might become irreversible as any nuclear holocaust. Remember nature does not forgive.

I will argue that since Enlightenment period, Christians have no longer possessed a comprehensive story of the universe to guide them in their relationship with the Earth. This lacuna is particularly tragic as it coincided with the aggressive, exploitative expansion of western colonialism and the increased power of modern technology to reprocess, and in many ways destroy, the natural world.

Not everything that is at our disposal can be good anyway. We have to be wise enough. Preaching as pastoral agents is not enough, we have to go extra mile to plant the Kingdom of God considering the environment. We can see God in nature, environment. We destroy our humanity too when we destroy the environment.

As pastors we should also be proponents of stewardship that we are called to. Stewardship is about caring, and the recognition that we care for what we value.p.1 stewardship. We have talked of environmental ecology as part of the emerging trends in the ecology today. Remember whatever harm we do to the environment; it becomes communal in effect.

Human ecology

There are other issues like contraceptives in the human ecology. Contraceptive is a contentious issue in today’s world that has come with a lot of controversies. The field of science and technology has come with both good and bad effects. In human ecology still we can still touch on many other things that really touch on human life.

The use of euthanasia, the use, test-tube to get babies when we do not have absolute problem. A good number advances in the field of medicine, when unmediated can lead to degrading humanity by lowering dignity and reducing humanity to a mere object.

Social ecology

Human beings are born social beings and like Martin’s Buber idea of inter-subjectivity, we depend on each other, and I am because you are, is a very fundamental statement to consider. Our social life is very important and we should be formed that direction. We should be able to create a healthy social relationship.

Political ecology

Aristotle says that man is political. In as long as we have the structures that we have to govern us, we are political. This is a trend that must be looked at wisdom. Politics is part of our life and when misguided we spoil everything.

Just picked on these few trending issues as far as ecology is concerned. Ecology is a wide field that should not be under looked. When we mess with ecology. We mess with the lives.

4.0. Research Methodology

My methodology will be basically from the findings of other authors and probably finding a way to apply this concretely in the pastoral care.

It will be also See, Judge and Act analysis and reflection on the best way possible to build the Kingdom of God with the focus on ecology. It will a kind of deductive-inductive method.

5.0. Structure of The Study

My research work will be divided into for chapters. This is how the structure will be:

• General Introduction
• Chapter One

This chapter will deal with insertion; the context in which or the background of the study that will be undertaken.

• Chapter Two

It will be about literature reviews; what other scholars have said about this proposed are of my study, the ideas and thoughts and my critical analysis. It will be expounding, elaborating and explaining more in in order to understand their thoughts and how to argue on the same problem.

• Chapter Three

This chapter will be about theological reflection. That is, the scriptural references, both from the new testament and the old testament, reflection from the Church’s Doctrines, magisterium, conferences of bishops and papal writings.

• Chapter Four

Will be about pastoral implications and actions or recommendations. The recommendations will also be considered from other scholars.

• General Conclusion

This will be about summary of my work.

• The bibliography will be in the last page.

5.0. Conclusion

Ecological crisis is not just concern of an individual but it is a call to all to be good steward of God’s creation. In our concern of ecology, we realized that we cannot just be building the spiritual aspect while there are many more aspects that concerns human life that need to be looked at too.

There are many problems that have arose due new style of life that we have adopted. We agree that new technologies are good but how can we use them in a way that the human dignity is still preserved. We need wisdom from the creator in whom we are created in His own image.

When we talk of ecology, there are many aspects that we have to look at. Morality of ecology should be regarded highly. Today there are various problems in the world. For instance, the use of contraceptives that have lowered the human dignity, has made families to break, and even changed the natural system of women to bear children. This is still ecology.

In economy how do we plant the kingdom when people are hungry? People need to be feed in order to evangelize them. But how should we be feeding them? The only way is to make them stand on their own, to help them to be self-sustainable.

There is need for ecological conversion. People should come out to try find alternative way to deal with this crisis. There is need to learn about contemporary ecological issues and to reflect on them in a dialogue with theologians.

“John Paul II insisted that respect for the integrity of creation of creation is a moral issue, and he introduced the important theme ecological conversion.” Edwards continues to assert that, the “…movement of ecological conversion is far wider than the church. It involves people of all kinds of ethnic, political, and religious background.”

Reference

Book

1. Edwards, Denis. Ecology at The Heart of Faith: The Change of Heart That Leads to New Way of Living. New York: Orbis Books,2006.
2. Geiko, Muller-Fahrenholz.God’s Spirit: Transforming a World of Crisis, trans. John Cumming. New York: Continuum,1995.
3. Mc Donaugh, Sean. To Care for The Earth: A Call to A New Theology. London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1987.
4. McFague, Sallie. The Body of God an Ecological Theology. Britain: SCM Press, 1993.
5. Megan, McKenna. Harm Not The Earth. Ireland, 2007.
6. Berry, R.J. (e. d). Critical Perspectives-Past and Present, “environmental stewardship”. New York: T & T Clark, 2006.

Church documents

1. Benedict XVI, Post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation “Africae Munus” on Africa’s Commitment (19 November 2011). Nairobi: Pauline Publications, 2011.
2. Francis, Encyclical Letter “Laudato SIʹ” On Care for Our Common Home(24 May 2015). Nairobi: Pauline 2015.
3. John Paul II, Encyclical letter “Redemptor Hominis” on the Redeemer of Man (4 March 1979). Nairobi: Pauline1979.
4. Encyclical Letter “Laborem Exercens” On Human Work(14 September 1981). Uganda-Kampala: Pauline 1981.
5. Encyclical Letter “Centesimus Annus” on the human Person at the Centre of Society (1 May 1991). Nairobi: Pauline1991.
6. Paul VI. Encyclical Letter “Populorum Progressio” on the Development of Peoples (20 March 1967). Washington, D.C., United States Catholic Conference, 1967.