In Their Words . . . Ali Illyn
June 24, 2008
This post originally appeared in Creation Care Magazine.
I am a lonely girl. I am lonely because I am a Christian environmentalist at a secular university. There are many, many environmentalists on campus but almost none of them consider themselves Christians. And there are many, many fellow Christians on my campus, but few feel as strongly about the environment as I do. It is frustrating - feeling alone. I joke that I am tired of being the “token” - the “token” Christian in environmental circles and the “token” environmentalist in Christian circles.
Since I desperately want to meet others like me, the Evangelical Youth Climate Initiative (EYCI) conference was like soothing therapy to me. It was a time to build strong relationships with other Christian environmentalists… and it felt good.
Because of EYCI, I realized that I was not alone in my concern for God’s creation, that in fact, there are students from around the nation who care deeply about the environment and are actively working to protect it. I sometimes feel alone at my school, but in reality, there are many others scattered around who share my deep concerns for environmental stewardship.
Additionally, lobbying Congress in DC helped me realize that politicians are paying attention to our voices as evangelical youth. I’ve lobbied before on other environmental issues like protecting the Arctic Refuge or in support of endangered species legislation, but never have I been confronted with so much positive response as I received while lobbying about climate change. After meeting at Senator Murray’s office, a legislative aide told our group that he was “definitely” going to remember our meeting. During another meeting, a legislative aide from Senator Cantwell’s office told our group that our meeting was the one he had been most looking forward to all day.
It was exciting to realize that the EYCI gathering is part of a much larger movement. There is a sense of excitement, a feeling that a shift is coming. Politicians seem to know it, and religious leaders are beginning to sense it as well. Part of this is due to our unique voice as young evangelicals. We are young Christian college students who are beginning to look at our faith as an integrative whole. We are declaring that as Christians we have a biblical mandate to care for God’s people and God’s creation. We are declaring that social justice issues such as hunger, poverty, and the environment should be and will be a part of our faith. And we are ready to work with elected officials and religious leaders to begin to taking a strong stance on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Most of all, we are the political and religious leaders of the future and are ready to lead the movement to protect all of God’s creation.
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