There is nothing new about Anglicans worrying about the environment.One of the Church of England’s most famous hymns, after all, offers this somber vision of industrialization from poet William Blake: “And did the countenance divine shine forth upon our clouded hills? And was Jerusalem builded here among those dark satanic mills?”Nevertheless, a recent sermon by the outspoken leader of the U.S. Episcopal Church raised eyebrows as it circulated in cyberspace. Some traditionalists were not amused by a bookish discussion of bovine flatulence on the holiest day in the Christian year.In her Easter message, Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori stressed that all Christians should let their faith shape their actions in real life and, thus, affect the world around them.”How can you be the sacrament, the outward and visible sign, of the grace that you know in the resurrected Christ? How can your living let others live more abundantly?” she asked, before turning to environmental concerns.”We are beginning to be aware of the ways in which our lack of concern for the rest of creation results in death and destruction for our neighbors,” added Jefferts Schori, who has a doctorate in oceanography.
