Adapted from a Forward Movement announcement
Ordained scientists in the Episcopal Church offer insight into the compatibility of science and faith in a new video curriculum offered by Forward Movement, now available for free download.
In the Beginning explores the Bible’s basic doctrine of Creation, the modern scientific worldview, perspectives on the Big Bang and evolution, and the biblical roots for environmental care. The Rev. Stephanie Johnson says it is a “thoughtful, engaging invitation into a deeper understanding of all God’s creation.”
The curriculum features five scientists who are clergy in the Episcopal Church:
- The Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, 26th Presiding Bishop (oceanographer)
- The Rev. Stephanie Johnson, associate rector of St. Paul’s Church, Fairfield, Connecticut (environmentalist)
- The Rt. Rev. Nicholas Knisely, Bishop of Rhode Island (physicist)
- The Rev. Lucas Mix, adjunct instructor of life and death in biology and theology, Church Divinity School of the Pacific (evolutionary biologist)
- The Rev. Alistair So, rector of All Hallows’ Parish, South River, Maryland (microbiologist)
“As an evangelism effort, it speaks to those who are passionate about the environment but may not know that people of faith are, too,” said Day Smith Pritchartt, executive director of the Episcopal Evangelism Society. “For those who are within the church but struggling to reconcile their faith with science, it gives them a creed that embraces both.”
The curriculum serves as a deeper exploration of A Catechism of Creation, a free downloadable document that explores the Episcopal Church’s understanding of creation in a traditional question-and-answer format. Forward Movement offers four weeks’ worth of free lesson plans, discussion questions, and links to related videos.
