Duo to talk about how to befriend the Earth

Two national advocates for a spiritual, earth-friendly approach to living will be in Salt Lake City next week to offer their insights into "transforming our relationship to the Earth."

The Salt Lake Religious Society of Friends will host activists Ruah Swennerfelt and Louis Cox, staff members with Quaker Earthcare Witness, which develops materials and outreach to encourage a spiritual approach to environmentalism. Their presentation is scheduled Friday at 7 p.m. at the Quaker Meeting House, 171 E. 4800 South. The public is invited.

The pair live in an off-grid, solar-powered home in rural Vermont, where they grow their own food and model their lifestyle on "ecologically sustainable principles." They participate in an "eat-local" program that encourages residents to support local food growers and are active in promoting healthy community life that looks to mitigate the impact of development on the environment.

While some have called environmentalism a religion unto itself, Quakers don't see it that way. Rather, they work to integrate respect for the earth and its creations into the faith's beliefs and practices through education and discussion about "God's creation."

They see peace, justice and ecological integrity as being interrelated with spirituality, "recognizing that the entire world is interconnected and is a manifestation of God," according to a statement on their Web site.

Greenhouse gas emissions, global warming and nuclear proliferation are topics in the latest issue of their newsletter, BeFriending Creation, which also details plans by a San Francisco Quaker for a walking pilgrimage from San Diego to Santiago, Chile. Following the Pan American Highway, Rolene Walker will be accompanied by several high school students and other Quakers.

They plan to travel about 10 miles a day, sharing stories at schools and churches that emphasize "the sacredness of the earth."

It's the same message Swennerfelt and Cox plan to share with Utahns next week. For information, call 582-0719.

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E-mail: carrie@desnews.com