Julia Burnett – Lexington, KY
Centenary United Methodist Church

I recently led a creation care study using the Blessed Earth film series at my church. The curriculum includes two DVDs, with six films on each DVD. Because summer was approaching, I decided to offer a six-week course, using three films from each of the two series, and then follow up with a second study later in the year with the rest of the series.

I quickly learned one good way to get the conversation going was to select a question out of the guidebook and email it out to the group as a “question to ponder” for the week. When our group convened, we prayed and then began our discussion with the question of the week as an ice-breaker. I found this got the group talking and throwing out ideas. Occasionally, I would bring in articles on pertinent topics I found on the web or in magazines. After that, we dug into scripture to see what God had to say on the subject of the day. We then followed with the video and selected discussion questions until our time ran out. (See below for the films and discussion questions I decided to focus on.)

At the end of the six-week study, I gave each of the participants a copy of Dr. Sleeth’s The Gospel According to the Earth as a thank you gift in hopes of keeping the conversation going.

This is just one way to lead the group; you can follow the guidebook exactly, or pick and choose the material that works best for your time frame and your group. No matter how you structure your time together, I’m sure you will find that the media, visuals, and scripture all work together to enrich the entire experience.

I am forever changed because of this study!