IRI-Colombia developed the book *Biblical Lessons on the Environment: Twenty Modules for Environmental Pastoral Work*, written by the Rev. Loida Sardiñas Iglesias, a priest of the Anglican Episcopal Church of Colombia and a professor and researcher at the Center for Theological Formation within the Faculty of Theology at the Pontifical Javeriana University.
*Biblical Lessons on the Environment* emerged in response to the need for faith to enlighten consciences and mobilize concrete actions to address the environmental, ethical, spiritual, cultural, and civilizational crisis facing the Amazon.
“This crisis involves the intertwining of ecosystem degradation, the systematic violation of indigenous peoples’ rights, the weakening of the social fabric, and a fragmented understanding of the relationship between human beings, creation, and God,” the author noted. In this context, churches and faith communities play a crucial role in transforming the narratives, practices, and decisions that affect the Amazon biome. For this reason, this educational document sits at the intersection of the Bible, theology, spirituality, science, and pastoral action, offering rigorous and contextualized tools for a faith committed to life.
“Environmental Bible Lessons” was created to help pastors, priests, religious leaders, catechists, pastoral workers, and faith communities recognize themselves as co-stewards of creation, allies of Indigenous peoples, and active defenders of the Amazon.
It consists of twenty modules that form a carefully constructed educational and spiritual journey, which integrates a rigorous and contextual biblical-theological interpretation of the environment; dialogue with contemporary scientific and ecological knowledge; the incorporation of ancestral wisdom from Amazonian peoples; and concrete proposals for community, liturgical, and pastoral action.
The document also benefited from pedagogical adaptation by Nicna Camargo and a validation process in which 17 religious leaders from the Amazon and Bogotá participated, representing different churches and faith traditions. This process was carried out through community listening, spiritual dialogue, and collective construction, bringing together biblical interpretation, pastoral experience in Amazonian territories, and a deep awareness of the responsibility that faith communities face today in the face of the ecological crisis.
