The Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) and the Department of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, has collectively called for a day of prayer, “each according to his/her own religion or sect or belief” on Sunday, 1 October 2023.
October 1 being the first day of the “Wildlife Week”, the joint appeal requested all citizens in Nagaland to seek “the blessings of the supreme divinity to give wisdom and strength to all humanity to serves as the wise steward to care for creation – the Forests and the Wildlife.”
The joint appeal issued by Vedpal Singh, IFS, Chief Wildlife Warden Nagaland further stated, “As an expression of trans-faith unity for this cause, Naga fraternity to be the reason, better cultural identity as saviors, on account of religious and social responsibility, in a time when the state of Nagaland is springing its precious biodiversity back, sacrificing private privileges of earth and its treasure, in spite of countless socio economic obligations, for the sake of creating a better world for this and generations to come, where other creatures are plentiful and safeguarded by conscientious believers.”
The two organisations also commit its institutions and invited all religious organizations and residents across Nagaland to participate in fulfilling this noble initiative by conducting the special prayer on Sunday, 1 October, as an expression of gratitude to the supreme divinity for providing Nagaland with a rich biodiversity and as a reminder to one’s inner self to be honest in responsibilities of guardian of God’s creation.
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In another letter, the NBCC requested its Associations to disseminate the information to the local churches to have a Special Prayer on 1 October which will provide the opportunity to stand together again to promote “the cause of protecting our precious biodiversity and in managing the environment around us not simply for our own benefit but for God’s glory.”
Citing verses in the Bible that obligates humans to respect and protect the natural environment, NBCC General Secretary Rev Dr Zelhou Keyho stated, “With the world and our civilization facing an ecological crisis that threatens our future, church engagement on preserving the environment is vital requiring strategic planning that is focused and determined.”
