A Church For The Millennia

Isa 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.

Isa 40:3 I am The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.

With the ethical design science of permaculture, we can literally create an oasis in the desert. We can take desolate and dead lands, and heal them. Take them back from squalor and desolation and breathe new life into the lands and waterways, and thus – breathe new life into the peoples that depend on those natural systems.  

Nature takes death and turns it into new and varied forms of life. Only nature can do this. The permaculture designer simply helps nature along, by understanding and using to our advantage: the embedded patterns observed in all natural systems.

As nature is always seeking homeostasis; we simply put these immutable natural laws to work for the uplifting of the human condition. But we first have to heal the land before it can sustain us at the top of the food chain. This is why we say: Earth Care and People care. With all surplus reinvested in the same.

Encouraging organic healing in this way, (with techniques such as microremediation, phytoremediation and others), kick-starts, and speeds up the development of the local ecosystem - light years ahead of what it would take nature to do it, if the site were left unmanaged.

Once healed, we can plant literal food forests mirroring the Garden of Eden; where we feed and nourish both human and non-human life for generations to come. It is here in a natural space, where we connect with the Spirit of God in the Wilderness. These systems, like all natural systems, are designed to improve and self-manage with increasing abundance and biodiversity over time. Because that’s exactly what God designed natural systems to do.

We can take abandoned homes, and turn them into sanctuaries and community gardens. Use abandoned manufacturing locations, or old strip malls as public centers of abundance sharing; providing vast utility to local municipalities. Here the church can demonstrate for the public good: ecological building design, and alternative energy solutions, while providing near limitless utility to the general public. The possibilities are only limited by human imagination. As is the scope of impactful good we can accomplish together. In unity. As one human family. Even those that don’t believe as we do: Can, and should be blessed by our works.

Our life is a ransom for many. We are set free, that we may free others. This Church is commanded to build an Ark. An Ark that will sustain Gods children through the storm. An Ark that will persist and improve long after our bones return to dust. We are commanded to help others to do the same. Unto the children’s children, that we may bless future generations unto the tenth generation and beyond.

“The tragic reality is that very few sustainable systems are designed or applied by those who hold power, and the reason for this is obvious and simple: to let people arrange their own food, energy and shelter is to lose economic and political control over them. We should cease to look to power structures, hierarchical systems, or governments to help us, and devise ways to help ourselves.” ~Bill Mollison.

Act locally, think globally, and keep an eye on long-term scalability. Permaculture systems can work in every climate where there are people. In small spaces, like balconies, or front and back yard gardens. To urban rooftops, or abandoned lots, or the center medians on highways, etc.

From winter food production, to small scale pollinator sanctuaries and gardens, aquaponics and public aviaries. Imagine botanical gardens outside movie theaters, or Fruit tree guilds outside of stuffy corporate buildings providing healthy snacks to employees. From quarter acre square foot market garden designs, all the way up to massive multi thousand-acre broad scale designs. Anywhere that can sustain people - can have abundant sustainable Earth Care and People Care systems.

The Church seeks public lands or problem lands: like liens, or refuse lands. Any lands donated to the church; whether over grown, or desolate, what have you - it’s all fixable with the environmentally beneficial approaches in the permaculture designers toolkit.

The Church seeks to implement broad scale permaculture projects on such lands, and to setup massive designs demonstrating a multitude of ecologically restorative, conservational resource management systems, that permaculture employs. These lands housing a community sanctuary overseen by local Priests, for spiritual services, as well as various dwellings and buildings for engagement of core ministries. These areas of learning and stewardship will support human and non-human life in alignment with our missions. While providing free support through ministries for the public good. There’s simply no end to the public support, this church can provide. It’s designed that way.

The Church’s healing ministries all work to provide for Maslow’s hierarchy of needs through The Bible in the spiritual, and the PDM in the secular. Better and better over time. United together for the good of all.

Setting up these so-called Faith Based Eco Villages, enables massive output for the uplifting of the human condition and easing of human and animal suffering in the world. Open to the public during hours of operation, the sanctuary and public lands will be available for educational opportunities, work readiness programs, and a plethora of other public service outreach ministries that will vary from location to location. Including the simple enjoyment of natural spaces. Overseen by local Bishops, the aim is to see broad implementation of permaculture like systems. Church Bishops also go out into neighboring communities to assist in the evangelism, education, and implementation of Earth Care and People Care systems for people outside of the church.

The church will become a network of faith-based Eco-communities, associated churches and home churches over time. All living out our shared faith, while leaving the world better than we found it. This is the Church’s’ designed purpose: To leave the beast system and pave the way forward for those committed few, willing to take up their cross, and build a better world together. This is also historically how the early Christian churches operated during the days of the Roman Empire. Providing better care to the local citizens, than the Empire did. This is because they started from a place of love and fellowship. Relationships of commonality and dignity. Not of institutional power and social control.

The Church is built using biblically accurate; early Christian church practices. We provide the educational, social, material, and spiritual resources, of a Mother Church that is designed to Feed Christs Sheep. Feed them both spiritually as well as physically. The Mother Church is to act as a Mother Tree does in nature. By providing energy, and resources down to the faith-based Eco-villages, and federation of home churches, and associations of other non-affiliated partner churches engaged in both mandatory ministries. Namely the ministry of Christ, and the Creation Care ministry.

The Eden Foundation Church acts as a bridge between the spiritual and secular. Whether people are spiritual or not, we all deserve a healthy world to inherit. Both the gift of divine salvation and permaculture are given to the world for fee. And both are for the good of all life everywhere. Not just people that believe in these ideas.

To these ends: The Church seeks to aid Businesses big and small, governments, NGO’s, people of other faiths, and non-faiths, as well as private and public institutions, with our ministries. This is for all peoples. We do not discriminate. We discern. 

This convention of Mother Church, and child churches is modeled after the book of Nature. As it is in permaculture design: We ethically design communities of good neighbors, helping each other live in harmony and abundance: while sharing back (tithing) any surplus, to the church as well as the local public communities, outside the church. Thus, creating a community of good neighbors, and good stewards living out biblical practices to edify the whole of humanity. Both practicing and living out the principles of Earth Care and People Care, with reinvestment in the same.

We are building the Kingdom of Heaven. Acting on our beliefs to heal, and love our fellow humans, as we are commanded to do. As Christ said: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

We are here to show people the way forward. These faith-based Eco-communities, outer churches, and home churches will serve as sanctuaries, educational centers and places of refuge for those seeking an alternative to the beast system. Here, we ethically teach future leaders, provide housing, elderly care, rehabilitation for addicts and ex-cons, feed, heal, fix, intercede and inspire. These are just the first seeds, of a grand Forrest of helps to our fellows on this planet.

This is a big idea. For a better tomorrow, and it starts today. This is a new way to look at our shared human needs. All while integrating cutting edge, science backed, ecologically beneficial systems of Earth Care and People Care.

All clergy of the Church: are ordained to offer spiritual council towards salvation and sanctification. To teach the bible, to preach the Gospel, to uplift the needy. To break chains, and free souls! To baptize in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy spirit. All clergy are committed to a life of service to God and his people. In addition: all church Bishops are ALSO certified Permaculture designers, committed to the adoption of Earth Care and People care systems designed to provide sustainable housing, regenerative food systems, clean air and water, and clean renewable energy. All in abundant surplus to be shared to people everywhere. All aims of the Church are driven towards these ends. And more.

The end result of our collective actions resulting in healed lands, and healed people. Spiritually and physically. United around a shared sense of purpose, love, and ethical living. This makes our God in heaven smile. Whether people even believe in God or not.

“It's the beauty within us that makes it possible for us to recognize the beauty around us. The question is not what you look at but what you see.” ~ Henry David Thoreau.

May the Lord God Bless and Keep you.

Rev. Steven Gulling.