Description: Director of Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah, Hening Parlan had the opportunity to be present to introduce Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah at the Synodal Ecology (Environment) Consultation event on June 6-8, 2024 in Riau.
“Environmental issues are not the business of any one religion. “Environmental issues are everybody’s business, because our earth is one, and one for all,” said Hening Parlan, Program Director of the Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah, while attending the Synodal Ecology (Environment) Consultation event on June 6-8, 2024 at the GPIB Immanuel Building Pekanbaru, Riau. Hening had the opportunity to be present to introduce Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah, which is one of Muhammadiyah’s programs that works across religions for the environment.
“Eco Bhinneka comes from the words Ecology and Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, we invite young people across religions and beliefs to meet and work together for the earth,” said Hening when she was a speaker at Panel Discussion 1 with the theme: Green Policy Commitment and Sustainable Development Participation Towards the Integrity of Creation.
Hening reiterated that many matters of worship require good environmental conditions. According to Hening, religion needs to be placed not only in matters of worshiping God, but also in connecting the relationship between humans and humans, and also between humans and nature.
“Human’s relationship with nature is our golden bridge to our relationship with God. If our relationship with nature is damaged, for example, we who are Muslims want to do Wudhu but the water is dirty, unclean, we can’t use it, we can’t pray, our relationship with God can be distant or even non-existent,” she said.
Description: Group photo of all speakers and participant of the Synodal Ecology (Environment) Consultation event on June 6-8, 2024 in Riau.
Triningsih as the Program and Finance Coordinator of Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah, also had the opportunity to attend as a the speaker at the panel discussion session of the Sharing Good Practices and Implementation Proposals for the Blue Community of the Green Church, Environmentally Friendly Church, friends of Nature Church, and Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah. “I am sharing what Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah has done, especially in 4 regions: Pontianak, Ternate, Surakarta and Banyuwangi, how we are able to collaborate with interfaith friends to preserve the environment,” said Triningsih.
“I also conveyed the involvement of Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah in the GPIB Bekasi activity, called Muda Mudi Beraksi, where we took part in planting mangroves together and carrying out other social services, and how Muhammadiyah is open to establishing communication and friendship with other interfaith figures,” she added. There is a lot of good work that has been done by GPIB, explained Triningsih, such as Green Church, Green Policy, Green Education, and Green Collaboration, which can be an example for other places of worship.
“The most important thing is to do it consistently starting with our lifestyle, such as bringing a tumbler, which is a small step that will have a big impact and can be an example for others,” said Triningsih. According to her, if we do this consistently, we will be able to become Changemakers, as well as be an example in changing lifestyles to preserve the environment.
Description: Triningsih has been signing an MOU of cooperation between the GPIB Synod Council and Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah.
Apart from discussions, this series of events also included the signing of an MOU of cooperation between the GPIB Synod Council and various organizations, one of which was Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah. Triningsih hopes that the MOU with Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah can be the first step, a new collaboration in involving religious leaders to move to preserve the environment. “We will start from the awareness process, increasing literacy, sharing data, modules, experiences, and increasing capacity both individually and institutionally,” she said.
Furthermore, Pastor Manuel E. Raintung, GPIB Synod Council, revealed that it is hoped that the GPIB Ecological Synodal Consultation activity can be an example and inspiration for other churches and the wider community to take an active role in facing today’s environmental challenges. “Through collaboration, education and real action, GPIB is ready to be embraced to create a sustainable environment for future generations,” said Pastor Manuel.
Description: The book of ‘Sustaining Harmony, Nurturing the Nature’ emphasizes that religious values encourage every believer to preserve the earth, where all humans live.
On this occasion, Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah also shared a book with the title ‘Sustaining Harmony, Nurturing the Nature’ with GPIB Leaders as one of the steps to share in Green Literacy. This book, which will be released in 2023, is a collaboration between the Eco Bhinneka Muhammadiyah program and the Environmental Council of the Central Board of Muhammadiyah. This book further emphasizes that religious values encourage every believer to preserve the earth, where all humans live.
