FAITH AND THE ENVIRONMENT DISCUSSION TO INCLUDE LEADERS FROM VARIETY OF RELIGIONS.

Byline: Holly J. Andres Staff Writer

RESEDA - Amid growing environmental concerns and challenges, congregations and religious leaders are increasingly reflecting on their role - and the role faith plays - in preserving and protecting nature.

``In Zen Buddhism, it's very important to be very aware, very conscious of what we do,'' said Woodland Hills resident Pat ``Singetsu'' Guzy, a Zen Buddhist priest from the Zen Center of Los Angeles.

``We think about what we can do to clean up the environment as we walk down the street. We are not separate from nature. I think, for example, that Hurricane Katrina has affected all of us. It's important to make your eyes open up to the environment.''

Guzy is one of four panelists taking part Sunday in a Valley Interfaith Council presentation, ``What My Faith Tradition Tells Me About Protecting the Environment.''

Guzy noted that environmental awareness is seen throughout Zen, including a teaching to not throw away things that are still useful. Even when Zen followers are eating, said Guzy, they attempt to be mindful of how all the elements of their meal came to be on their plate.

Growing up in Toronto, Canada, and living in an apartment complex that used recycling bins, Amir Hussain was amazed when he moved to the United States in 1997 and found that his San Fernando Valley apartment complex didn't recycle.

The round-the-clock office lighting policy at California State University, Northridge, where Hussain was a professor, also took some getting used to for someone coming from energy-conscious Canada.

``The words of the Koran speak about respect for the natural world and of the world as a gift from God,'' said Hussain, who will offer the Muslim point of view on the environment Sunday. ``Human beings have been given the Earth as a trust. If you've been entrusted, you have to take care of it.''

For Saran Kirschbaum, a docent at Ballona Creek, seeing a river of Styrofoam in the Ballona Wetlands was heart-wrenching.

``Judaism talks about how actions are important,'' said Kirschbaum, a member of the board of the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life of Southern California.

Kirschbaum said some people say they feel overwhelmed by all of the environmental problems. ``(When I give talks), they ask me, 'Do I matter?' I tell them to take one step at a time. Everything starts with one.''

Kirschbaum recommends making a game of conservation. Her family, for example, collects shower water in a bucket to water plants, and they take their own containers for meal leftovers when they go out to restaurants.

``For me, the Earth is sacred,'' said the Rev. Al Cohen, executive director of the Southern California Ecumenical Council, who will present the Christian point of view on the Sunday panel. ``God has called me to do whatever I can to protect the Earth from an industrial civilization that's running roughshod over it. Part of the challenge, however, is to get out there and preach in the street, not to the choir who are already interested in the environment.

``Two biggest problems we have is that world population is out of control and no one wants to deal with it - it's going to sink us - and war.

``We have to knock this off,'' Cohen said. ``Imagine what is happening to the Earth. A No. 1 on my checklist for electing politicians is who supports the environment. It's really important who we vote for.''

Holly Andres, [phone]

holly.andres(at)dailynews.com

``What My Faith Tradition Tells Me About Protecting the Environment'' will be held 7-9 p.m. Sunday at First United Methodist Church, 18120 Saticoy St., Reseda. Call [phone], Ext. 3001.

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Pat ``Singetsu'' Guzy and Amir Hassam are among several religious leaders who will discuss their faiths and environmentalism in a presentation Sunday at First United Methodist Church in Reseda.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News