National Religious Partnership For The Environment

God said: This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations.(Gen 9:12)

Caring for God's Creation

Love and gratitude for God's creation lie deep within religious life. From mountaintops to forests, green pastures to still waters, stars in the sky and lilies of the field, we experience the grace of our Creator and the gift of our presence here.

With Earth in grave environmental peril, many religious Americans are seeking to respond through our faith. Through the many gateways and galleries of this website, we offer resources and accounts of how people of faith are acting upon God's mandate to be stewards of our precious Earth.

Partners in Stewardship

The National Religious Partnership for the Environment is an association of independent faith groups across a broad spectrum: the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the National Council of Churches U.S.A., the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, and the Evangelical Environmental Network.

Each Partner — in common biblical faith but drawing upon its distinctive traditions — is undertaking scholarship, leadership training, congregational and agency initiative, and public policy education in service to environmental sustainability and justice. Together, they seek to offer resources of religious life and moral vision to a universal effort to protect humankind's common home and well-being on Earth.

Events: Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign

50 Jewish leaders commit to reduce energy use, advocate for energy security: leaders across the political and religious spectrum celebrate Tu B'shvat by setting goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 14% by 2014. Read the declaration... List of signatories...

St. Francis Pledge

Take the St. Francis Pledge to Care for Creation and the Poor. Join Catholics taking action in our families, parishes, schools, and communities to reduce our carbon footprint, care for the "least of these" (Mt 25) and raise our voice on behalf of Creation and the poor.

For more information...

Events: Upcoming NCCC Eco-Justice Events

Ecumenical Advocacy Days 2013 The 11th annual Ecumencial Advocacy Days will be held April 5th-8th, 2013. Join the NCC and other Christian advocates in Washington DC to seek Food Justice for a Healthy World. To register, click here.

Mission 4/1 Earth The United Church of Christ has announced an all-church initiative to complete 1 million hours of earth care, 100,000 tree plantings, and 100,000 advocacy letters on environmental issues during the 50 days between Easter and Pentecost (April 1st-May 19th). To learn more and get involved, click here.

Events: The Creation Care Teaching Institute

The Teaching Institute is for Christians who are passionate about their care for God's creation, and are looking for ways to become further equipped and engaged on their area of passion. Click here for more information.

Check out ''Young Evangelicals for Climate Action.'

Partners Encourage Congress to Take On Climate Change

NRPE's four partners have all written individual letters to the Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change.

Please click on the partners to read the individual statements:

Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life
Evangelical Environmental Network
National Council of Churches
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

RECENT NEWS

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Mainline Protestant

E-Waste Recycle Day

Wild Rose Congregational Church Evergreen, CO United Church of Christ As members of Wild Rose Congregational Church ...

Mainline Protestant

St. Francis Day Service

St. Mark's Episcopal Church Seattle, WA A spill off the Washington coast in 1989 sparked the formation of the Ecology/Spirituality Group at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral was started in 1989 after a priest and some church members answered a call for help to clean oil-soaked birds.

Evangelical

Environmental Racism

Mission Year, Atlanta, GA A version of this article by Leroy Barber originally appeared in the Spring 2008 issue of Creation Care magazine. Leroy Barber lives in an unjust American landscape. The people in his church live in one of Atlanta’s urban sacrifice zones. If you sat down to list the social ills that are unequally visited on his neighborhood, you might be able to name a few of the most prominent. But environmental injustices likely...

Catholic

Light Up the Night --- A Faith Community Acts Together

St. Bridget Human Concerns Ministry, Richmond, VA Light Up the Night, a campaign of the St. Bridget Human Concerns Ministry in Richmond, VA, gave parishioners the opportunity to purchase energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) to replace inefficient existing incandescent light bulbs. Members at St. Bridget got a head start on complying with the new energy law passed by Congress on December 19, 2007, which requires the incandescent light bulb to be phased out...

Catholic

The Inheritance Project

Florida Catholic Conference Water quality and sustainability are critical concerns facing Florida residents, but the Florida Catholic Conference has undertaken more than education efforts to motivate responsible and just stewardship of this precious resource. With help from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Diocese established the “Inheritance Project,” marking a turning point from previous efforts; what had been an educational campaign began to incorporate legislative advocacy and coalition building as well. In June 2001,...

Jewish

Gleaning with the Youth Group and Providing Service

Temple Beth HatfilohOlympia, Washington Mission Statement for Youth Education: “Our mission is to instill in our children and parents a positive Jewish identity, an appreciation of Jewish beliefs and practices, and a desire to make the world a better place through tzedakah (righteous giving) and Tikkun Olam (fixing the world)." Temple Beth Hatfiloh is a 160 member-household congregation dedicated to fulfilling the spiritual, educational, social and cultural needs of Jews in the South Puget Sound region. Their membership is made up people who...

Mainline Protestant

Changing Cups Sparks Greening Movement

West Gloucester Trinitarian Congregational Church, Glouchester, MA What began as one person’s worry over Styrofoam cups at coffee hour has turned into a greening commitment by the West Gloucester Trinitarian Congregational Church (UCC) in Glouchester, MA. When a church member realized the impact that Styrofoam has on the environment, she recognized that by using the cups, the church was sending a negative message about its values. She worked with other members to form a group...

Jewish

Energy Independence

American Jewish CommitteeNew York, NY, National and International The American Jewish Committee, begun in 1906, promotes pluralistic and democratic societies where all minorities are protected, and all people are accorded respect and dignity. One of AJC’s key priorities is energy independence and they are determined to become one of the first Jewish non-profits in the country with green certification for its national headquarters. In New York City they have implemented a Green Building Project, in...

Mainline Protestant

Carless Sunday Creates Community

Grace Episcopal Church, Bainbridge Island, WA A one-time Carless Sunday event at Grace Episcopal Church in Bainbridge Island, WA, has grown into a long-term program that is raising awareness about global warming. Inspired by Earth Ministry’s “On the Road” program, the church sponsored its first Carless Sunday April 2007. Organizers created a large map of the island, divided it into zones, and created lists of parishioners in each zone. They hung it in the...

Evangelical

Rwanda Clean Water Project

Fermi Project, Suwanee, GA Adapted from an article, “From Nightmare to Dream Come True” by Jeff Shinaberger, in the Summer 2007 issue of Creation Care magazine. Like many Biblical inspirations, this story begins with a dream, or moreover, a nightmare. Jeff Shinaberger dreamt of a boy, about eight years old, four feet tall, no shirt, wearing only ripped up mud-stained pants, with an extended belly. He watched the boy dip a glass into a filthy puddle...

Catholic

Environmental Justice Project

Diocese of Stockton, CA “To respect life, you must respect the envelope of life, the Earth, on which all life depends,” wrote Bishop Stephen Blaire in his pastoral letter ushering in the first Environmental Justice Sunday throughout the Stockton Diocese in 2005. The Diocese extends from the rich farmlands of the California’s Central Valley, through the river canyons of northern Yosemite National Park, and into the stark beauty of Mono Lake, North America’s most ancient body...

Interfaith

Ezekiel 34 Initiative

Commission on Stewardship of the Environment The Louisiana Interchurch Conference Baton Rouge, LA The Louisiana Interchurch Conference, located in the region of Baton Rouge, Larose, West Monroe, ...

Mainline Protestant

Church Deemed “Greenest in America”

By Audubon International St. Mark Presbyterian Church, Newport Beach, CA When St. Mark Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach, CA began planning to build a new church, members wanted to strengthen their environmental stewardship and witness through the building itself. After becoming the first church ever to enroll in the Audubon International Signature Building program and meeting its standards, Audubon International dubbed St. Mark “The Greenest New Church in America” (N. Richardson, Stewardship News, Vol. 10,...

Catholic

Managing Business as an Ecosystem

Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Monroe, MI Article by Holly Knight, IHM Sisters Communications and Marketing Director, taken from The Immaculate Heart Of Mary Quarterly, Autumn 2008. In 2003, before the sisters' big move back to the Motherhouse, they decided to produce a DVD on the sustainable renovation of this grand, old convent. Toward the end of the production, several sisters were interviewed and taped about their newly "green" home. Sister Paula (Marie Paula)...