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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Interfaith

Greening Low-Income Housing

Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement, New York City, NY An interfaith coalition of more than 90 congregations is greening low-income housing in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement (HCCI) is celebrating the recent opening of David and Joyce Dinkins Gardens, a new, green affordable housing development.

Stewardship Stories

A TAPESTRY OF ENGAGEMENT Across the nation, wherever they live, work, and worship, people of faith have established diverse initiatives to care for God’s creation.

Catholic

Reality Tours of Mountaintop Removal

Catholic Committee of Appalachia, WV The Catholic Committee of Appalachia produced "Climate Change: Our Faith Response,” a 10 minute DVD and accompanying study guide. This religious education program teaches the church’s social teaching principle of care for creation. The project was funded in part by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change. CCA offers spiritual and educational opportunities such as the “Pilgrimage to the Holy Land of Appalachia,” religious ...

Mainline Protestant

United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz

The United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz has started an initiative to build a new LEED Certified house of worship under the leadership of Pastor Michael Love. They have, through inspiration from the national level, begun to embrace the call to environmental stewardship. Efforts have been made to connect with other local organizations, and also to improve the congregation at the home church. The congregation hopes to protect and renew the environment with the use of the building. One goal is...

Mainline Protestant

A Whole Earth Church

Holladay United Church of Christ Salt Lake City, Utah Just because a congregation is "local," that doesn't mean it can't have a global vision or a global reach. With less than 400 members, Holladay United Church of Christ (HUCC) sent six members -- the largest delegation from any one congregation in the U.S. -- to the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992. In June 1993, the church helped to plan, host and provide...

Jewish

Modeling Jewish Environmental Ethics and Training Future Leaders

Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center Falls Village, Connecticut Jewish, Non-Denominational Isabella Freedman rests on 450 acres of forested land and lush meadows in the foothills of the southern Berkshires. As fall home to the Teva Learning Center and year-round home for the Adamah Jewish Environmental Fellowship, the Isabella Freedman Retreat Center is a living model of what it looks like to steward the land based on Jewish environmental ethics. Guests at the retreat center's...

Evangelical

Leave No Trace But Love

Third World Mission Trips, International A version of this article By Anton Flores originally appeared in the Summer 2007 issue of Creation Care magazine. The concept of “leave no trace” is to provide a guideline for reducing our impact on the natural environment and on the experience for other visitors of God’s wonderful creation.

Catholic

Environmental Restoration

The Benedictine Women of Madison Middleton, WI Saint Benedict Center in Middleton, WI, is situated on 130 acres overlooks the northern shore of Lake Mendota and the city of Madison, and serves as home to a 10,000-year-old glacial lake (Lost Lake). Over the years, rapid urbanization and farming on lands contiguous to the property contributed to significant pollution from nutrients, pesticides, metals and sediment, resulting in the loss of wildlife habitat and the disappearance of native vegetation. Further, over 400 acres...

Mainline Protestant

From Lawn to Prairie

St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Stevens Point, WI Wisconsin was once covered with prairies—7.5 million acres of tall grass flowing into broad fields dotted with oaks and dappled with wildflowers. With just 13,000 acres left, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Stevens Point, WI, is restoring prairie land on its own site and is teaching its congregation and community about environmental stewardship in the process.

Catholic

Franciscan Earth Corps/Franciscan Earth Club

St. Thomas More Campus Ministry Syracuse, NY In October 2003, St. Thomas More Campus Ministry ...

Mainline Protestant

Wooded Church Property: Obstacle or Opportunity?

Maryland Presbyterian Church, Baltimore, MD Sometimes a church can’t see an outreach opportunity for the trees. That was the case for Maryland Presbyterian Church in the northern suburbs of Baltimore, MD. The church is surrounded by four acres of sloping woodland, populated by oaks and tulip poplars. Members once viewed the property’s wooded lot as a hindrance to ministry because it limited the church’s visibility in the neighborhood, but now the church is attracting...

Jewish

Milking An Experience for All It's Worth

Adamah Fellowship Program at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, Falls Village, CT Aitan Mizrahi always knew he wanted a profession that was based on do-it-yourself, off-the-grid skills, and he wanted his line of work to be in line with a Jewish way of life. He was in his mid-20s when he found the perfect opportunity to combine Jewish text and teachings with practical thought and hands-on agricultural experience. Adamah: The Jewish Environmental Fellowship (Adamah) at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center...

Jewish

Keeping the Covenant: The Celebration of the Animals

Congregation Har HaShem, Boulder, CO Jewish, Reform Movement Based in part on the materials from ...

Mainline Protestant

Polar Explorer Inspires Lutherans to Action

Minnesota — He has spent his life leading some of the most significant polar expeditions in history. Now Minnesotan Will Steger is working for the preservation of the Arctic and the earth through the Will Steger Foundation. As a part of his preservation efforts, Steger worked with the Lutheran Coalition for Public Policy (LCPP) in Minnesota to offer Global Warming Solutions forums throughout the state. Communities participated enthusiastically, often with 500-1000 people turning out to hear Steger speak.