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Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life
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US Conference of Catholic Bishops
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National Religious Partnership for the Environment
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National Council of Churches of Christ
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Evangelical Environmental Network
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 disctinctive 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.

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Events: Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign

Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign Signing

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...

Events: Calling All Scholars!

Catholic Climate Covenant: Care for Creation. Care for the Poor.
The Catholic Coalition on Climate Change, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Catholic University of America, and CUA's Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies are cosponsoring a scholars' conference to explore the implications of recent papal teaching, particularly that of Pope Benedict XVI, on creation, solidarity and environmental justice. Scholars across academic disciplines (especially from theology, religious studies, philosophy, and economics, as well as public health, history, biology and other sciences) are encouraged to submit proposals for papers addressing the implications of Pope Benedict XVI's ecological vision, particularly for the Catholic Church in the United States. Proposals are due March 31, 2012.
Call for papers...

Events: Upcoming NCCC Eco-Justice Events

  • Live Webcast: The Intersection of Poverty and the Environment. April 21 at 12:00pm ET.
    Learn more...

  • Interfaith Moral Action on Climate. April 21-27 in Washington DC and many other communities.
    Learn more...

  • Webinar: Healthy Aging for An Abundant Life. May 15, 2:00pm ET.
    Learn more & Register now...

  • Symposium: Religion and Environmental Stewardship. June 5-7 at Yale Divinity School. Register by May 1st, 2012.
    Register now...

  • Seminar: Food, Glorious Food: The Eucharist and Your Foodshed. June 18-24. New Mexico.
    Learn more...

Events: Global Day of Prayer

Evangelical Environmental Network
 
 
The 3rd Day of Prayer for Creation Care will be held Thursday April 26, 2012 and will be hosted in Washington DC. This year our prayers will be globally focused. Dr. Chris Wright of the Langham Partnership will be the keynote speaker. Save the date and be sure to join us in Washington DC. Registration is now open!


RECENT NEWS

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Jewish

Communication With Policy Makers

This is a support document for the Jewish Stewardship Story, "Speaking Out for Children's Health," and is a sample legislative advocacy letter:   The California Interfaith Partnership for Children's Health and the Environment, California Interfaith, with Jewish participation [Besides focusing on public education, the California Interfaith Partnership for Children’s Health and the Environment facilitates communication with policy makers – through face-to-face meetings, letters, and calls. The following is an example of the type of letter facilitated by the Interfaith Partnership.]

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Jewish

Compendium of Sources on Halacha and the Environment

Canfei Nesharim, New York, NY Jewish, Orthodox The 19th-century scholar, Rabbi Samuel Rafael ...

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Ecumenical Garden Cultivates Restorative Justice

Mainline Protestant

Ecumenical Garden Cultivates Restorative Justice

Madison Christian Community, Madison, WI It’s a ministry that scatters seeds of hope for incarcerated people. Madison Christian Community, an ecumenical partnership between Advent Lutheran Church (ELCA) and Community of Hope (UCC) in Madison, WI, works with a nearby correctional facility to offer a restorative justice-based horticulture program in its 6000 square foot garden. “The garden ministry is one way to bridge the racial, economic and social barriers that exist between people today,”...

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Mainline Protestant

Taking Recycling to the Streets

Englewood Presbyterian Church, Homewood, AL Presbyterians promoting curbside recycling in Homewood, AL are working with the city to increase awareness. Englewood Presbyterian Church members felt that they city needed to do more to promote recycling. They set up a meeting with Homewood Mayor Barry McCulley and managers from the city’s recycling contractor, Allied Waste, to discuss its promotion of the curbside residential recycling program. Through their discussions, they learned that the city’s agreement...

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Temple Isaiah Green Team

Jewish

Temple Isaiah Green Team

Temple Isaiah, Los Angeles, CA Jewish, Reform Movement Temple Isaiah has been a part of COEJL ...

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Stewardship Stories

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.

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Mainline Protestant

Green from the Ground Up

United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA Members of the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, CA wanted a church building that demonstrated their values: creating a safe environment for God’s people while having minimal impact on the earth. Now they are working to build a church following the discipline of the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for new construction certification, with the intent of achieving the highest LEED...

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Climate Action, Green Jobs, Local Agriculture, and Watershed Protection

Catholic

Climate Action, Green Jobs, Local Agriculture, and Watershed Protection

Washington State Catholic Conference, WA In Washington, Archbishop Alexander Brunett served on the Governor’s Climate Advisory Team, which prepared recommendations to achieve emission reduction, and green jobs goals.  Many of the team’s recommendations were signed into law, the Climate Action and Green Jobs legislation.  Some of the goals are to reduce emissions from the vehicle miles traveled, the establishment of a regional market-based system and the participation of local governments in them, and how the...

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Evangelical

Creation Care Worldwide

Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies Grand Rapids, MI A partnership in missions is flourishing on the ...

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The Advent Conspiracy

Evangelical

The Advent Conspiracy

Imago Dei Community, Portland, OR Adapted from an article, “Restoring the Scandal of Christmas” by Rick McKinley, in the Fall 2007 issue of Creation Care magazine. Imago Dei Community began meeting weekly in 2000 for worship, teaching and gathering in community to develop their core group.  As of 2008, an average of 1400 people attend Imago Dei every Sunday. Many of those people are active in serving the city of Portland, OR in one of their...

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Mainline Protestant

Toward a Transfigured Creation

Orthodox Fellowship of the Transfiguration Santa Rosa, California Mention of God's gift of creation has long been a part of Orthodox liturgies, and the primary spiritual leader for the Orthodox Church worldwide, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, is often referred to as the "Green Patriarch." Thus, Orthodox members of the Eco-Justice Working Group of the National Council of Churches and others felt it was high time to have a national organization for Orthodox scholarship,...

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Stable Monastery Rooted in Stewardship

Catholic

Stable Monastery Rooted in Stewardship

Benedictine Women of Madison, Madison, WI The monastic community of the Holy Wisdom Monastery in Madison, WI have been hearing and practicing a lot concerning stability:  Their new strategic plan focuses on growing their community in ways that will bring stability and strength to the work of the sisters; Ecumenical Board member Judith Rock claims stability is more countercultural today than celibacy; and a local environmental expert noted that the root system of prairies like...

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Carless Sunday Creates Community

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...

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Center for Earth Spirituality and Rural Ministry (CESRM)

Catholic

Center for Earth Spirituality and Rural Ministry (CESRM)

School Sisters of Notre Dame Mankato, MN The Center for Earth Spirituality and Rural Ministry ...

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