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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. |

Orange County Interfaith Coalition for the Environment North Tustin, CA The Orange County Interfaith Coalition for the Environment (OCICE) was the lead organization in the "International Day of Climate Action", which took place on October 24, 2009 at the Irvine Ranch Outdoor Education Center in Orange, CA. The event included a morning hike with the Sierra Club, 5K walk, and a bicycle rally (groups came from various locations around Orange County and rode...
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JustFaith, IL and National JustFaith Ministries offersan important education and faith formation study, Creation Cries for Justice, Climate Change: Impact and Response. In conjunction with the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change, JustFaith provides this eight-week curriculum containing faith and science resources that address climate change in solidarity with the poor and for use by faith communities. Rooted in Catholic social teaching and informed by the Bishops’ statement, Global Climate Change: A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence...
Read moreMaryland 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...
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United Methodist Conference of North Texas, TX The North Texas Annual Conference has created a groundbreaking opportunity for its churches to go green. It negotiated for its 200 churches to buy the equivalent of 10 percent of its energy from renewable sources within Texas.Some congregations are taking greening a step further. Northaven UMC in Dallas, TX, plans to pay a premium to buy 100 percent green energy. According to Pastor Eric Folkerth, “It’s consistent...
Read moreWashington, D.C. In early April 2004, Joe Sheldon, Professor of Biology and Environmental Science at Messiah ...
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United Methodist General Conference, National At its worldwide conference in Fort Worth, TX, the 2008 General Conference directed the General Board of Church and Society, the General Board of Discipleship, the General Council on Finance and Administration, the Connectional Table and the General Conference to work with annual conferences and camp and retreat centers to develop recommendations and resources to guide The United Methodist Church in reducing its ecological footprint and finding renewable...
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Congregation Bet Haverim, Atlanta, Georgia Jewish, Reconstructionist Movement Congregation Bet Haverim’s “One ...
Read moreOrthodox 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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First English Lutheran Church Columbus, OH First English Lutheran Church has been in the creation care business for the past 20 years. ...
Read moreMount St. John Dayton, OHVisit site... In 1985 the state of Ohio dug a 14-acre, 40-foot deep gravel borrow pit on the Mt. St. John property, ...
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Redwood Rabbis, Northern California Jewish, Non-denominational While many Jewish congregations may celebrate Tu B’shevat, the Jewish New Year of the Trees, with simple rituals of tree-planting or the eating of new fruits, nuts or wine, in 1997, the Redwoods Rabbis of Northern California took their observance of the holiday to a new level. As part of their ongoing advocacy to protect Headwaters Forest -- the last unprotected old growth redwood forest on the Pacific coast,...
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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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Temple Isaiah, Los Angeles, CA Jewish, Reform Movement Temple Isaiah has been a part of COEJL ...
Read moreAu Sable Institute for Environmental Studies, MI A version of this article by Peter Illyn originally appeared in the Fall 2007 issue of Creation Care magazine.
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