|
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. |

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...
Read more
Diocese of Joliet, IL The University of St. Francis is one of the Catholic Universities leading the way when it comes to environmental stewardship. According to the university’s Greening of Campus mission statement: Greening, a philosophy rooted in Catholic Franciscanism, is a philosophy for life. The ultimate goal of Greening of the Campus is to cultivate among students, faculty, and staff a humble recognition that God made humanity the steward of creation, with personal responsibility...
Read more
Baltimore, MD Kayam Farm organically grows healthy food for the Pearlstone Conference & Retreat Center and greater Baltimore, Maryland community, while offering both Jewish and non-sectarian hands-on agricultural and environmental education. They hope to reconnect people with their food and with the earth, inspiring social and ecological responsibility in the Jewish community, greater Baltimore, and beyond. Kayam Farm’s 5 acres cultivates organically grown vegetables, culinary & medicinal herbs, fruit orchards, vineyards, berry & asparagus ...
Read moreDunkirk, NY Though few people may now be familiar with the concept of “gleaning” — the ...
Read moreA Rocha In the Algarve, a beautiful Mediterranean landscape in this southernmost region of Portugal popular with European tourists, a British-based ...
Read more
Hazon, New York, NY and National Hazon is a non-profit Jewish organization based in New York City, but with members across the US and beyond the nation’s borders. Their primary mission is to create healthier and more sustainable Jewish communities by connecting people to the land through local agriculture and outdoor adventures. Hazon has encouraged Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) through their program Tuv Ha’Aretz, which means both "Good for the land” and "Good from the land",...
Read more
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...
Read more
Reformed Church of New Paltz New Paltz, New York Sometimes, just one day isn't enough. In April 2004, the Reformed Church of New Paltz, spearheaded by their Caring for Creation Committee, spent a week celebrating Earth Day. The week's events began Wednesday and Thursday with...
Read more
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,...
Read moreSt. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church Yarmouth, ME “Becoming a beacon of environmental stewardship has truly been the sum of many small, enduring, ...
Read moreBeach Lake United Methodist Church, Beach Lake, PA The members of Beach Lake United Methodist Church in Beach Lake, PA, take God’s command to till and keep the garden seriously. Not only have they built a community garden, but they also work to ensure just, environmentally friendly farming conditions around the world.
Read more
The Wilshire Boulevard Temple, Los Angeles, CAJewish, Reform Movement The Wilshire Boulevard Temple kicked off its first ...
Read moreMinter Lane Church of Christ Abilene, TX It was a difficult time at Minter Lane Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas. Marge Wood describes ...
Read moreBethel Christian Church Sideling Hill Creek Watershed, PA For people concerned about protecting the environment, the old adage, “All rivers lead to the sea,” ...
Read more