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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 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.

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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...

St. Francis Pledge

Catholic Climate Covenant: Care for Creation. Care for the Poor.
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.

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

Evangelical Environmental Network
 
 
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.  
 
 


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:



RECENT NEWS

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Reality Tours of Mountaintop Removal

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 ...

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Ellin & Harold Lawson Youth Institute VII Tikkun Olam: Protecting God's Creation

Jewish

Ellin & Harold Lawson Youth Institute VII Tikkun Olam: Protecting God's Creation

Temple Beth El, Bloomfield Hills, MIJewish, Reform Movement Since 1997, the Ellin and Harold Lawson Youth ...

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Land Stewardship Committee

Catholic

Land Stewardship Committee

Mary Help of Christians Church Parkland, FL When the Mary Help of Christians Church in Parkland, Florida constructed its church, they also established ...

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Fresh Food for All

Mainline Protestant

Fresh Food for All

All Peoples Church, Milwaukee, MN In a community where the average household income is $26,700, All Peoples Church (ELCA) of Milwaukee, WI is reclaiming a garden, forming partnerships with local urban farming organizations and offering education in order to provide healthy, fresh food sources to all people. The church is located in the Harambee neighborhood, where the population is 63% African-American, 11% Hispanic and 19% Caucasian. 62% of the people are renters. There are several...

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Getting Yourself Into A Pickle

Jewish

Getting Yourself Into A Pickle

Adamah Fellowship Program at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, Falls Village, CT Beginning in the 1990’s, Zelig Golden became interested in community agriculture and dreamed about farming through experiences he’d had on farms in Idaho and South America.  In 1998 he became the first program director of the Northwest Jewish Environment Project in Seattle, Washington (a COEJL affiliate), which drew connections between Judaism and environmental protection.  Some of his training to undertake this task came from Adam Berman, Executive Director of...

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Interfaith

Partnering for Advocacy

Earth Ministry, Seattle, WA A unique partnership in Seattle, WA, is uniting people of faith with community environmental leaders to decide advocacy priorities and win legislative battles. Earth Ministry, an ecumenical environmental justice group works with advocacy organization, Priorities for a Healthy Washington, to select four environmental priorities each year. Earth Ministry then mobilizes the faith community to legislative advocacy based on those priorities.

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Evangelical

The Heavens Declare the Glory of God

Creation Care Conference Sandy Cove, MD Worship is the one of the essential lynchpins ...

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Church Deemed “Greenest in America”

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,...

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

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...

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Evangelical

An Evangelical Church Discovers Creation Care

Fellowship Church Knoxville, TN Evangelical Free Church of America Lyndsay Moseley wasn’t sure what lay in her future when she returned home to Knoxville, Tennessee, after graduating from college with a major in public policy. Like many recent graduates, she had no immediate job or position awaiting her and was uncertain about her next step. Within a few short months though, a series of opportunities arose that not only directed her attention, but launched her upon a personal and spiritual path...

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Columbia River Pastoral Letter Project

Catholic

Columbia River Pastoral Letter Project

Bishops of the Pacific Northwest Visit the project site... The Columbia River rolls on for 1,200 miles from southeastern British Columbia, along the border of Washington and Oregon, to the Pacific Ocean. Taken together with the thousands of miles of tributaries that feed it, the river defines a watershed encompassing 259,000 square miles. The river and its watershed is many things to many people: water for drinking, irrigation, and industry; a course for salmon runs and barge traffic; a source of hydroelectric power;...

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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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Catholic Colleges, Universities Take Steps To Go Green CA, IN, MN

Catholic

Catholic Colleges, Universities Take Steps To Go Green CA, IN, MN

Article By Mandi Stirone taken from Catholic News Service Catholic colleges and universities are joining their public counterparts in pursuing green initiatives for their campuses using a variety of resources, offices and organizations. Students and school officials are tapping into Internet-based initiatives such as the Campus Greening Initiative at http://www.netimpact.org and Campus Climate Challenge, and they're also entering competitions such as RecycleMania, which promotes friendly competition among campuses to promote recycling efforts.  About 24 Catholic colleges and universities have also joined the...

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Catholic

Eco-Spirituality Committee

This is a support document for the Catholic Stewardship Story, "Parish Renovation" at the Church of St. Joan of Arc in Minnesota, and an example of a congregation's vision statement for a more environmentally aware and sustainable community: Church of St. Joan of Arc Parish Center Minneapolis, MN Vision...

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