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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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Catholic

Managing Business as an Ecosystem

Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Monroe, MI Article by Holly Knight, IHM Sisters Communications and Marketing Director, taken from The Immaculate Heart Of Mary Quarterly, Autumn 2008. In 2003, before the sisters' big move back to the Motherhouse, they decided to produce a DVD on the sustainable renovation of this grand, old convent.  Toward the end of the production, several sisters were interviewed and taped about their newly "green" home. Sister Paula (Marie Paula)...

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Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment

Catholic

Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment

New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey Increasingly secular and religious groups alike are using shareholder resolutions as a tactic ...

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Mainline Protestant

Urban Green Team

First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY It’s a green oasis in the gritty city—a restful “Peace Garden” on the grounds of The First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn, NY. The building of this garden along with other efforts of the congregations active “Green Team” have helped the congregation expand its understanding of the “priesthood of all believers” to include the “priesthood of all living things” according to associate pastor Rev. Beth Waltemath.

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Ezekiel 34 Initiative

Interfaith

Ezekiel 34 Initiative

Commission on Stewardship of the Environment The Louisiana Interchurch Conference Baton Rouge, LA The Louisiana Interchurch Conference, located in the region of Baton Rouge, Larose, West Monroe, ...

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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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Tuv Ha-Aretz – Jewish CSAs

Jewish

Tuv Ha-Aretz – Jewish CSAs

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",...

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Transportation Equity Project

Catholic

Transportation Equity Project

Archdiocese of Detroit Detroit, MI When Cardinal Adam Maida of the Archdiocese of ...

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Evangelical

Inner City Youth Outdoors

Trinity Vineyard, Atlanta, GA A version of this article by Jason Chatraw originally appeared in the Summer 2007 issue of Creation Care magazine. Eureka! Get[ting] Out - Inner City Youth Embrace Creation Over Baseball As the groundswell of support continues to grow for incorporating creation care into the life of church ministry, ways to approach teaching good stewardship and an appreciation for God’s creation may vary vastly. There are simple, obvious ways—and then there are ways you...

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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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Mainline Protestant

How Many Light Bulbs Does it Take to Change an Episcopalian?

Episcopal Diocese of Ohio, OH The Episcopal Diocese of Ohio is changing attitudes about global warming by helping churches change light bulbs. Bishop Mark Hollingsworth and intern Andy Barnett are leading a campaign titled “How Many Light Bulbs Does it Take to Change an Episcopalian?” The program provides up to $250 per church to all 95 churches throughout the diocese to replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). “Almost any bulb under 250...

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Evangelical

Biblical Earthkeeping and Conflict Resolution

Tangier Watermen's Stewardship for the Chesapeake Tangier Island, Chesapeake Bay, VA The 650 watermen (an old English term referring to one who fishes, crabs and oysters) of Tangier Island, Virginia, in Chesapeake Bay, trace their ancestry back to Cornwall England and, because of their remote location, still speak with an Elizabethan accent. The church is the center of community life, and 80 percent of the people consider themselves conservative evangelical Christians.

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Evangelical

Endangered Species Act Testimony

Washington, D.C. In early April 2004, Joe Sheldon, Professor of Biology and Environmental Science at Messiah ...

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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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Caring for Creation Committee

Mainline Protestant

Caring for Creation Committee

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...

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