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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. |
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)...
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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Diocese of Stockton, CA “To respect life, you must respect the envelope of life, the Earth, on which all life depends,” wrote Bishop Stephen Blaire in his pastoral letter ushering in the first Environmental Justice Sunday throughout the Stockton Diocese in 2005. The Diocese extends from the rich farmlands of the California’s Central Valley, through the river canyons of northern Yosemite National Park, and into the stark beauty of Mono Lake, North America’s most ancient body...
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Holladay United Church of Christ Salt Lake City, Utah Just because a congregation is "local," that doesn't mean it can't have a global vision or a global reach. With less than 400 members, Holladay United Church of Christ (HUCC) sent six members -- the largest delegation from any one congregation in the U.S. -- to the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992. In June 1993, the church helped to plan, host and provide...
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, ...
Read moreSt. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Stevens Point, WI Wisconsin was once covered with prairies—7.5 million acres of tall grass flowing into broad fields dotted with oaks and dappled with wildflowers. With just 13,000 acres left, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Stevens Point, WI, is restoring prairie land on its own site and is teaching its congregation and community about environmental stewardship in the process.
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Third World Mission Trips, International A version of this article By Anton Flores originally appeared in the Summer 2007 issue of Creation Care magazine. The concept of “leave no trace” is to provide a guideline for reducing our impact on the natural environment and on the experience for other visitors of God’s wonderful creation.
Read morePoint Loma Nazarene University San Diego, CA Church of the Nazarene In 2003, when Point Loma Nazarene University student Celeste Howe ...
Read moreJeff Street Baptist Community, Louisville, KY Anointing the head with oil is a long-standing Christian tradition—but what about anointing with sunscreen? Sunscreen anointing is part of the new “Blessing of the Bikes” service at Jeff Street Baptist Community at Liberty in Louisville, KY.
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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 moreThis 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...
Read more![[Intergenerational] Family Fun on the Farm](http://www.nrpe.org/modules/mod_news_pro_gk4/cache/stories.profiles.A_28_01_dava_annansp_181.jpg)
Taste of Adamah at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, Falls Village, CT Dava Schub was looking for something to do with her 6-year old niece and 4-year old nephew that did not involve a lot of bells and whistles. These New York City kids were over-stimulated to begin with, so she wanted an activity that would be more grounded and centered, and perhaps more quiet, but also exciting for them. Having met Adam Berman, ...
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Adamah Fellowship Program at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat CenterFalls Village, CT In 2005, Adina Allen was an undergraduate environmental studies student at a university in Boston, MA taking an intensive course on the geopolitical issues connected with oil and water. She was looking for information and tools to engage with the paradigm shift of humans and their relationship to the world. She wasn’t satisfied that her academic learning was translating into practical experience. Adina...
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The Center for Theology and Land University of Dubuque Seminary and Wartburg Seminary Dubuque, IA Presbyterian Church...
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