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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. |
The West Michigan Environmental Action Council Grand Rapids, MI Western Michigan is a region of strong religious heritage, rich with faith communities whose sacred texts and religious traditions urge care and respect for the environment. Recognizing this fertile ground for environmental advocacy, in 1997 the West Michigan Environmental Action Council (WMEAC) hosted a series of discussions on the relationship between religion and ecology, inviting the participation of the Grand Rapids Area Center for Ecumenism, the...
Read moreEvangelical Environmental NetworkAustin, TX - Washington, D.C. In 2003, the Rev. Jim Ball, Executive Director ...
Read moreSanta Rosa, CA The Religious Campaign for Forest Conservation, based in Santa Rosa, California, is surrounded ...
Read moreUnited 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...
Read moreDoor Creek Church Madison, WI Evangelical Free Church in America When the leadership of Door Creek Church in Madison, Wisconsin, chose the site for their new church ...
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First Grace United Methodist Church, New Orleans, LA The people of First Grace UMC of New Orleans, LA, know first hand the devastation caused by severe storm events. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed First UMC of New Orleans and Grace UMC. When the churches merged to form First Grace UMC 13 months later, sustainability became a top priority. “One of the most at-risk cities for the effects of global warming is New Orleans, and one...
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Washington State Catholic Conference, WA In Washington, Archbishop Alexander Brunett served on the Governor’s Climate Advisory Team, which prepared recommendations to achieve emission reduction, and green jobs goals. Many of the team’s recommendations were signed into law, the Climate Action and Green Jobs legislation. Some of the goals are to reduce emissions from the vehicle miles traveled, the establishment of a regional market-based system and the participation of local governments in them, and how the...
Read moreSt. Andrew Presbyterian Church Billings, MT Health comes in many forms. Clean air, clean water, safe environment. Health also comes about through acts of feeding hungry people, bringing healing and wholeness to individuals, and offering hospitality to native species. Through changing an empty weedy lot into a lush Community Garden and an outdoor labyrinth, St. Andrew Presbyterian Church has created a healthy, wholesome space for God's creation. Rev. Brent Long, pastor at St. ...
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 moreMaine Interfaith Power & Light, Inc. Brunswick, ME In 2003, laypeople and clergy from the Saco-Biddeford area of southern Maine came together as a coalition formed between the First Parish Congregational Church, Unitarian-Universalist Church of Saco-Biddeford, and the Sisters of the Good Shepard, to accept the challenge posed by the Maine Council of Churches’ Environmental Justice Program, a state partner in NRPE’s Interfaith Climate and Energy Campaign and Maine Interfaith Power and Light....
Read moreGeorgetown Gospel Chapel Seattle, WA Georgetown Gospel Chapel is a small Full Gospel congregation that sits in the heart of Seattle’s ...
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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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The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life in Southern California In January 2002,...
Read moreLakeland Christian School, Lakeland, FL A version of this article originally appeared in the Spring 2008 issue of Creation Care magazine. Since 1998, “Monarch Mania” has been an annual event at Lakeland Christian School. It started with a local butterfly entrepreneur, Gil Daigneau, who stopped by the school and left elementary principal Fred Wiechmann a monarch chrysalis hot-glued to a Golden Dewdrop plant.
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