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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 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. |
Brackenhurst Environmental Program Kenya Baptist Kenya is an African nation where indigenous trees and whole forests are rapidly disappearing. The ...
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The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life in Southern California In January 2002,...
Read moreTrinity 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...
Read moreThe Ohev Sholom, the National Synagogue, is the oldest Jewish orthodox congregation in Washington, D.C. For members of the orthodox congregation, remaining sincere and committed to halakhah (Jewish law) means following numerous requirements. As a kosher member, one must adhere to the mitzvoth (commandments), which means following the weekly practice of Shabbat. The Shabbat is a period of religious observance that starts Friday evening and goes until Saturday evening. In 2007, Jen Singer and her husband joined the National Synagogue. Soon...
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Northaven United Methodist Church, Dallas, TX Most Texas car shows show off the biggest and boldest new cars, trucks, and SUVs out there, according to Rev. Eric Folkerth of Northaven United Methodist Church in Dallas, TX. So when church members proposed a hybrid car show four years ago, the idea was a semi-serious joke. Now that joke has turned into a rallying event for the church’s annual Earth Day Celebration. Fuel efficiency has become a...
Read moreA TAPESTRY OF ENGAGEMENT Across the nation, wherever they live, work, and worship, people of faith have established diverse initiatives to care for God’s creation.
Read moreBeginning from its founding in the 1980's, Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation has been a leader in the world of green congregations. Located in Bethesda, Maryland, members of Adat Shalom, led by Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb, place an emphasis on low ecological impact and a commitment to combating environmental degradation. The middot (values of the Jewish faith) teach a lesson of respect for Creation and care for fellow human beings, tenets that the Adat Shalom congregation has embraced with zeal. Beginning...
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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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Main Line Unitarian Church Devon, PA In the Main Line Unitarian Church of Devon, Pennsylvania, ...
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Fermi Project, Suwanee, GA Adapted from an article, “From Nightmare to Dream Come True” by Jeff Shinaberger, in the Summer 2007 issue of Creation Care magazine. Like many Biblical inspirations, this story begins with a dream, or moreover, a nightmare. Jeff Shinaberger dreamt of a boy, about eight years old, four feet tall, no shirt, wearing only ripped up mud-stained pants, with an extended belly. He watched the boy dip a glass into a filthy puddle...
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American Jewish CommitteeNew York, NY, National and International The American Jewish Committee, begun in 1906, promotes pluralistic and democratic societies where all minorities are protected, and all people are accorded respect and dignity. One of AJC’s key priorities is energy independence and they are determined to become one of the first Jewish non-profits in the country with green certification for its national headquarters. In New York City they have implemented a Green Building Project, in...
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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 moreSt. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church Yarmouth, ME “Becoming a beacon of environmental stewardship has truly been the sum of many small, enduring, ...
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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...
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