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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. |
Restoring Eden/Christian Colleges, West Virginia A version of this article By Peter Illyn originally appeared in the Summer 2008 issue of Creation Care magazine. New Generation Bears Witness to Appalachian Destruction Not many students go on spring Break hoping to get their hearts broken. But when ten students representing seven states and three Christian colleges stood on an Appalachian ridge and stared at the barren remains of a mountaintop dynamited out of existence, their hearts...
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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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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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Robert Saligman Middle School, Melrose Park, PAJewish, Conservative Movement Robert Saligman Middle School is part of a larger ...
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Congregation Ahavath Beth Israel Boise, Idaho In 2003, Congregation Ahavath Beth Israel moved their...
Read moreSt. Andrew Christian Church Kansas City, KS Disciples of Christ Having church walls made of straw, concrete, ...
Read moreBrackenhurst Environmental Program Kenya Baptist Kenya is an African nation where indigenous trees and whole forests are rapidly disappearing. The ...
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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Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Cleveland, OH In a city struggling with economic hardship, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Cleveland, OH, stands for green renewal. In 2002, the cathedral, in conjunction with the Diocese of Ohio, expanded its buildings using green building principles and became an example of urban revitalization as well as sustainable development. As the city’s first downtown green renovation, the project won the Cleveland Engineering Society’s Excellence in Renovation Award and was a ...
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Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Munroe, MI Nationally recognized as models of sustainable living, the IHM Sisters of Monroe now are coming full circle. They are pioneering the emerging trend of "sustainable dying." In August 2009 the sisters carried out their first green burial. IHM Sister Antoinette Ruedisueli, who died on Aug. 16, was the first IHM sister to have opted for a green burial. Green burial reduces a person's environmental impact...
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 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 moreNew Mexico Conference of Churches Albuquerque, NM The New Mexico Conference of Churches (NMCC) ...
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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...
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