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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. |
Minter Lane Church of Christ Abilene, TX It was a difficult time at Minter Lane Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas. Marge Wood describes ...
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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 ...
Read moreThis is a support document for the Jewish Stewardship Story, "Speaking Out for Children's Health," and is a sample legislative advocacy letter: The California Interfaith Partnership for Children's Health and the Environment, California Interfaith, with Jewish participation [Besides focusing on public education, the California Interfaith Partnership for Children’s Health and the Environment facilitates communication with policy makers – through face-to-face meetings, letters, and calls. The following is an example of the type of letter facilitated by the Interfaith Partnership.]
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United Methodist General Conference, National At its worldwide conference in Fort Worth, TX, the 2008 General Conference directed the General Board of Church and Society, the General Board of Discipleship, the General Council on Finance and Administration, the Connectional Table and the General Conference to work with annual conferences and camp and retreat centers to develop recommendations and resources to guide The United Methodist Church in reducing its ecological footprint and finding renewable...
Read moreCreation Care Conference Sandy Cove, MD Worship is the one of the essential lynchpins ...
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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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...
Read moreEarth Ministry, Seattle, WA A unique partnership in Seattle, WA, is uniting people of faith with community environmental leaders to decide advocacy priorities and win legislative battles. Earth Ministry, an ecumenical environmental justice group works with advocacy organization, Priorities for a Healthy Washington, to select four environmental priorities each year. Earth Ministry then mobilizes the faith community to legislative advocacy based on those priorities.
Read moreEpiscopal 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...
Read moreWashington, D.C. In early April 2004, Joe Sheldon, Professor of Biology and Environmental Science at Messiah ...
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Madison Christian Community, Madison, WI It’s a ministry that scatters seeds of hope for incarcerated people. Madison Christian Community, an ecumenical partnership between Advent Lutheran Church (ELCA) and Community of Hope (UCC) in Madison, WI, works with a nearby correctional facility to offer a restorative justice-based horticulture program in its 6000 square foot garden. “The garden ministry is one way to bridge the racial, economic and social barriers that exist between people today,”...
Read moreManassas Church of the Brethern, Manassas, VA B.U.G.S are everywhere at Manassas Church of the Brethren in Manassas, VA. But the church isn’t infested with insects; rather it’s growing intergenerational green church program called B.U.G.S., which stands for Better Understanding of Green Stewardship.
Read moreSisters 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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Canfei Nesharim, New York, NY and National Canfei Nesharim (“the Wings of Eagles”) partnered with Orthodox synagogues across the United States to include environmental teachings in the Jewish festival holidays of Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret during the Fall of 2008. Canfei Nesharim is an organization that provides traditional Jewish resources about the importance of protecting the environment. On Sukkot, Jews celebrate water through the Simchat Beit Hashoeva (Celebration of the Water Drawing Ceremony). On Shemini Atzeret,...
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