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  • Earth Day statement from ELCA presiding bishop

    The Reverend Elizabeth A. Eaton, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), issued an Earth Day statement on behalf of the ELCA. A salient excerpt from the statement is shown below:

    "The effects of the warming climate are felt in nearly every corner of the globe. These include increased migration, food insecurity due to changing agricultural landscapes, national security issues and health problems. As bad as it is for all creation, the most vulnerable people around the world are suffering the most. Yet they have contributed the least and, as noted in the United Nation's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,[iii] are ill equipped to adapt to or mitigate the effects of a changing climate to build resilient communities."

  • Presbyterians and Climate Change

    This article posted on Yale Climate Connections discusses grassroots efforts of Presbyterian organizations, and notes specific time frames of salient Presbyterian accomplishments with regard to climate change. The following excerpt provides a general overview of their goals and mission:

    "Presbyterians are engaged in many activities to combat climate change, from Earth Forums to hunger programs addressing food and climate crises and protests against practices that encourage reliance on coal. Since 2010, the Presbyterian Church has given 80 congregations an Earth Care Congregation Certification for demonstrating a strong commitment to environmental care."

  • PC(USA) Collaborative Agenda on Environmental Stewardship

    Chief executives of the six churches of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) provide their rationale for creating the Collaborative Agenda on Environmental Stewardship:

    "Noting the deep concern about urgent environmental challenges expressed by many commissioners at the 221st General Assembly (2014), chief executives of the six agencies of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) appointed a working group to develop a joint response. The group consisting of at least one staff member per agency—was asked to craft a positive statement of what each agency, and the agencies together, have done and plan to do regarding environmental stewardship. This document is designed to call attention to ongoing efforts by the PC(USA) to confront the underlying causes of climate change, and to resources available through the six agencies to congregations, mid councils, and other mission and ministry groups wishing to join in the effort. The working group, meeting together regularly over a period of nine months, has produced the following document— 'Collaborative Agenda on Environmental Stewardship.' It has been reviewed by each of the agency boards, which have each endorsed the document as a whole and recommended that the General Assembly also endorse it as a helpful resource to the whole denomination. This effort is particularly noteworthy as it is unusual for an item of business to come to the assembly from a collaboration of all six agencies."

  • Blessed Tomorrow - Caring for Creation Today - Commitment to Act on Climate Change

    The Presbyterian Church acknowledges that burning fossil fuels can cause irreparable damage to the Earth and to humans, with a disproportionate impact on the poor and vulnerable, and advocate instead for cleaner energy sources. They emphasize that care for creation is not a political, economic, or scientific issue, but rather a moral responsibility laid before us by God. For this reason, they are partnering with Blessed Tomorrow, to facilitate the creation of new tools and guides that will help to create a more sustainable future.

  • The Power to Change

    The 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. (PCUSA) has put forth this resolution on energy and climate change as a resource for both individuals and entire congregations. Topics at the forefront of the report include: global warming, eco-justice norms, energy guidelines, non-renewable energy sources, and alternative and renewable energy sources. The final section includes resources for education, action and advocacy.

  • Report and Recommendations on Limited Water Resources and Takings

    The 216th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. put forth this report on recommendations regarding critical water issues. The first half discusses water with regard to ethical considerations and sustainability. The second part provides an action/study guide that is designed for individual use as well as educational purposes.

  • Globalization and the Environment

    This study paper by Dr. Robert L. Stivers focuses on various types of attitudes and perspectives regarding human interaction with the environment. He maintains that environmental degradation has multiple causes, of which globalization might only be one factor. Dr. Stivers offers that globalization is a contributor to the extent that affluent individuals from around the world have yet to curb their spending habits and attitudes with regard its negative impact on nature.

  • We Are What We Eat

    The 214th General Assembly (2002) Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) approved the following report titled We Are What We Eat. This report focuses on how people can influence the agriculture revolution with regard to sustainability, stewardship compassion, and community. The final section provides suggestions for activities and studies that congregations can engage in with regard to food production/consumption.

  • Hazardous Waste, Race, and the Environment

    This statement was approved by the 207th General Assembly Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), 1995. The predominant theme focuses on the impact that hazardous waste has on individuals who are suffering from poverty and minority groups. The final section provides suggestions for taking action.

  • A Shared Quaker Statement: Facing the Challenge of Climate Change

    This statement calls for leaders to make sound decisions with regard to climate change, and for all people to cherish the Earth for future generations. The following introductory section highlights the sense of urgency:

    "As Quakers, we understand anthropogenic climate change (climate change due to human activities) to be a symptom of a greater challenge: how to live sustainable and justly on this Earth.

    We recognize that the current rise of greenhouse gas emissions is leading to an unprecedented rate of increase in global average surface temperature of extreme detriment to the Earth’s ecosystems and species, including human beings.

    We recognize that catastrophic global climate change is not inevitable if we choose to act urgently."

  • A Quaker Response to the Crisis of Climate Change

    A Quaker Response to the Crisis of Climate Change discusses how climate change and consumer waste negatively impacts disadvantage populations the most. The first two paragraphs of the introduction are stated below:

    "The crisis of global climate change represents a supreme test of humanity’s collective wisdom and courage. Our immoderate use of the Earth’s resources violates the entire biosphere, threatening the lives of millions of people and the habitats of thousands of species. Many of the poorest people are already suffering a changed climate; they are
    asking us all to act.

    How has humanity produced this crisis? Our faith response is that prevailing social values have obscured what it means to live authentically on this Earth. In rich European countries we consume more than we need within an economic system that divides us as a society; in much that we do, we cause harm to the planet and each other without enriching our lives."

  • The Kabarak Call for Peace and Ecojustice

    The Kabarak Call for Peace and Ecojustice, at the World Conference of Friends in 2012, maintains that we live in times in which the Earth can not replenish itself, so we must intervene where we can. In addition, we need to look out for our fellow humans, especially those who are less fortunate than us. The following paragraph provides the introduction to the text:

    "In past times God’s Creation restored itself. Now humanity dominates, our growing population consuming more resources than nature can replace. We must change, we must become careful stewards of all life. Earthcare unites traditional Quaker testimonies: peace, equality, simplicity, love, integrity, and justice. Jesus said, 'As you have done unto the least… you have done unto me'. We are called to work for the peaceable Kingdom of God on the whole earth, in right sharing with all peoples. However few our numbers, we are called to be the salt that flavours and preserves, to be a light in the darkness of greed and destruction."

  • Care for Creation and Climate Justice

    The World Council of Churches provides a brief description of their stance on care for creation and climate justice on their website. The following is an introductory statement, urging individuals forgo over-consumption and greed:

    "The present world development model is threatening the lives and livelihoods of many, especially among the world's poorest people, and destroying biodiversity. The ecumenical vision is to overcome this model based on over-consumption and greed."

  • WCC Executive Committee: global biodiversity crisis reaches urgent level

    This article from the World Council of Churches discusses the current biodiversity crisis. The majority of land surfaces and ocean areas are significantly modified, and over 85% of the wetlands are gone. The following excerpt notes how this subsequently affects the poor and vulnerable:

    "The statement notes that, increasingly, the drive for relentless expansion built into dominant economic systems are endangering the survival of many of God’s creatures. 'Ultimately our significant and adverse impacts on ecology will impact humanity’s own future,' the statement reads. 'Already they are destroying the very basis of sustenance of our income-poor, vulnerable and Indigenous sisters and brothers, who contribute least to the ecological damage for which human beings are collectively responsible.'"

  • Climate Change

    The World Council of Churches calls individuals to modify their consumer lifestyle for the greater good - to improve shared environmental conditions for all and with less negative impact among the poor. This excerpt provides a sense of urgency to act to reverse the threat of climate change:

    "The urgency of the threat of climate change requires our generation to take immediate action and go beyond simple declarations and statements. New alternative models of life are called for. We challenge all people to move towards a style of life that derives its quality from the attentive enjoyment of nature and human relationships, from mutual care, dependence, trust and solidarity instead of the illusions of individual autonomy and material wealth, from spirituality and feelings of community, connectedness and intimacy instead of one-dimensional self-centredness. We draw strength from insights gained from the rich, community- oriented and simple lifestyles of indigenous and other marginalized communities. We are conscious of the significant contribution these communities, with their low carbon economies, deliver to the stabilization of the climate. We recommend the creation of 'just, participatory, sustainable and sustaining communities' for mutual support and call upon the churches and authorities to join them on this journey with reflection and practical support."

  • Economic globalization and ecology

    In this message, the World Council of Churches (WCC) focuses on how economic globalization affects the environment, with a specific focus on economic justice. The following excerpt provides a succinct summary of what WCC strives to achieve in this area:

    "In this context of growing inequality, concentration of power, social exclusion and ecological destruction, people are longing for life with dignity in just and sustainable communities. If that goal is to be attained we need to work for equity as basic fairness that also extends to other life forms, respect for diversity as recognition of the complementary of, for example, cultures species, religious traditions, accountability as a way of being responsible towards one another and Earth itself, participation as the optimal inclusion of all involved, sufficiency as a commitment to meet the basic needs of all, and subsidiarity as determining the most appropriate level for decision-making, supporting the downwards distribution of power."

  • Manifesto for an Ecological Reformation of Christianity

    This Manifesto by the World Council of Churches is a call to examine Christian practices that may be harmful to the Earth, humans, and other species. It urges individuals instead to focus on what various “eco-congregations” or “green churches” are doing. The following manifesto excerpt provides a rationale for the need for ecological reformation:

    "The need for an ecological reformation of all Christian traditions is of course manifested in different ways in various parts of the world. The pain impulses associated with ecological destruction have been registered especially in those areas that lie on the periphery of current constellations of economic power. The call for an ecological reformation of Christianity has come with particular urgency from Christians in such areas (the Pacific, Africa, Asia, Latin-America) as they are more exposed and vulnerable. This call is echoed by churches which belong to (mainly protestant) countries in the global North which have contributed heavily to the exploitation of natural resources, industrial production and a style of consumption that causes environmental degradation."

  • Profile: John Hill

    John Hill is a member of the General Board of Church and Society (GBSC) for The United Methodist Church. His work there includes overseeing their advocacy and organizing department. He also directs the economic and environmental justice program work. Having previously worked as a lobbyist in the private sector, John soon realized the difficulty of integrating faith into his occupation. Since joining The United Methodist Church in 2002, John enjoys the opportunities he has to work with individuals in ways that allow them to integrate faith more fully into their daily lives.

    One example of John's passion projects, building a green roof for the United Methodist agency, can be found here https://www.umc.org/en/content/green-roof-reflects-united-methodist-care-for-earth. John discusses how this type of project is a way to show the organization's faith in action, serving as environmental stewards that can be seen by many throughout the D.C. area. In addition, their administration has switched to 100 percent renewable energy and installed water bottle fillers to reduce waste.

  • Profile: Shantha Ready Alonso

    Shantha Ready Alonso serves as Executive Director of Creation Justice Ministries. Since the start of her appointment in 2015, Shantha has prioritized racial-ethnic equity in support of protecting, restoring, and more rightly sharing God's creation. Shantha's work has appeared in The Hill, the Colorado Gazette, The Day, Sojourners, Patheos, and Justice Unbound. She has also been interviewed by NPR, Religion News Service, U.S. Catholic, and various podcasts.

    Shantha has taken the initiative to arranged numerous stakeholder meetings between people of faith and policymakers. She has testified before the US Environmental Protection Agency, the US Department of Interior, and the White House Office of Management and Budget. Shantha is listed among the 2018 “Grist 50 Fixers," an annual list of emerging leaders from across the U.S. who are working on fresh, real-world solutions to our world’s biggest challenges.

  • Engaged Organizations: Friends Committee on National Legislation

    The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) was founded in 1943 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). FCNL is a nonpartisan organization that seeks to live their lives based on values of integrity, simplicity, and peace as they build relationships across political divides to move policies forward. FCNL is comprised of an expert team of lobbyists on Capitol Hill who work with a grassroots network of tens of thousands of people across the country. They lobby Congress and the administration in order to advance peace, justice, opportunity, and environmental stewardship.

  • Engaged Organizations: St. Vincent de Paul School, Mt. Vernon, OH

    Creation care work at St Vincent de Paul School, Mt. Vernon, began in 2006 when the school received funding from the Knights of Columbus to purchase a dishwasher for their kitchen. Following this, the school began participating in the Hope Now program – an organization that provides used old donated doors to build tables. The school provides transportation to their annual K-6 field trip to The Brown Family Environmental Center at Kenyon College and their annual 5th grade summer camp through Lutheran Outdoor Ministries in Ohio (students take turns weighing food waste). Additional sustainability projects include collaboration with the parish and the local community. The school participated in an all-parish project through the Green Tree Plastics company’s A Bench for Caps sustainability program (students collected and sorted bottle caps in exchange for three benches). The school plans to create a grotto area using their three recycled benches. In order to foster green living and healthy community-school relations, the school provided planter flowers to local businesses.

    Administrators at St. Vincent de Paul acknowledge the importance of maintaining social justice programs in accordance with Laudato Si's urgent message to care for the poor. Students from Beth’s Robinson's 6th grade social studies classes participate in a demographics project. Each year students select one continent, usually Africa, to learn more about the conditions of poverty. The class then raises money through various fundraisers and donate to parts of the continent through Catholic Relief Services. An upcoming project includes having students sew plastic bags together to create tarps to be donated to homeless shelters in the area.

  • Engaged Organizations: Trinity Catholic Elementary School, Columbus, OH

    Creation care work at Trinity Catholic (see link below) began when one teacher there took the initiative to organize student gardening activities on school grounds. Following her retirement, the school subsequently began an annual Earth Day project in which students pick up trash around the school and surrounding area. Additional creation care projects were added over time. As a means to support social justice issues in accordance with Laudato Si' principles, the school contributes to food pantries on a regular basis. The proceeds from the monthly cereal mornings are designated to various local charities as well. As a way to physically demonstrate to students how much food is wasted in a typical day, students could weigh and record the wasted food from the cafeteria over a two-week period.

    Years ago, one of the technology instructors had received a small grant from a computer company, which was designed to have students complete various environmentally based activities in a contest format. At the end of the contest, the class had accumulated enough points to receive two computer cameras. Additional events and projects includes 4th and 5th grader participation in a 5-day environmental camp "Messages of the Earth" at the Stratford Ecological Center (see link below), two water fountains updated to accommodate individuals with disabilities, design of the water fountains to fill water bottles, and lights throughout the school buildings switched out to LED lights through the Diocesan grant program.

  • Engaged Organizations: Catholic Diocese of Columbus, OH Development and Planning

    Andrea Pannell, Episcopal Moderator for the Columbus Catholic Diocese, has been instrumental in the progress of creation care work within the office of development and planning. She views part of her job as to "plant seeds" whenever possible. The Bishop Pastoral Council, comprised of representatives from deaneries within the metro area, attend periodic meetings to address critical creation care issues. One project takes place at Andrea's own parish, St. Dominic’s Church, in the Mt. Vernon neighborhood of Columbus. They had maintained a vegetable garden to provide food for those in the area, some of whom rely on walking to get their groceries. The garden continues to be the only place for some locals to receive fresh food, as the area is considered to be a food desert. The development office was also key in linking the diocese's 150th anniversary and Laudato Si' with their tree planting initiative, as well as connecting the themes of the anniversary with salient points of Laudato Si'. Additional plans for further connections with development, planning and stewardship are still in the works.

  • Engaged Organizations: Orita's Cross Freedom School

    The mission of Orita's Cross Freedom School is to cultivate student's natural sense of curiosity and skills to become agents of change within their community. They are a solution-oriented group, addressing pressing societal issues such as racism, gentrification, gender inequality, and the prison industrial complex. Some ways that the school promotes learning through doing includes civic engagement demonstrations, mentoring, and cultural awareness programs.

  • Engaged Organizations: Black Church Food Security Network

    The Black Church Food Security Network strives to provide fresh produce to historically Africa American churches within the Baltimore Metro area. Their popup farm stands provide convenience to the public as they are able to set up during times when congregation members typically gather. Ideally, members will either start their own gardens on site or expand ones that they currently maintain. Often, the farmers or urban growers will offer to lead bible studies and include food security issues as part of the sessions.