The United Church of Christ is asking people of faith to take the Creation Care Challenge this Earth Day. Rev. Brooks Berndt explains in a short video that, "Jesus said the number one commandment is to love God with our heart, soul, mind and strength," and no better way to fulfil this precept than to love the creation He has given us. Rev. Berndt's compelling appeal encourages us to make a real difference this year with five key steps everyone may take in the coming month.
- Take the First Step. New to environmental ministry? Start small or start big, but start. Do a church energy audit, plant a tree, hold a forum, create a book group. This resource page will help you take that first step.
- Form a Team. If one does not already exist, create a Green Team in your church, association, or conference. Discern with others what you are called to do in caring for the gifts of creation and the people who suffer from the ways in which those gifts are abused.
- Preach It! On Sunday, April 24th, join with Bill McKibben, Diana Butler Bass, and preachers across the country in focusing the theme of your worship service on what is arguably the most important act of creation care today: keeping fossil fuels in the ground.
- Make It Part of Your DNA. Ensure that creation care is part of your congregation’s spiritual DNA by participating in the UCC’s new Creation Justice Church program.
- Discern Whether You Are Called to Civil Disobedience. In May, UCC environmental leaders will join a global campaign of civil disobedience aimed at keeping fossil fuels in the ground.
Take the Creation Care Challenge in you community today using Blessed Tomorrow's tools, tips, and resources for starting any size project or simply enhancing an already existing initiative.
"Together, let's make real our love for God." - Rev. Brooks Berndt
Creation Care Challenge
Brooks Berndt | United Church of Christ
With the water crisis in Flint and the ongoing damage to our climate, our country is undergoing an environmental justice awakening. We are continually witnessing how environmental degradation adversely impacts communities, especially along socio-economic lines such as race, class, and global inequality. People of faith are now in a time of crucial discernment, a time to discern our collective sense of calling, purpose, and mission. This Earth Day take the Creation Care Challenge. Find ways to either give birth to an environmental ministry in your church or to take an existing ministry to the next level of engagement.
