That’ll Preach!

Male Clergy Preaching in an outdoor setting
We are living in a climate changed world and the impacts are increasing in frequency and severity. Climate change intersects with and impacts everything we care about, from our health and food security to the economy and racism...

Celebrating Earth Day

Woman with curly brown hair wearing clerical collar leaning back in a chair smiling.
Spring has arrived in Kentucky where I live, and it is nourishing my spirit. The chirping of the birds, the scurrying of the squirrels, the beauty of the landscape, and the sunshine make my heart sing and give my body energy. Spring weather calls me outside and reminds me of the sacredness of the earth...

We Cannot Fast from Clean Air

View of Los Angeles from afar with pollution over the city.
During Ramadan, Muslims ideally sacrifice some of their own comfort while focusing on compassion, mercy and charitable giving to the hungry, thirsty, poor and disadvantaged. However, while one can fast from food and water for specific periods of time, our bodies cannot fast from air because clean air is the most life-giving force upon which we rely...

You Are Invited to the 2024 National Climate and Faith Forum

Congregations actively living out their faith create a ripple effect on the world with the greatest impact in local communities. There has never been a more important time for congregations to lead, reminding ourselves and each other of the power of God. There are over 300,000 houses of faith in the United States, more than twice the number of cities, school districts, post offices, and Starbucks locations combined. Congregations serve as gathering spaces and backbones of local communities, with a legacy of organizing, serving, and leading social change.

Our Ocean

Many of us are daydreaming about a beach vacation this summer, laughing and playing amongst the waves and swells of the ocean. But not only is the ocean a wondrous, magical, vast body of water...

One World

Photo of Raj Patel
When I served as a congregational pastor, I sometimes used the string game with groups of youth or adults to demonstrate our connectedness. The string activity requires that the group stand in a circle throwing a ball of string back and forth across the circle while holding on to your piece of the string...

2023, The year for climate action!

Photo of a silhouette of a person raising their arms in front of a sunset at the beach
For the first time in my life as a climate-faith leader, I don’t feel as if I am walking while leaning forward against a strong wind. A shift has taken place recently that feels as if the strong wind has been reduced to more of a breeze, and at times it is even against my back. More and more people of faith are engaged in climate solutions, and a series of federal legislation recently enacted (Federal Government Climate Initiatives) are making climate solutions more accessible, even to congregations.

White House Meeting

Photo of Rev. Tom Carr and Rev. Carol Devine in front of the White House
My journey of creation care advocacy began in 1987 when I followed the Garbage Barge (https://www.retroreport.org/video/voyage-of-the-mobro-4000/) on the news. That situation propelled me to act. I began working in the American Baptist Church, USA to help “green congregations” and serve on the board of Creation Justice Ministries. I worked with the Interreligious Eco-Justice Network which helped clean up Connecticut’s “Sooty Six” power plants and helped stop the expansion of Hartford’s enormous landfill into low-income communities of color. In 1999, I joined the National Coalition for Creation Care (NRCCC) an organization that represents all faith communities that have issued public statements on care of creation and when NRCCC became a partner of Blessed Tomorrow (BT), I became involved with BT.

A School Bus for Kivalina, AK: The Consequences of Climate Change

A yellow school bus on a dark road
On November 9, 2022, the children of Kivalina, a small Inupiaq village on the coast of the Chukchi Sea of the Arctic Ocean in Western Alaska, rode a bus to school for the first time ever. There has never been a school bus in the village of Kivalina, a community of about four hundred people where a person can walk the entire length of the village in about 15 minutes. In fact, there’s never been a bus of any kind! For the village’s entire history, no one could have imagined Kivalina would ever need a school bus. But then the loss of sea ice and increased storm activity on the Chukchi Sea–both the result of climate change, increased coastal erosion and the village began to be washed into the sea.

How Creation Care Fared at COP27

Logo that reads "COP27 Sharm El-Sheikh Egypt 2022"
The 27th Conference of Parties (COP) (https://cop27.eg/#/), attended by over 35, 000 people, took place November 6 - 20th in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. These global gatherings on climate were established at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Annual COP meetings are held in various locations around the globe most years and are attended by environmental experts, ministers, heads of state and non-governmental and faith organizations.

When the Land Owns Us

A field surrounded by trees beneath a blue, partly cloudy sky
Edgar Villanueva, a non-profit leader and member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, wrote the book, Decolonizing Wealth, to share indigenous wisdom about the ways we acquire, manage, and spend money. At one point, he quotes the philosopher Derek Rasmussen, who observed, “What makes a people indigenous? Indigenous people believe they belong to the land, and non-indigenous people believe the land belongs to them.”

Voting as an Act of Faith

Image of circular green logo that reads "Proud Climate Voter #GOTV"
Climate is on the ballot for every election, including the November 8, 2022 election. These 2022 midterms can make or break our future to live in a safe and healthy world. One of the most important things that we can do to solve the climate crisis is to vote for candidates who want to protect, care, and heal the earth. And since climate intersects all justice issues, voting for climate also supports every justice issue that people of faith care about.

Season of Creation

Road through tree canopy with red fallen leaves on road
As a pastor, I very much enjoyed honoring and celebrating creation for a month each fall. Besides being a lot of fun, focusing on creation for more than one Sunday helped me learn to see Scripture through a creation lens and weave it in worship all the time. In the month of September, the Season of Creation is celebrated in churches around the world. This year, Blessed Tomorrow partner and friend, Margaret Bullit-Jonas, along with  Rev. John Elliott Lein compiled a new Season of Creation liturgical resource. Margaret joined me on Let’s Talk Climate this month to discuss the Season of Creation,  the new resource, and other resources. 

Environmental Justice: Youth Taking Action

headshot, young Latinx man, very short hair, mountain background.
Environmental injustice looks different in different locations. Injustice impacts community members’ mental, physical, and spiritual health. In this episode of Let's Talk Climate, Cesar, Will and Zavia share what injustice looks like in their communities. We learn what it is like to attend a school that has practice drills in order to be ready in case of an emergency at an oil refinery. We hear about the impacts that building and expanding roads and highways can have on a tight knit community and important culture. We hear of the layered injustice that heat and poverty have on marginalized communities in an urban city.

Kentucky Flooding and Climate Change

Looking down on town covered by flood waters
There is no issue more important than climate change and I want to do all I can to be part of the solutions. I bring to this position a lifelong passion for creation care, 14 years of experience as a pastor, a commitment and history of interfaith work, founding and leading a climate and faith organization, a yearning for a viable future for my children and future generations and a growing network of friendships and connections with folks doing this work.

Environmental Justice: Science and Theology

There is no issue more important than climate change and I want to do all I can to be part of the solutions. I bring to this position a lifelong passion for creation care, 14 years of experience as a pastor, a commitment and history of interfaith work, founding and leading a climate and faith organization, a yearning for a viable future for my children and future generations and a growing network of friendships and connections with folks doing this work.

Clergy Bridging the Gap

There is no issue more important than climate change and I want to do all I can to be part of the solutions. I bring to this position a lifelong passion for creation care, 14 years of experience as a pastor, a commitment and history of interfaith work, founding and leading a climate and faith organization, a yearning for a viable future for my children and future generations and a growing network of friendships and connections with folks doing this work.

Environmental Justice: An Advocate’s Triumph

Huda Alkaff wearing a bright pink hijab and is smiling.
There is no issue more important than climate change and I want to do all I can to be part of the solutions. I bring to this position a lifelong passion for creation care, 14 years of experience as a pastor, a commitment and history of interfaith work, founding and leading a climate and faith organization, a yearning for a viable future for my children and future generations and a growing network of friendships and connections with folks doing this work.

Juneteenth and Climate Justice

Hands of black person moving away from each other breaking chains with words: June 19, Juneteenth, Let's Celebrate Freedom Day"
There is no issue more important than climate change and I want to do all I can to be part of the solutions. I bring to this position a lifelong passion for creation care, 14 years of experience as a pastor, a commitment and history of interfaith work, founding and leading a climate and faith organization, a yearning for a viable future for my children and future generations and a growing network of friendships and connections with folks doing this work.

Uniquely Equipped

group of people in a circle with hands reaching toward center
There is no issue more important than climate change and I want to do all I can to be part of the solutions. I bring to this position a lifelong passion for creation care, 14 years of experience as a pastor, a commitment and history of interfaith work, founding and leading a climate and faith organization, a yearning for a viable future for my children and future generations and a growing network of friendships and connections with folks doing this work.

Breathing with God

city with smoke stack releasing pollution into the air
There is no issue more important than climate change and I want to do all I can to be part of the solutions. I bring to this position a lifelong passion for creation care, 14 years of experience as a pastor, a commitment and history of interfaith work, founding and leading a climate and faith organization, a yearning for a viable future for my children and future generations and a growing network of friendships and connections with folks doing this work.

Every Day is a Holy Day-By: Martina Manzone

we are at a crisis point when all voices from any profession and place are needed to come together for every living thing. The dream where we are free to be healthy and in true harmony is possible. Join me in becoming a Climate Ambassador through one of ecoAmerica’s three programs: Climate for Health, Blessed Tomorrow, or Path to Positive Communities. Together in light and love. Everyone, every day.

Farming, Climate and Judaism

Right hand holding two radishes recently plucked from the ground.
There is no issue more important than climate change and I want to do all I can to be part of the solutions. I bring to this position a lifelong passion for creation care, 14 years of experience as a pastor, a commitment and history of interfaith work, founding and leading a climate and faith organization, a yearning for a viable future for my children and future generations and a growing network of friendships and connections with folks doing this work.

“Eating Our Way Toward Climate and Racial Justice” Now Available with Karyn Bigelow, Co-Executive Director, Creation Justice Ministries

Recording Now Available: “Eating Our Way Toward Climate and Racial Justice” with Karyn Bigelow, Co-Executive Director, Creation Justice Ministries Watch the full Let’s Talk Climate recording here. Join us for ecoAmerica Webcast series, “Let’s Talk Climate.” ecoAmerica is hosting fast-paced discussions…

Blessed Are Those Who Also Mourn-Words on Eco Grief

Adding climate change on top of the everyday mental health stressors we face, compounds issues and impacts, as shown in this new report from ecoAmerica and the American Psychological Association:  Mental Health and Our Changing Climate: Impacts, Inequities, Responses. Reading the report as a person of faith caused me to see that supporting mental health while grappling with our changing climate is both a social and spiritual issue.

Taking Off the World’s Armor

Taking Off the World’s Armor- Rev. Carol Devine  Ephesians 6.10-20 I will never forget my son’s 3rd birthday when he received the first of many sets of batman pajamas. The pjs were gray with the bat symbol emblazoned across his…

California Faith Group Leads Advocacy Against Impacts of Climate and Air Pollution

Based on a student research partnership, Catholic Charities of Stockton's Environmental Justice Project determined that high-impact polluters are located in a specific area in Stockton, most notably the Port of Stockton, and pose significant health concerns for the community members. These results were used to identify the industries to hold accountable and promote community health as a primary priority.

Hear the Call: Climate Action Now

*This blog was original shared by Dayenu, A Jewish Call to Climate Action Dayenu leaders kicked off a month of action, in concert with the celebration of the Jewish new year, with the call of the shofar in Maine, Milwaukee,…

Matot-Masei: The Land is Our Mother

The claim that the land ultimately belongs to God and not to us, its temporary inhabitants, is meant to engender in us a consciousness of our own evanescence, a recognition that we are but visitors on this earth. Out of this consciousness we might grow into right relationship with the land and our fellow human beings, rightsizing our place in the natural order and relinquishing our desire to take hold of someone else’s God-given ancestral land in order to extract more resources, riches, and profit therefrom.

Climate Change IS a Concern for Faith Communities in North Carolina

A successful Greening Our Faith Communities Summit was held May 20 – 21 and functioned as a call to action and a positive source of resources and examples for what faithful climate action might look like in North Carolina. The event was organized by GreenFaith and Clean Air Carolina, with support from ecoAmerica and Blessed Tomorrow, Good Solar, MeckMIN, and numerous other faith and environmental organizations. With nearly 200 registrants, the summit brought together representatives from almost 50 different congregations and houses of worship.

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn: Congregational Support for Eco-Grief

Faith communities have a complicated history when it comes to mental health and wholeness. In some ways, faith communities have failed by ignoring mental health challenges that are present within our communities and among clergy people. Oftentimes the stigma that has been placed upon the shoulders of those who are experiencing a variety of temporary and chronic mental health challenges has been ignored and even increased by communities and people of faith.

Tikkun Olam: Called to Restore a Broken World

Jim Antal gives his sermon

Blessed Tomorrow Leadership Circle Executive Committee Chair, the Rev. Dr. Jim Antal, gave a powerful post-inauguration sermon recently that we are sharing for your reflection and encouragement. Rooted in his own Christian tradition, Rev. Antal ties biblical stories to the…

Inescapable Lessons Offer Invaluable Opportunities – Earth Day 50th & COVID19

This is not a dress rehearsal. The entire world is immersed in unrelenting, multidimensional crises. These crises are not ideological. They are rooted in reality: nature, science, medicine, and mathematics. Suddenly, we are all living with the same mortal fear – anxiety that no ideological anger or assurance can reduce. Each of us must decide how to behave, what matters most, who we listen to, and how we can be of help.

American Climate Leadership Summit 2020 Rescheduled

We must be ambitious and determined on the path forward in 2020 and beyond. We must encourage one another. In the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr., “We’ve got some difficult days ahead.” But, “I’ve been to the mountaintop...I’ve seen the Promised Land” and I know that together we can get there. 

Toward a Blessed 2020 and Beyond

We must be ambitious and determined on the path forward in 2020 and beyond. We must encourage one another. In the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr., “We’ve got some difficult days ahead.” But, “I’ve been to the mountaintop...I’ve seen the Promised Land” and I know that together we can get there. 

Meet Youth Leaders Of The Climate Movement

Nearly a year ago, we published a blog about the Juliana v. U.S. case, in which Juliana plaintiffs list the climate change impacts that will directly affect the life and health of current and future generations. Today, September 20, 2019,…

Inspiration for this Season of Creation

As we experience this 2019 Season of Creation, we take time to reflect on the world we inhabit and our God-given responsibility to steward it. For your contemplation and inspiration, Blessed Tomorrow has gathered together a collection of brief, creation-centric…

PCUSA Climate Care Challenge

Our daily experience, confirms that these extreme climate events keep taking place with greater frequency and intensity each year. This is threatening our food and energy security…. Climate change represents an imminent threat to balanced and well-adjusted development in our…

What in the World are Carbon Offsets?

Have you heard about carbon offsets? They may be just what you and your congregation are looking for in your journey to zero-emissions! The Blessed Tomorrow Carbon Offset Program helps congregations cancel out their emissions. Many of us are familiar…

Nature that Nurtures

The Nature that Nurtures guide, written by Mary Westervelt with layout and graphics by Lauren Diamond, tells the story of how one church, Trinity Presbyterian Church in Berwyn, PA, a certified Earth Care Congregation, began the process of changing their…

Summit for Change and #ActOnClimate

“Europe Becomes First Carbon-Positive Continent; Australia to Follow” “Sahara Desert Becomes World’s Largest Solar Energy Farm” “Pacific ‘Dead Zone’ Dead No Longer, International Clean-Up Efforts Succeed” “Solar Panel Installation, Repair Brings 1.2 Million Jobs to Former Manufacturing Towns” On June…

Little Village Environmental Justice Organization

Right hand holding two radishes recently plucked from the ground.

During the Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP)’s spring advisory committee meeting, we visited one of our newest grant partners, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) in Chicago. In this predominantly Mexican-American community, their office is located in the Little Village neighborhood…

A Cookie Sale for Planet Earth

For Earth Sunday, Plymouth Church UCC of Shaker Heights, Ohio decided to undertake an activity to demonstrate how everyone—young or old—could do something to care for God’s creation. After worship, they had a cookie sale for planet earth with the…

Next Generation Visualization

Delivered by Shantha Ready Alonso at the 2019 American Climate Leadership Summit. The Visualization was inspired by this year’s Earth Day Resource theme “Next Generation Rises”.  Download the resource here. THE BOXLet’s begin by centering ourselves. If you are comfortable closing your…

Blessed Tomorrow Carbon Offset Program

America’s faith communities care about God’s creation and are ready to act on climate solutions. Especially as Earth Day 2019 approaches, houses of worship are increasingly having conversations about climate within their congregations, and there is a robust trust in…

Resources for Refuge

Houses of worship serve as places of sanctuary for us to meet with God and unburden ourselves from our daily troubles. Around the world, when tragedies like war and natural disasters strike, they serve as places of refuge. Having resources…

Trusted Messengers, Trusted Messages

Of the over 327 million people residing in the United States of America, roughly 1 in 4 people — or just over 80.5 million — identify as evangelical Christians. More than half of this group rejects the notion that the…

Climate Priorities for the New U.S. Congress

Last month’s election results sent a clear message: Americans consider climate change a top priority, and they want elected office holders to act. As the 116th Congress prepares to be sworn into office next month, many Americans are rightly questioning…

Climate, Water, and Justice

In the Gospel reading for the second Sunday of Advent, Christians are confronted by the figure of Zechariah, who became mute when he was informed that his elderly wife was to give birth to a son. When Zechariah gets his…

OUR FUTURE V. THE UNITED STATES

October is traditionally celebrated as children’s health month. This is a time to bring attention to health issues unique to children as they grow, and work to improve the environments they’re growing in, to make them safer and healthier. It takes…

Urgency of Action

The earth is the LORD’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it; (Psalm 24:1) “The world in which we live is a rich tapestry of intersecting, linking elements. The ecosystems, the flora and…

Climate Change Report Lays Out Consequences

At the Presbyterian Hunger Program, this time of the year usually finds our attentions turned towards World Food Day and Food Week of Action. This year however, we also find ourselves focused on the report from the United Nations’ scientific panel on…

Voting and Climate Change: Talking Points

The midterm elections are just around the corner, and many Americans are beginning to have political discussions with their friends and families, colleagues, and communities. Amongst a myriad of voting concerns is climate change. And, even though it might not be…

World Communion Sunday and the Eco-Challenge

Bonjour! Salaam! Habari, bwana! Habari, bibi! Annyong! Buenos días! Malo e tau ma’u ‘a e ‘aho’ ni! Those are words of greeting and invitation. That is how you say “Hello” in French, Arabic, Swahili, Korean, Spanish, and Tongan. For years…

Closing the ‘Ambition Gap’

Last month, United Methodists from across our church gathered in St. Paul, Minnesota to strategize about how we might close our own “ambition gap” between what we say (our official United Methodist Church positions) and what we do in response…

The Earth is our Mosque

A few weeks ago, award-winning filmmaker Mawish Raza and I made the unlikely journey to Houston in the middle of July to make a film about climate change and the Muslim community. Everyone knows that Houston is hot and humid,…

Serve. Guard. Protect.

The very first command addressed to humanity in the entire Bible is to “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion . . .” (Gen 1:28). This always felt very authoritarian. No room for…

Extreme Weather and Climate Change: Talking Points

Whether Americans are looking out their windows or turning on the local news, we are increasingly confronted by severe weather events — unprecedented droughts, storms, floods, and heatwaves are being seen and felt nationwide and around the world. The impact…

Developing Climate Virtue

Last Wednesday I threw away a paper towel tube. I could have recycled it, but recycling would have taken extra effort, so I didn’t. Recycling is a habit, and in me it is a habit half-formed. If I had recycled…

Now Available: June Talking Points

 Download Talking Points The discourse around a warming world often gets hung up on politics, but what Americans really care about — and want to hear about— are the challenges and opportunities that climate change has for their families and…

Climate Change and Food Security

By 2030, over one hundred million people could be pushed into extreme hunger due to climate change according to the World Bank. When climate change is discussed, conversation is often around rising sea levels and changes in weather patterns. However,…

Now Available: April Talking Points

A clean energy future is within our grasp. We can have locally-made energy from the wind and the sun that ensures our air is clean and our water is healthy. Communities across America are learning that smart investments in clean…

Now Available: February Talking Points

Throughout American history, people of faith have been at the forefront in addressing injustice. They have transformed hearts, minds, and the course of our country. Today, religious communities are called to a new moral challenge — climate change. If we…

Catholic Institutions Leading on Climate Solutions

At Monday’s  U.N. World Food Day Ceremony, Pope Francis received a standing ovation after calling on the world’s governments to take action on the interconnected issues of climate, hunger, and migration. “It is clear that wars and climatic change are a…

Ways We Can Combat Climate Change

You’ve heard it said, “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” When Mark Twain—who may have been quoting Charles Dudley Warner—popularized that saying in the 19th century, everyone just laughed. People thought there was nothing humans could…

Six Interfaith Creation Care Prayers

Creation care is more than an act of faith. It is a challenge to be pursued. Just like all of life’s challenges, our prayers can awaken our call to action, enhance our ability to follow through and improve our chances…

Before Disaster Strikes

“Violating the integrity of our relationship with creation is sinful. Our failure to serve as faithful caretakers of creation has local and global consequences. Our inability to share the abundance that God has entrusted to us has given rise to…

God’s Ecosystem: Everything is Connected

The ecosystem is a holier design than we know. God created us to remain in connection to each other and to the other living things that inhabit the Earth. It is grander than what decades of environmental research have uncovered.…

God’s Earth Impacted by Climate Change

Our Earth is a wondrous place, but it has been deeply affected by our actions as humans. Now, it is our responsibility to restore its beauty and strength. But to really help the Earth recover, we must all understand how…

Faith and Climate News: June 2-June 9

Every Friday, Blessed Tomorrow releases the top faith and climate stories from the previous week. This roundup highlights achievements in climate solutions and effective climate communications from and for people of faith. We feature helpful tips and strategies for you…

Faith and Climate News: May 26-June 2

Every Friday, Blessed Tomorrow releases the top faith and climate stories from the previous week. This roundup highlights achievements in climate solutions and effective climate communications from and for people of faith. We feature helpful tips and strategies for you…

Stories for the Week of April 28 – May 5

Every Friday, Blessed Tomorrow releases the top faith and climate stories from the previous week. We highlight achievements in climate solutions and effective climate communications from to people of faith. We feature helpful tips and strategies for you to implement…

The Power of Language in Climate Solutions

Language has the ability to guide cultures, advance leadership, or crumble societies, but words themselves are not inherently valuable. Their merit rests in the concepts that support them, which are subject to change depending on the time or setting of…

Local Climate Leadership Starts at the Pulpit

Your church, mosque, or synagogue may be small and far from Washington D.C., but it just became a vital component in climate solutions. As the tug of war between Trump and the climate rages on in our nation’s capital, faith communities…

A Prayer for Climate Reconciliation

In 1908, the inaugural Octave of Christian Unity was formed to nurture international Christian community building. By the 1930's the event had transformed into a Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, offering a more inclusive invitation for Protestant congregations to…

Does Size Matter In Creation Care Leadership?

When we think of creation care leaders in the climate movement, we imagine Pope Francis orating before the U.S. House of Representatives, The Islamic Society of North America divesting from fossil fuels at COP22, or the African Methodist Episcopal Church…

We Need To Talk About America’s Moral Diversity

If the 2016 elections taught us anything, it's that America is more morally diverse than we had initially imagined (and that's putting it lightly). Despite 64 percent of Americans claiming to be worried about climate change, we elected a President…

Innovative Climate Media Makes Room For Faith

Climate communications are an ever evolving myriad of mediums and expressions. From major productions like the new film Before the Flood to distribution tools on social media, the way we talk about climate is changing not only in language but also…

Loving Our Neighbors, Loving God’s Creation

In today’s highly polarized world, and especially in this emotionally charged political season, it’s easy to break into separate camps, to lump people as “us” and “them.”  As a Christian, I believe that all people are created in God’s image.…

Does America Need Its Own Green Climate Fund?

As I wrote in a blog last month, the faith-based stewardship covenant and work of Tangier Island watermen and their families, inspired the landowners I worked with in Bedford County, Pennsylvania to take their own stewardship covenant. Their example inspired…

A Look Back On One Year With Laudato Si

On September 23rd, 2015, we stood at the window of ecoAmerica's office in the heart of our nation's capital overlooking St. Matthew's Cathedral in Washington, D.C. waiting for Pope Francis' motorcade to arrive. A diverse community of Blessed Tomorrow leaders…

Muslims Remember Climate Refugees for Ramadan

In 610 CE, atop Mecca’s Mount Nur, Angel Jibril (Gabriel) commanded Prophet Muhammad (SAW) with one word: Iqra (recite or read). The event which became known as Laylat al-Qadr (the Night of Power), sparked the beginning of a prophecy that…

Faith Leaders Follow Through On Paris Agreement

As COP21 Paris closed this past December with a historic agreement between nations, its non-legally-binding measures conjuring feelings of uncertainty. Who would be accountable for 195 countries to hold rising global temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius? How would they achieve…

Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and the End of Lent

Today is good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in Christian traditions around the world. In two days, Christians will honor Easter Sunday, honoring the resurrection of Jesus Christ, marking the end of Lent. The two holidays cap the…

Order Your Faith Climate Action Week Kit Today

Last week, we introduced you to the tremendous Interfaith Power and Light, Faith Climate Action Week, scheduled for April 15 -24. The national event is scheduled to be huge and the long time faith and climate advocacy organization has created…

U.S. Climate Concern Reaches New High

Concern over climate change has reached a new high this year with 65% of Americans expressing a “great deal” or “fair amount” of worry, according to the latest Gallup Poll. Attributed in large part to changing weather patterns, Americans are…

Get on the Bus in Chicago!

On April 21st (the day before Earth Day), people of faith, public health workers, clean energy advocates, and students will board a bus bound for Illinois' state capital, Springfield. Six buses will depart from various locations in Chicago, Illinois, including…

Faith Climate Action Week Goes ‘Beyond Paris’

It's that time of year again – when our Partner organization, Interfaith Power and Light hosts Faith Climate Action Week, April 15-24. The nine-day national initiative surrounding Earth Day (April 22) connects, inspires and motivates climate action within faith communities…

Faithful Acts Make A Difference

The faith community has rallied together with small businesses, concerned citizens, and local, state, and federal legislators to stop offshore drilling along the U.S.’ southeast coast. Today, those efforts bore fruit when President Obama announced that the Interior Department will…

Global Day of Prayer for Climate Action

April 5, 2016, will be a Day of Prayer for Climate Action designed to bring Christian communities together in their collective effort to find climate solutions around the world. Many of Blessed Tomorrow's partners and leadership circle will be participating…

5 Faith and Climate Communication Tools You Need to Know

Climate communications in faith communities have become one of the most important aspects of climate outreach in America. Faith guides people of faith to care for creation, but some narratives resonate better than others when promoting climate solutions. Climate Outreach,…

A Muslim Call to Climate Action

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) stated, “the earth is green and beautiful, and Allah has appointed you his stewards over it.” (Hadith – Muslim) The 1.6 billion Muslims around the world draw on the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) to assist in…

Lenten Carbon Fast Fosters Interfaith Solidarity

Christian Lent begins next week on February 10th and will last until Easter Sunday, March 27th, 2016. Through Biblical exegesis, Christians find guidance for the Lenten holiday in the Synoptic Gospels, motivating them to abandon particular behaviors for 40 days.…

Why Climate Change is a Race Issue

The drastic changes happening to our planet are not a direct result of race issues in America, but the impact of those changes on particular segments of society is related to our construction of race. Speaking on Michigan's recent water…

Faith Leaders Curb Food Waste Across America

The EPA reports that the average American throws away just over 1200 calories in food per day, contributing to issues of hunger and climate change. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy has developed many strategies to combat this unnecessary waste, turning recently…

Framing Climate Values in the Six Americas

In recent years, the discourse surrounding climate change has transitioned away from a political issue, and into a moral concern that faith leaders are taking head on. In Yale's new report, Faith, Morality and the Environment: Portraits of Global Warming’s…

5 Faith Traditions Speak on Climate

You've studied the scriptures of your faith tradition, and you understand quite well the moral imperative to care for creation. What about your fellow climate caretakers in faith traditions not your own? What are they taught about creation and how…

ecoAmerica’s 11 Biggest Milestones of 2015

  2015 was an incredible year for the climate movement, with leaders in every sector speaking out and demanding climate action. ecoAmerica (Blessed Tomorrow's parent company) continued to empower those leaders through summits, programs, and research designed to reinforce effective…

Does Your Climate Strategy Have a Human Element?

The earth will survive climate change. Our planet has spun through various degrees of ecological transition, with cold and warm periods altering its landscape. The current (human induced) change, however, is happening faster than ever before, and while the planet…

A Climate Quiz for Your Congregation

The Pew Research Center created a climate change quiz and unlike test from our childhood; this questionnaire required an unusual prerequisite – one for which little studying is required. The three question exam does not test an individual's knowledge of…

Is Climate Action a Leap of Faith for Americans?

A fire swept across the Jemez Mountains range four years ago, a blaze viewable from the home of Lutheran lay theologian and climate advocate, Larry Rasmussen. Destroying just over 150,000 acres of land, the climate-induced rampage was, perhaps, the most…

Waking Up To Climate Change: A Spiritual Rebirth

'Spirituality' has been described by every sage and prophet from Indian mystics to Jesus as the process of 'waking up.' For many, a personal investigation of the heart allows us to illuminate the social woes that confront our communities. Much…

71% of Americans Want Climate Solutions From COP21

Discussions surrounding the likelihood of success at this year's climate talks in Paris have varied depending on what news source you frequent. Regardless of the actual outcome, the progress we have made is monumental. The three largest contributors of carbon…

Will Eco-Theology Mend Our Rupture With God?

How does faith impact the climate discussion? As Dennis Patrick O’Hara, director of the Elliott Allen Institute for Theology and Ecology, shared, faith gives people a particular sense of power on an issue that can seem overwhelming. For many Americans,…

Is Your Temple the Living Word of God?

In Ephesians 2:21, Christians are taught, "In whom the whole structure,  joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord." What does this temple look like, and how does it represent the way in which followers of Jesus practice…

Indigenous Peoples Are Counting On UNFCCC

It has been just over a week since the attacks on Paris, and the world has changed. While my heart goes out to all those impacted by terrorism from Beirut to Baghdad, it is imperative to steady our course toward…

Is Science Enough to Garner Climate Support?

Scientists have been warning people for decades that climate change is a serious and pervasive threat to the prosperity of humankind. And while climate efforts of the past few decades are not to be forgotten, they simply have not been…

Why Are These Christians Hiking to Paris?

The cold winds of November aren't enough to stop Christians from marching to Paris for climate change awareness. Then again religious theorists would argue that a pilgrimage is intended to be just that, arduous for the sake of transformation. It…

‘Science Alone Cannot Save the Planet,’ But Faith Can

"Science alone cannot save the planet," shared  Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, the Orthodox Christian leader who spiritually guides 300 million people around the world. The 'Green Patriarch' met with the Archbishop of Canterbury in England this past week,…