In the traditional ritual of Tashlich on Rosh Hashanah, we go to a body of water and symbolically cast our “sins” into it, beginning the New Year with a clean heart. Reverse Tashlich transforms that symbolism into action by removing human “sin” from the water. It is an opportunity to come together in a hands-on effort to clean beaches, rivers, lakes, and shorelines...
I have lived in New York City for 36 years, and I have never experienced anything like this. Though wildfire smoke has become a sadly familiar occurrence in the Western U.S. and other parts of the world, it is a new experience here in New York...
During the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, as we fast daily from food and water from dawn till sunset, let us honor and celebrate the central role of water in our lives...
It is tax season, and money is on my mind. It is the time of year when I ask myself if my bank statements and tax returns reflect my faith...
In the story of Joseph, found in the Torah, Bible, and Quran, the youngest son of Jacob has the gift of dream interpretation and prophecy. He uses his gifts to...
Happy Women’s History month! There are so many women who have and are leading on climate in the US, and around the world (do an internet search!), business women, scientists, politicians...
As long as I can remember, I have felt the Holy’s presence through nature. As a child, I spent a lot of time in the mountains. While I would not have been able to describe it in words then...
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...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
I often try to regularly face climate suffering with honesty and truth, but only in sips between generous helpings of gratitude and curiosity. I guess I was out of practice dancing with the shadows and light- with grief and gratitude. The forest helped and so do resources from Blessed Tomorrow.
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.
n a first-of-its-kind mobilization, 20 major Jewish organizations have recently announced the formation of the Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition, which brings together Jewish community leaders and organizations who recognize the existential threat and moral urgency of climate change and commit to taking action. Hallelujah!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In her session at the 2022 American Climate Leadership Summit, Coping with ecoGrief: What It Is, How to Cope, Hannah Malcolm explained that unlike other stressors, there is no closure for the anxiety and grief we have due to the…
This year, for the first time since 1991, Muslims, Jews, Christians, Sikhs, Baha’is, Hindus, Buddhists and Indigenous nations observed holy days in the same month as Earth Day. Many religious people are actively living out their faith through climate action.…
American Climate Leadership Summit 2022 National Faith and Climate Must-Watch List The National Faith + Climate day of the 2022 American Climate Leadership Summit is over and it was fantastic! And now, each session of the National Faith + Climate…
My relationship with ecoAmerica began when Meighen Speiser contacted me about doing an article on me as a Green Preacher and Green Chalice Minister. That article led to a meeting between the leadership of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)…
Small steps churches can take right now were part of it. So were big, inspirational ideas — like jazz as a model for fighting climate breakdown.
The American Climate Leadership Summit, held online March 28-31, brought people together from science, business, religion and other disciplines.
by Hans Holznagel | Originally published United Church of Christ News on Mar 7, 2022 Find the original post HERE. The world just got its most urgent warning yet about rising temperatures and the suffering they will cause. Earth’s climate…
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…
Fusion Later- Fusion Now Fusion: noun, the coming together of two or more distinct elements to form a new entity. The use of fire for energy emerged sometime around 200,000 years ago. Maybe for cooking, for warmth, light, heat, or…
Ambassador training will ‘empower and equip you’ Originally posted HERE by Darla Carter | Presbyterian News Service Photo by Tiago Aleixo via Unsplash LOUISVILLE — If you want to become better equipped to educate others about climate change, now is…
200 Bright Lights for this Season Over 200 organizations are sharing their light in this Season. Find them in the Directory of Faith and Climate Organizations. In my faith tradition we celebrate the entrance of God’s light and renewed presence…
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.
Written by Rev. Dr. Leah Schade- First appeared on Eco Preacher Blog on Patheos.com Ideas for reading and preaching Exodus 16:31-21 for a Thanksgiving sermon or reflection. This is part of the EcoPreacher 1-2-3 series to equip pastors and church…
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…
It's time for people of faith to shift from climate apology and lamentation to action on climate change. This was the topic of discussion on our latest Blessed Tomorrow Let’s Talk Climate episode, “Beyond Apology: We Need Climate Action Now”, co-hosted with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
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.
Sir John Houghton was also a Welsh Nobel Prize Winner and a key figure in the creation of the IPCC’s first, second, and third assessments. This may surprise some, but his deeply held Evangelical Christian faith anchored his work and fueled his decades-long commitment to solving the climate emergency.
*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,…
The latest issue of the Presbyterian Hunger Program's quarterly journal, the PHP Post, focuses entirely on dismantling structural racism, including the impacts and solutions to issues like environmental racism, climate change, and more.
The urgency of the climate situation is ever more present, but we still need more people to raise their voices and take action to call for solutions. Everyone will experience – is experiencing – the impacts of climate change. So, what are we waiting for?
Chances are that your faith community has been involved in disaster response, whether as an impacted community or in service to others. But is your faith community preparing for the stronger intensity and frequency of disasters brought on by climate…
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.
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.
Individual action matters and builds momentum for systemic change that will address climate change. This was the topic of discussion on our latest Blessed Tomorrow Let’s Talk Climate episode, “Sacred Home: Creating Shelter, Building Resilience, and Living Carbon Neutral”. We…
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.
Coming out of a year of multiple crises and a decisive election, 2021 is our moment to forge a path forward to a stable climate starting with ambitious American leadership on solutions. The American Climate Leadership Summit (ACLS 2021), celebrating…
Faith communities around the world are becoming more vocal and visible on climate change, elevating it as a moral issue. We can see this in the faith leaders and faith institutions who signed on to our coalitions’ MomentUs statement, calling…
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…
Providing Access to Financing and Vetted Contractors to Achieve Environmental Commitments Is your house of worship looking to finance critical repairs, upgrades, energy efficiency, or clean energy projects? Blessed Tomorrow knows it’s not always easy to come by advantageous capital…
Should we keep our faith and our politics separate? Is climate change a faith issue? There’s no doubt that faith communities in America will play a critical role in the 2020 elections. Our ability to care for Creation, as well…
The must-attend, go-to webcast discussion for the most current and best thinking on climate change ecoAmerica is introducing Let’s Talk Climate to provide guidance and support to climate activists as they seek to expand public support and political resolve for equitable and…
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.
For many of us, Earth Day is a pleasant memory from elementary school where our class went to pick up garbage from a park or plant trees near the playground. But beginning in 1970, in response to significant environmental challenges…
Earth Day 2020 comes at a tumultuous time. COVID-19 has upended our lives. The number of infections keeps soaring world-wide and entire countries are sheltering in place. Out of caution, many are keeping physical distance from each other. But out…
Thank you to all who joined us at the American Climate Leadership Awards Virtual Ceremony on March 25! Congratulations to the winner, CALPIRG Students, who worked on eight University of California campuses to win a UC-wide commitment to 100% renewable…
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.
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.
Climate for Health and Blessed Tomorrow invited two leaders to share their thoughts on the intersections of faith and health in addressing climate change.
Not only do psychiatrists and pastors care about their clients and parishioners, they both care about the mental health of their communities. These concerns were in full force when I joined three psychiatrists to lead a workshop at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in NYC in October 2019.
While there may be different motivations and pathways, studies and scripture have led us to the same conclusion: faith and health leaders alike recognize the urgent moral imperative to act on climate change. People — our friends, families, and neighbors…
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,…
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…
This blog is a collaboration between the National League of Cities and Path to Positive: For many world religions, a respect for nature and a desire to care for our planet lies at the heart of their practices and rituals.…
Where and how does your faith community live out its values? And, what does this have to do with climate change? Here is the answer - the insidious, unjust nature of climate change intensifies and proliferates each one of our existing priorities.
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…
The first Bible verse I ever memorized- aside from the Lord’s Prayer- was Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet, a light to my path.” I meditate on this passage quite often. My understanding of this verse…
This partner blog was originally published by United Church News, here. The United Church of Christ General Synod took definitive action on climate justice with three resolutions in late June. It endorsed two proposals currently before Congress – the Green New…
IGS Solar and Catholic Energies will build the largest solar ground array and pollinator field project approved for construction to-date in the District of Columbia for the benefit of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington (CCADW), the organizations jointly…
🔎 This content has been updated. For practical ways to lower emissions and save money at home, explore our Go Green Save Green guide. Have you heard about carbon offsets? They may be just what you and your congregation are…
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…
“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…
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…
We desire to live out our faith every day and to serve God and work for good, peace and justice in our communities. Now, our work has an added urgency. Climate change, as we now know, is not just a…
The General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ took the stage at the American Climate Leadership Summit (ACLS19) on Thursday, calling on people of faith to be stewards of, not minions over, God’s creation. The Rev. John C. Dorhauer,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
On March 15, 2019, the youth from over 2000 cities around the world went on strike to protest and raise awareness of the unique threat climate change poses to the younger generations. While many of those who benefitted from the…
As a downtown church, Hillsborough Presbyterian Church has very little green space to work with. Their Earth Care Team, however, is dedicated to maximizing the use and natural beauty of every inch! First certified in 2013 as a PC(USA) Earth…
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…
I just returned a few weeks ago from a wonderful visit with Presbyterians in Alaska. The Presbytery of Yukon stretches from Anchorage all the way north and encompasses four language groups. We met in Palmer, AK (the potato capital for…
If Americans are hearing anything about climate change, it is likely the bad news. Our planet and its oceans are warming faster than predicted, causing billion-dollar weather disasters, a myriad of health impacts, climate refugees and more, with little time…
Climate change impacts all Americans, but presents itself differently in every corner of the U.S., ranging from hurricanes to droughts, superstorms and Nor’easters. To inspire more Americans to engage on the issue, we need to meet them where they live…
Social media can be a powerful means to engage your community. It’s a great way to inspire others, celebrate successes, promote upcoming events, and share your care of creation message and activities to address climate change. If your organization already…
As we transition into 2019 and welcome a new Congress, there is renewed hope for climate action. While partisan gridlock remains the greatest impediment to bold climate solutions, there is a shift in partisan attitudes in favor of progress in…