Green

• Educate 

  1. Engage through worship & spiritual practice, such as: Celebrate God’s Creation on Earth Sunday in worship or offer a time to meditate on Creation
  2. Offer educational opportunities: Invite a speaker, show a film, or offer another one-time opportunity to learn about the climate crisis.
  3. Connect with children and youth: Offer a one-time opportunity for children, youth, and/or families to learn about the climate crisis and how it connects to faith.
  4. Learn about the interconnections of Creation care with the natural world, environmental racism and injustice, and local impacts, such as: Two or more church members learn about local climate impacts and their intersections with racial, economic, and gender justice.
  5. Learn about global perspectives, such as: Host a one-time program on a global issue of sustainability.
  6. Connect faith & action: One or more church members attend a program or event led by your state’s Interfaith Power & Light or another interfaith or ecumenical organization about the connections between faith and environmental action.

Learn More About Level One HERE

• Educate 

  1. Engage through worship & spiritual practice, such as: Annually celebrate Earth Day or add another environmental stewardship worship service to the church’s annual liturgical calendar
  2. Offer educational opportunities: Offer a book group or bible study with an environmental focus.
  3. Connect with children and youth: Incorporate creation care and environmental justice into the ongoing faith formation curriculum for children and youth.
  4. Learn about the interconnections of Creation care with the natural world, environmental racism and injustice, and local impacts, such as: Preaching, leading discussions, and/or convening bible study groups on the intersections of climate, racial, social, and economic injustices.
  5. Learn about global perspectives: If your congregation has global mission partners or an immigrant population in your community, learn about the impact of climate change on people in those countries/regions and share it with your congregation.
  6. Connect faith & action: Discuss creation care advocacy as a spiritual discipline through sermons, after-worship conversations, or study groups.

Learn More About Level 2 HERE

• Educate 

  1. Engage through worship & spiritual practice, such as: Offer a small group or attending a workshop on eco-spirituality.
  2. Offer educational opportunities: Offer ongoing opportunities to discuss the climate crisis and how it affects people and the more-than-human world, such as through a climate café  [link]
  3. Connect with children and youth: Participate in a youth-led program or event about local or global environmental issues.
  4. Learn about the interconnections of Creation care with the natural world, environmental racism and injustice, and local impacts, such as (each bullet is its own action point):
     •  As a congregation, learn how indigenous communities approach creation care.
     • As a congregation, learn how indigenous removal and cultural genocide are examples of environmental racism. 
  5. Learn about global perspectives: Host a discussion on materials produced by international leaders, such as a UN report or the Pope’s encyclical. 
  6. Connect faith & action: Gather for prayer or worship before participating in an advocacy effort, such as a march or letter-writing campaign, as a congregation or with other faith communities. 

Learn More About Level 3 HERE

• Educate 

  1. Engage through worship & spiritual practice, such as: Regularly integrating eco-spirituality and care of God’s creation into your congregation’s prayer, worship, and/or spiritual life in every season.
  2. Offer educational opportunities: Testify how the climate crisis is a matter of faith by spreading the word to people outside your congregation, whether the general public or neighboring congregations.
  3. Connect with children and youth: Encourage and support youth in your congregation in their leadership around environmental issues.
  4. Learn about the interconnections of Creation care with the natural world, environmental racism and injustice, and local impacts, such as (each bullet is its own action/point): 
     • Partner with another congregation or community group whose members are being harmed by climate change or environmental racism and support them in their advocacy.
     • Educate the congregation about the indigenous community who first lived on the land where you worship. Learn about that indigenous community (ies) by attending a program or event appropriate to guests or inviting an indigenous speaker to attend your church.
  5. Learn about global perspectives: Discuss the intersections between war, climate impacts, and forced migration, such as by hosting a speaker or a discussion group.
  6. Connect faith & action: Through study and sermons, connect the congregation with climate actions involving nonviolent protests and civil disobedience. Encourage members to attend a training on civil disobedience.
  7.  

Learn More About Level 4 HERE