Your Congregation| Caring for All Creation

Caring for All Creation:

         On the Road

              At the Table

                    In the Home

                          By the Waters

     
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Earth Ministry’s four-part Caring for All Creation program encourages individuals and communities of faith to live in loving community with all of God’s creation, in specific aspects of our lives.  

Each of the four modules addresses a particular environmental issue:  On the Road – transportation and climate change; At the Table – sustainable agriculture and organic/locally grown food; In the Home – home and yard maintenance; and By the Waters – water conservation and river restoration. Changing behavior in these places offers a particularly significant opportunity to protect and restore the gift of God’s beloved creation.   

All of these modules give congregations an understanding of the Christian faith that underlies our call to care for the earth, and a pathway to experiencing that connection in the context of a familiar worship service.  Congregations celebrate an “Action Sunday” around each issue area of transportation, food production, home/grounds maintenance, and water – exploring relevant themes through adult and youth education opportunities, hymn and music choices, prayers and liturgy, and the sermon/reflection. 

The Action Sunday culminates in a congregation-wide activity that brings home the lessons learned in a personal way.  Individuals are invited to join other parishioners in taking action to better honor God’s creation, and sign a personal action pledge to keep their commitment strong after the event is over. 

Caring for All Creation: On the Road puts forth ideas for transportation that are less reliant on automobile use. Driving adversely affects creation more than any other activity in which we regularly engage. When we drive, we not only consume fossil fuels, but we also release emissions into the air that cause air pollution and significantly contribute to global warming. Though it is unfortunate that contemporary society often requires automobile use, much of our driving remains for our own convenience. Decreasing non-essential driving reminds us that the earth is to be used for God’s purposes, not our own, and helps us meet God’s original vision of a whole and healthy creation.

Culminating Activity:  A Car Pool/Car Free Sunday, where parishioners walk, bike, bus, or carpool together to church.  It is a great way to reduce air pollution, get exercise and enjoy time with our neighbors!

Caring for All Creation: At the Table gives guidance to congregations on ways that our food acquisition and preparation can better respect God’s great web of creation. In our Lord’s prayer, Jesus teaches us simply to ask the Creator for “our daily bread.” Acquiring our daily bread, however, has become a complicated, multi-national process that has both economic and ecological implications. The manner in which we plant, fertilize and water our crops, feed and raise animals for eating, and ship food products around the globe has a profound impact on creation.

Culminating Activity:  A church-wide potluck featuring organic, locally-grown food.  By sharing a healthy meal together, we celebrate both our community of faith and the fact that food is a gift from God.

Caring for All Creation: In the Home guides congregations in developing healthy home habits that respect God’s beloved creation. The manner in which we heat, cool, furnish and live in our homes, as well as the way we plant, water and maintain our yards, have a decided effect on creation. These activities have a particular impact on those creatures, human and non-human, that live in our local watershed. In a parable found in both the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Jesus warns his followers against the folly of building a home on an insecure foundation‑being a hearer of the gospel without being a doer of the gospel. Accordingly, In the Home helps parishioners build a foundation for their homes and the household of the church that acts on God’s love for all creatures. 

Culminating Activity:  A blessing of products and services donated by congregants to make the household of the church more sustainable (such as “green” cleaning products, energy efficient light bulbs, volunteer time to caulk windows, etc.). Together, we can better care for God’s creation in our own house of worship.

Caring for All Creation: By the Waters describes actions congregations can take to protect and restore God’s wondrous gift of water. Human activity significantly affects the amount of water and the quality of water available to other humans and non-human species as well. The Bible tells us that in the beginning God brought forth the earth itself from the waters. Accordingly, in the Bible, water represents the essence of life, without which there could be no life. We are called to appreciate water as a life-giving gift from God, to be used for God’s creative and life-giving purposes.  By the Waters co-produced by Earth Ministry and American Rivers.

Culminating Activity:  A blessing of the waters congregants bring from a stream or other body of water near their homes, followed by a river cleanup. The worship service can also include a baptism if appropriate. As the waters are joined into one, together we work as one to protect and restore our local river.

For each of the four modules, On the Road, At the Table, In the Home, and By the Waters, the following materials are included in an organizer’s packet:

  • The Scriptural and Ecological Imperative. A brief summary of what the Bible teaches us about these aspects of living lovingly with creation, and the
    ecological concerns associated with each of them.

  • Worship Aids. Specific ideas on how to integrate each issue area into worship, including sermon ideas, sample prayers and liturgy, and hymn and music suggestions.

  • Educational Resources. Ideas for adult and youth education on each issue in conjunction with the Caring for All Creation Action Sunday activities.

  • Culminating Activity. A description of how to carry out the congregation-wide activity that will be celebrated on Action Sunday.

  • Additional Congregational Actions. A list of further actions congregations and individuals can take to live respectfully within the web of creation.

  • Promotional Materials. Materials to assist congregations in organizing and promoting events associated with the program.

To purchase organizers’ packets for any of the Caring for All Creation modules, please visit our online store or call (206) 632-2426.

Learn more about:
On the Road, At the Table, In the Home, By the Waters

Check out congregations' measurable, 
"Caring for All Creation" commitments 
 

Your Caring Can Make a World of Difference

  • By eliminating one 20-mile car trip, every week, you’ll reduce your annual production of CO2 greenhouse gasses by nearly 1,000 pounds. (That’s equal to the amount of CO2 that an acre of rainforest can absorb in a year.)1

  • For each quarter-pound beef patty eliminated from your diet, you’ll save more than 600 gallons of water.2
  • When you shop at a farmers market, local family farmers receive more than 80% of your "food dollar," rather than the 9% they might receive through a retail market.  (Typically, 9 cents of our food dollar goes to the farmer, while 91 cents goes to suppliers, processors, middlemen, and marketers.)3
  • Insulating your home can reduce home energy consumption by as much as 25%.4
  • For each incandescent light bulb you replace with a compact fluorescent bulb, you’ll reduce your annual CO2 production by 500 pounds.5

1  Office of Brethren Witness, www.brethren.org

2  Stuff by Alan Durning and John Ryan

3  Stewart Smith, Farming Activities and Family Farms, 1992

4  Center for Applied Research

5  World Wildlife Fund

 
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