Our commitment to caring for the environment is deeply rooted in our understanding that Creation is a gift from God, and to love God is to love Creation! 

Our commitment is also deeply grounded in our promise to love our neighbor as ourselves, as we state in our Baptismal vows.  And so, we look for ways to grow in our capacity to understand and care for Creation and to heal the damage that has been done to it, for the good of all Creation, including humankind. 

The Episcopal Covenant to Care of Creation spotlights several aspects of this journey to love creation.  

EPISCOPAL COVENANT TO CARE OF CREATION – PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE:  

In Jesus, God so loved the whole world. We follow Jesus, so we love the world God loves. Concerned about the global climate emergency, drawing from a range of approaches for our diverse contexts, we commit to form and restore loving, liberating, life-giving relationships with all of Creation. 

LIFE-GIVING CONSERVATION                                                                                    

For God’s sake, we will adopt practical ways of reducing our climate impact and living more humbly and gently on Earth as individuals, households, congregations, institutions, and dioceses. 

LOVING FORMATION                                                                                                      

For God’s sake, we will grow our love for the Earth and all of life through preaching, teaching, storytelling, and prayer. 

LIBERATING ADVOCACY                                                                                            

For God’s sake, standing alongside marginalized, vulnerable peoples, we will advocate and act to repair Creation and seek the liberation and flourishing of all people. 

In the Episcopal tradition, there are several opportunities to focus on this journey of growing in our capacity to be more loving toward Creation.

Love God, 

Love God’s World

Just this summer (2024), The Episcopal Church unveiled its new “Love God, Love God’s World” program, a nine-session course about caring for creation, informed by both our faith tradition and climate science. The course is divided into three sections– 

 Section One | What is God’s Dream?                                                                             

Section Two | Truth-Telling                                                                                               

Section Three | Restoring the Covenant, Repairing the Earth 

The final session focuses on resilience and discernment toward environmental care and action. 

The “Love God, Love God’s World” course will debut in the Diocese this fall, beginning on September 24.  It will be a time to focus on how we can both hope and act for creation.  For more information about this formation opportunity contact The Rev. Dr. Pamela Dolan at pamela@churchofstmartin.org 

The Season of Creation is a time (September 1 till October 4) when The Episcopal Church joins the ecumenical family to pray and take action for our common home.  Worship and other resources are provided for congregations during this special season.   

In the Diocese of Northern California, Bishop Megan Traquair approved use of the Season of Creation worship materials in our congregations. 

 Resources may be found at the following website:  https://seasonofcreation.org/about/ 

Many other formation and worship resources may be found on the Episcopal Church Creation 

Care website. If you are looking for resources to use with children, Episcopal Relief and Development has a free curriculum that can be used for Vacation Bible School, Sunday School, or in an intergenerational context. The Abundant Life Garden Project may be found on the ERD website. 

 Finally, if you would like to engage in a book study, the Commission is compiling a list of books that can be used for individual or group study. The initial list includes: 

 Creation Care (religious or ethical perspective) 

Bahnson, Fred. Soil and Sacrament: Four Seasons Among the Keepers of the Earth  

Chase, Steven. Nature as Spiritual Practice and A Field Guide to Nature as a Spiritual Practice 

Christie, Douglas E. The Blue Sapphire of the Mind: Notes for a Contemplative Ecology 

Delgado, Sharon. Love in a Time of Climate Change: Honoring Creation, Establishing Justice 

Dolan, Pamela. Contemplative Gardening 

Pope Francis. Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home 

Kimmerer, Robin Wall. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. 

Maathai, Wangari. Replenishing the Earth: Spiritual Values for Healing Ourselves and the World. 

Moore, Kathleen Dean. Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril 

Sleeth, Matthew. Reforesting Faith: What Trees Teach Us About the Nature of God and His Love for Us 

Sutterfield, Ragan. Cultivating Reality: How the Soil Might Save Us
 

Climate Change 

Jahren, Hope. The Story of More: How We Got to Climate Change and Where to Go from Here 

Kingsolver, Barbara. High Tide in Tucson: Essays from Now or Never 

Klein, Naomi. This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate 

Ohlson, Kristin. The Soil Will Save Us: How Scientists, Farmers, and Foodies Are Healing the Soil to Save the Planet 

 

Food and Diet 

Foer, Jonathan Safran. Eating Animals and We are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast 

Kingsolver, Barbara. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life 

 

Fiction 

Kingsolver, Barbara. Flight Behavior, Unsheltered: A Novel, and Prodigal Summer: A Novel 

Powers, Richard. The Overstory