Creation Care Formation
Commission on the Environment
Our care for the environment comes from our belief that Creation is a gift from God, and loving God includes loving and protecting that gift. This commitment is also rooted in our Baptismal vow to love our neighbors, which calls us to understand, care for, and help heal Creation for the good of all people and the earth itself. The Episcopal Covenant to Care of Creation highlights key ways we live out this ongoing work.
Events
Prayer Service for Creation Day
Date: Sept 1
Location: Online
Province 8 Creation Care Network Conference
Date: Sept 25-27
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Season of Creation Closing Prayer Service
Date: October 4
Location: Online
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
The “Love God, Love God’s World” course is a 9-session course where we focus on how we can both hope and act for creation. The course encourages us to care for creation, informed by both our faith tradition and climate science.
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 is 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
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.
Season of Creation
The Season of Creation is a time 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. The season begins on 1 September, the Day of Prayer for Creation, and ends 4 October, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology beloved by many Christian denominations.
Season of Courage: Here I am Lord
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.
Be Courageous
In our time, there are wonderful examples of individuals answering God’s call to work for the common good, for the Beloved Community. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s courage enlivened a movement that resulted in the Voting Rights Act and the Equal Rights Amendment… and cost him his life. In The Episcopal Church, The Most Reverend Michael Bruce Curry, former Presiding Bishop, has shown courageous leadership to address racism in the church and in our society by reminding us to walk in Jesus ’Way of Love, and work toward building the Beloved Community.
In the Diocese of Northern California, there are Clergy and Laity who accepted the call to be courageous, to make a difference in their churches and communities. This collection shares fifteen (15) of these stories. Where are you being called to be courageous?
Stories
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- Ministries in the Community | St. John’s, Roseville
- Migrant Ministry. | Trinity Cathedral, Sacramento
- History of Chinese Expulsion | Christ Church, Eureka
- Spanish language ministry | Grace, St. Helena
- Carbon Reduction | St. Albans, Arcata
- LGBTQIA+ Advocacy | Epiphany, Vacaville
- Refugee Ministry | All Saints, Redding
- Courage and the Reconciling Action of God’s Holy Spirit | Bishop Megan
- Partnership with local Non-Profits | Good Shepherd, Cloverdale
- Letter from Birmingham Jail | Church of the Incarnation, Santa Rosa
- I Will With God’s Help: Journey Toward Racial Healing and Justice | Commission for Intercultural Ministries.
- Creative Conversation and Collaboration of Ministries Honoring the Environment | St. Patrick’s, Kenwood
- Funding for Solar | St. Luke’s, Woodland
- Carbon Neutral and Beyond-Creating a Land-Based Ministry | St. Martin’s, Davis
- California Climate Lobby Day 2024 | Commission on the Environment
Photos
Let Us Pray
Inspired by gratitude for God’s abundant blessings, Inspired by stories of courage expressed by Clergy and Laity in our Diocese, Inspired by the needs of others in our churches and communities, Let us pray for courage to say “yes” to God’s call to us, whatever that might be. You are invited to pause and reflect on God’s call to you, and your response, praying for God’s help.
