The United Methodist Church possesses a rich tradition of statements, writings, and resolutions affirming the vocation of all Christians to live in healthy, charitable, and just relationship with the whole of creation. This page attempts to compile many of those statements in one place so that they can guide our collective efforts to close the gap between those “beautiful words” and our actions.
Included in this collection are:
Statements from John Wesley’s Writings
Revised Social Principles: Community of All Creation
Policies in the Book of Discipline
Recent Creation Justice related Updates from the 2024 General Conference
Statements from The Council of Bishops
Links to General Boards and Agencies
Links to UMC related Seminaries
For more details see also these articles:
Methodist Creation Justice: An Evolving Tradition of Beautiful Words and Actions
Revised Social Principles Focus on “Community of All Creation”
From John Wesley’s Writings
“By acquainting ourselves with subjects in natural philosophy, we enter into a kind of association with nature’s works, and unite in the general concert of her extensive choir. By thus acquainting and familiarizing ourselves with the works of nature, we become as it were a member of her family, a participant in her felicities; but while we remain ignorant, we are like strangers and sojourners in a foreign land, unknowing and unknown.”
John Wesley, A Survey of the Wisdom of God in the Creation, 1:viii. Copies available in Google Books and through the 18th Century Registry (Also, Northwest Nazarene University has it in Wesley Center online collection).
The Christ of Creation:
“[Christ] is now the life of everything that lives in any kind or degree. He is the source of the lowest species of life, that of vegetables; as being the source of all the motion on which vegetation depends. He is the fountain of the life of animals, the power by which the heart beats, and the circulating juices flow. He is the fountain of all the life which man possesses in common with other animals. And if we distinguish the rational from the animal life, he is the source of this also.”
John Wesley, Sermon 77, “Spiritual Worship,” §II.3, Works 3:95.
On Stewardship of Creation:
“We are now God’s stewards. We are indebted to him for all we have…. A steward is not at liberty to use what is lodged in his hands as he pleases, but as his master pleases…. He is not the owner of any of these things but barely entrusted with them by another… now this is exactly the case of everyone with relation to God. We are not at liberty to use what God has lodged in our hands as we please, but as God pleases, who alone is the possessor of heaven and earth and the Lord of every creature…. [God] entrusts us with [this world’s goods] on this express condition, that we use them only as our Master’s goods, and according to the particular directions which he has given us in his Word.”
John Wesley, Sermon 51, “The Good Steward,” §II.1, Works 2:283-84
On Finding God in Creation:
“The pure of heart see all things full of God. They see him in the firmament of heaven, in the moon walking in brightness, in the sun when he rejoiceth as a giant to run his course. They see him ‘making the clouds his chariots, and walking upon the wings of the wind.’ They see him ‘preparing rain for the earth,’ ‘and blessing the increase of it.’”
John Wesley, Sermon 23, “Sermon on the Mount, III,” §I.1, Works 1:513
The United Methodist Church
The Council of Bishops
The Revised Social Principles
COMMUNITY OF ALL CREATION
Full Copy of Revised Social Principles available here
Preface: We affirm that all creation belongs to God and is a manifestation of God’s goodness and providential care. Human beings, nonhuman animals, plants, and other sentient and non sentient beings participate in the community of creation, and their flourishing depends on the care of all God’s creation. Rather than treating creation as if it were placed here solely for humanity’s use and consumption, we are called to practice responsible stewardship and to live in right relationship with the Creator and with the whole of God’s creation (Gen. 1:26–31; Matt. 6:26–30; Rom. 8:22–24). We are also called to honor the role of every part of creation in healing the whole; thus we praise God with the whole of creation (Ps. 148) and recognize that we are part of complex ecosystems, all valued by God. We affirm our sacred calling to be responsible stewards and to lovingly tend all that God has wrought. We recognize the inherent worth of God’s creation, celebrate earth’s abundance and diversity, and, along with the entirety of the cosmos, give praise to its Creator. We recognize we are interconnected members of complex ecosystems, intricate webs of life, all of which have their origins in God’s gracious act of creation.
See also:
The Revised Social Principles: Community of All Creation (Delgado/Davies)
Revised Social Principles Focus on “Community of All Creation” (Stephens)
Revised Social Principles reflect increased attention to creation care (ResourceUMC)
What’s new in the Book of Resolutions, Part 1: Community of All Creation (UMC.org)
‘Community of All Creation’ a Far Cry from Fossil-Fuel Dependence (UM Insight)
The Book of Discipline
- 1002. US Energy Policy and United Methodist Responsibility, originally adopted 2004
- 1003. Nuclear Safety in the United States, originally adopted 1988
- 1100. Environmental Health, originally adopted 2016
- 1110. Climate Change and the Church’s Response, originally adopted 2016
- 1120. Energy Policy Statement, originally adopted 1980
- 1200. Environmental Racism in the US, originally adopted 1992
- 1210. Law of the Sea, originally adopted 1980
- 1211. Protection of Water, originally adopted 2004
- 1212. Principles for Just and Sustainable Extraction and Production, originally adopted 2016
- 1213. Caring for Creation: A Call to Stewardship and Justice, originally adopted 2016
- 1214. Church Land Use
- 1215. Commitment to Net Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- 1216. Recognizing the United Methodist Support for Global Green New Deal Initiatives and Legislative Efforts
- 1217. Use of Plastics
- 2102. Protecting Health Care, Labor, and Environment in Trade Negotiations, originally adopted 2004
Paragraph 202 of Part VI Organization and Administration, Chapter One The Local Church
The Function of the Local Church — The church of Jesus Christ exists in and for the world. It is primarily at the level of the charge consisting of one or more local churches that the church encounters the world. The local church is a strategic base from which Christians move out to the structures of society. The function of the local church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is to help people to accept and confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and to live their daily lives in light of their relationship with God. Therefore, the local church is to minister to persons in the community where the church is located, to provide appropriate training and nuture to all, to cooperate in ministry with other local churches, to defend God’s creation and live as an ecologically responsible community, and to participate in the worldside mission of the church, as minimal expectations of an authentic church.
2024 General Conferences Changes
There were a number of important Creation Justice related petitions and resolutions that came before General Conference 2024.
A list of the final language of all Creation Justice related legislation that passed at General Conference is available here. See also: General Conference Updates
You can find free searchable online versions of the full Book of Discipline and Book of Resolutions from Cokesbury here.
2024 Changes include:
- Establish a Conference Caretakers of God’s Creation Coordinator in Each Annual Conference
- Church Land Use
- Green Team Formation
- Sustainable Practices for Annual Conference Sessions
- Use of Plastic
- Commitment to Net-Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- Recognizing United Methodist Support for Global Green New Deal Initiatives and Legislative Efforts
- Annual Carbon Footprint and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Audit for Local Church
- Reporting Church’s Progress on Facilities Becoming Carbon Neutral and/or Having Net Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- Revisions to Energy Policy Statement
General Boards, Agencies and Seminaries
The Boards, Agencies and Seminaries of the United Methodist Church have many programs and initiatives in support of Creation Justice.
See Board, Agencies and Seminary Connections for more information.
Annual Conferences
Many Annual Conferences have passed creation justice related legislation and have established action teams. See Annual Conference Connections for links to conference teams and more. See also updates from 2024 Annual Conference Season, and 2023 Annual Conference Season, Model Resolutions and Conference Resolutions Collection.
