A renewed mission for creation justice is blooming in The United Methodist Church. During General Conference 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina, legislation was enacted by delegates from across the denomination to raise creation care and justice to its rightful place as a key mission and ministry of the church.
In support of this, a key legislative mandate goes into effect on January 1st, 2025. A new addition to the Book of Discipline, under Section IX. The Annual Conference then ¶ 629.1 & 2, calls for every annual conference to name a Caretaker of God’s Creation Coordinator. This Coordinator is nested with the Board of Church and Society, or other equivalent structure in the annual conference. The pertinent new lines:
“The conference board of church and society or equivalent structure shall also name a conference Caretakers of God’s Creation Coordinator who will be responsible for helping the conference develop programs to help it become more ecologically sustainable and to address environmental injustices…”
Some conferences have already recognized the need to address care of God’s creation and have established creation care task forces, including hiring coordinators for this urgent effort. Other conferences have existing teams powered by volunteers. But many more conferences will be starting from scratch to build and rebuild this faithful and inspired mission for God’s creation, people and planet.
To support established teams and help with new ones the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement (UMCJM) published a 101 informational checklist. This checklist includes links to a starting job description and a conversation recently the focus of the Movement Café, a conversation that was designed to offer an informational overview of this new position and effort.
The UMCJM is working with the General Board of Church and Society to ensure support and develop resources. Other agencies are also supportive of growing creation care efforts, and many of the members of the UMCJM are commissioned UM EarthKeepers through the Board of Global Ministries.
The Job Description
A few annual conferences have Creation Care Coordinators already in place. These Coordinators are already connecting with each other and the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement. These Coordinators already in place and living out the vision of this work know better than anyone what a Job Description might look like for beginning these new conversations in annual conferences. It is a group of these experts who came together to create the Job Description linked in the 101 Checklist.
This Job Description is designed to be flexible in order to allow for the many differences from conference to conference in The United Methodist Church. The description focuses on networks, resources, education, and encourages teamwork and shared learning as Coordinators encourage strength-building in local churches, green teams and net-zero goals. The description also names the connectional nature of the position, and the need to ensure that Coordinator gets the time they need to network with others across the UMC to share knowledge and strategize together.
The Checklist 101
The checklist and infographic are designed to help the annual conference get a start on this mandate. There are three sections to the checklist: a section for the team that will name and/or hire the Coordinator; a section to help the Coordinator to get started; and a section that will help the Coordinator widen their network across the denomination.
Getting a Caretakers Coordinator in place will mean first assembling a team that will be responsible for recommending or hiring someone for the position. This team should familiarize itself with the task ahead, and establish resourcing. It will need to determine how funds will be made available for salary, stipend, and/or travel to districts and churches in the conference. It should familiarize itself with legislation that passed at the 2024 General Conference that the Coordinator will need to address.
Once the Coordinator is hired, appointed, and/or selected, the Coordinator then takes the wheel. They will need to review the legislation and revised Social Principles of the UMC. They will need to assemble a team to help them focus their task and establish goals. They will need to look at funds development, education, and more.
The Coordinator is a connectional position. Like the Peace with Justice Coordinators, there are Coordinators in every conference grappling with the same challenges and opportunities in their own contexts. Coordinators and their teams will be able to connect to the Creation Care network, the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement, the General Board of Church and Society, United Women in Faith and more. Everyone will be learning together.
The 101 Checklist comes with a colorful infographic. Feel free to use this graphic in your presentations as you assemble new teams in your conference. The infographic brings together the moving parts in an upward flow for this work. From a rooted network, a recommending or hiring team discerns together who will be the conference Coordinator. As birds fly through branches and along the trunk, we see on one side of the tree the people-structures of the conference and conference churches activated for mission. On the other side of the tree, the squirrels with their stores of nuts, show potential areas of fund-raising and funds development.
A Caretakers Network for the Coordinator
An essential component of the role of Caretaker of God’s Creation will be the network. The kind of mobilization required to address the harms done against God’s people and the creation are far too extensive for any one person to manage. Wide circles of co-workers in faith will be essential for the success of creation care in The United Methodist Church.
Existing networks available now for creation justice work in general include the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement, UM EarthKeepers, United Women in Faith, as well as any existing creation care networks already at your local church or conference. The United Methodist Creation Justice Movement is actively working to develop and partnering with agencies to roll out further networks to resource, connect, encourage and inspire those doing this urgent and essential ministry of the church.
More Links
For more information about the Caretakers of God’s Creation Coordinators effort, connect with the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement, and see the information gathered here.
Rev. Richenda Fairhurst is here for the friendship and conversations about climate, community, and connection. For more conversations, see the team at the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement Cafe. Find Richenda in Southern Oregon and at JustCreation.org