Caretakers of God’s Creation—Wisdom From the First Coordinators

Interviewed by Rev. Richenda Fairhurst

Across the denomination, annual conferences are naming those with a calling toward creation care to a new position established just last year at the 2024 General Conference. These essential new coordinators are the Caretakers of God’s Creation. The first ones are already in place, with many more to join them this summer, when United Methodists will name new Caretaker Coordinators at their annual conferences across the denomination. 

The United Methodist Creation Justice Movement (UMCJM) has been championing this effort all the way. To support the growth and success of this brand new Caretaker Coordinator cohort, a wealth of information and resources can be found on the Movement’s website, specific to Caretakers, specific to Green Teams, and specific to the outcomes of the 2024 General Conference.

Grace Pugh Hubbard has been a Coordinator for almost two years. Her role was brand new in a conference that at the time had a fledgling green team in place. Rev. Mel Caraway has been working on creation justice for the majority of his career. His experiences include working with his conference, jurisdiction, and organizations such as Texas Impact, and Conference of Parties (COP). He brings decades of experience to his new Coordinator role.

FIRST THINGS

Gather a Team 

 “Don’t try to do this work alone.”—Rev. Mel Caraway.

Mel’s words of wisdom on this are to the point. Grace shares that view. Her first responsibility was to bring together a creation care taskforce to include each of New England Conference’s six states. She shares that it took eight months or so to “get our ducks in a row, to figure out who we were, and what we were doing. We spent some time with the vision statement, mission statement, and governance.”

It’s important to remember that for each conference, the Creation Care Team, or Green Team, or Taskforce, will look different. It will be an important part of the process to build a team that reflects the faith and regional style of the local conference where it is formed. Grace shared that while her group started out as a taskforce, that name didn’t quite fit. “They renamed the group. They self-identified as a Circle. They didn’t want the word taskforce. So now they’re the Creation Care Circle.”

Meet People One-on-One

Arrange one-on-one meetings with as many people as you can, including the bishop, the DS of every district, district lay leaders, other annual conference leaders from the cabinet to the local church. Get to know people, what they are doing, what their passions are, and what support they might need—and give.

Grace shared, “I met with so many people one-on-one.” She actively sought opportunities to connect with people, make introductions, and build on initial meetings with emails like, “’Hey, I know it’s vacation time. I’m Grace. I’d love to know more about your passion for environmental justice. Can we Zoom? Awesome.’” She also had questions at the ready, such as How do you see my position as relevant to your churches? What do you know is going on with green ministry? and Who has solar panels? The effort pays off, “I’ve been able to interface with every cabinet member on some level, and everybody’s just been so very, very gracious.”

Mel brought a long list of contacts with him as he continues with the work he has done for decades, now in this new framing. He affirms one-on-one meetings may not happen right away, but Mel now meets regularly with the bishop, jurisdictional leaders, and other creation care leaders in the denomination. He also cultivates relationships at the local church and district level, working to build green teams and leading team building workshops. He explains, “I need boots on the ground in each of those districts to help to do this work together. Each district group can then take the lead in their district.”

Listen and Contribute

Alongside the one-on-ones, ask to join other meetings of conference boards and other leadership meetings in the conference. Learn what things are already underway and how to offer insights into creation care and stewardship for ongoing efforts.

As Grace met and networked with people, she valued meeting with those serving on conference boards and agencies, “I went to the Conference Board of Trustees. It took three months to get on the agenda, which helped me understand just how much they had on their plate. When I got to the meeting, I could streamline my pitch and frame my effort that I was there to support them. I said, ‘Look, here are our three things that I want us to do, and I’ll take a lead on all of them.’”

Claim Professional Space

Whether you are a retiree volunteer or full-time staff, ask for a conference webpage, conference email address, Zoom account, and space in the conference newsletter. Your role is in the Book of Discipline. Your work centers faithfulness to God and God’s Creation. Anchor yourself (gently) in that. Even as your appointment, commission, or employment may be through human and conference channels, your position was affirmed and is mandated by General Conference.

Grace valued the many ways she could grow communication channels for their Creation Care Circle and coordination effort. She went carefully but steadily to ensure a professional communication. She explains, “For our creation care ministry I don’t want it to be seen as something hasty or not put together. I want it to be seen as something meaningful. I wanted people to know that when they hear from me, it’s going to matter.”

Grace also has a big tip: See if you can get connected with the office and communications administrators and administrative assistants at the conference. “These are the folks who know what is going on!” she says. They can help get you oriented, in-the-know, and up-and-running.

Hang in There

As you build your team and get to know people, you may find that the Coordinator role doesn’t really “fit.” That’s okay! This is a new thing for everyone. Creation Care intersects with everything, even as it shines necessary light on fresh concerns. Think of the apostles when they visited new towns and spaces. It is a journey you will share with other Coordinators and conferences to understand that creation care is essential to God’s Kingdom and Kin-dom and needs a seat at every table.

Be kind to yourself when the to-do list feels daunting. Says Grace, “I have to tell you, for every 80 things on my list, I get about 20 done, and then I’d roll the remaining 60 onto the next iteration of my to-dos.” Grace and Mel both stressed that connecting people into a new network and doing this work takes time. They also both shared this sound advice: Keep going.

Remember, too, as you navigate the conference systems, including changes with new appointments of leaders you work with, you can gather with colleagues and bolster your Spirit through the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement, which has a team dedicated to annual conference organizing and another committed to supporting green teams and Caretakers. You are in good company.

Ongoing Things

Teach and Learn

You may, like Mel, come to this work with decades of experience. Or perhaps you have a degree in Environmental Science. Or not. However you come to this work, part of your time will be spent learning as much as you can, because things are always changing. Both Mel and Grace include their own learning and the development of webinars and in-person teaching, as immediately important as they embraced their first months as Caretakers.

Mel continually updates his teaching curriculum and opportunities to support green teams. A major focus of his effort this year will be “helping educate the annual conference about the new Social Principles, the Book of Discipline, and especially the Book of Resolutions, which has a great deal to say about creation care.” He will draw in partners also to create both webinars and in-person opportunities to learn and network together.

Grace also produced webinars to highlight and explore common interests around the conference in her first year, immersing herself in her new task. She found she could draw from her extensive intuitive and leadership know-how, applying experiences she gained as a music director working at the local church, district, conference, and national levels.

As her previous experiences offered “transferable skills that played out in real time,” she also recognized the need to build her own knowledge base. “When I came to this work, it felt like others were light years ahead of me with the creation care information they had been taking in for a long time.” She took a Community Organizing for Climate Justice course that helped inform her approach, and she did a lot of reading. “I read Katharine Hayhoe, Sharon Delgado, and Bill McKibben—those books were a great start. Listening and reading, I just took it all in.”

Cultivate the Gifts and Passions of Others

Bringing a network and a team together is about people, their passions, their gifts, and their hope to see programs grow. The energy of your team may well be infectious, as opportunities for networking weave people’s gifts together across the conference.

Grace noticed right away that passion was more powerful than databases. As she engaged in team building, what excited people really bubbled up. “It’s like one wants to talk about pollinator gardens, one wants to talk about Indigenous beliefs, one wants to talk about legislative advocacy, and those are all very important things. So early on I said, ‘Okay, what’s your passion? You all lean toward your passion, whatever your passion is. Take something and run, and we’ll see what happens.’”

Recognize that while some people will rise with enthusiasm to creation care efforts, others may be more reluctant. Helping green teams navigate different perspectives and experiences in their churches and districts is part of supporting them as they develop. In a state like Texas, there are many churches with solar installations and a deep concern for the environment. “We are the leading state in the nation for renewable generation of power,” says Mel, “and yet, for many churches, the fossil fuel industry can be among their bigger donors. We have to deal with where we are, and there are times when there will be push back.”

ENDURING THINGS

 A huge thank you to Grace and Mel for the time they spent sharing their experiences as Caretaker Coordinators of God’s Creation for The United Methodist Church. Here are some enduring things they want you to know:

Make a Difference

Mel sees a world filled with hope and possibility that all comes together around the effort to care for God’s creation. “The possibilities are part of what excites me, the difference we can make. One of the things that I’ve written about extensively is how climate justice is intersected with every other kind of justice, economic justice, racial justice, healthcare justice, immigration justice—all of these are intersectional. We cannot separate one from the other.” A question Mel is always asking is, “How can I bring that intersectionality to the forefront and educate people as to what our responsibilities are as stewards of God’s creation?”

Is it worth it? Yes!

Grace answered this question with a loving enthusiasm that is one of her trademark traits. “I love it. It’s very fulfilling work. And, yeah, it’s very daunting, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed with the emotional aspect of it. But it is so worth it to feel like we are getting back to being the church. I think we really have some possibilities in this next 20 years, perhaps monastic communities or renewed church camps supporting climate refugees. We’re in a messy middle time of scariness, yes, but also a time of lovely, Holy potential.”