Creation Justice Blog
News and Stories From Across the MovementSearch by topic for resources to help you make creation justice a priority in your community. We add new topics all the time so check back frequently!
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Bill McKibben Speaks with New England Methodists
By Rev. Richenda FairhurstMany United Methodist Conferences now have active creation care teams. The team in the New England Annual Conference, the New England Creation Care Circle, is among the first such teams, and members are active in local churches and with conference leadership. They also have a team specific to organizing a virtual Creation Care Café. The café meets every fourth Tuesday, at 7pm Eastern. This month the internationally known New Englander, Bill McKibben, joined the Cafe for a presentation and Q&A. Many United...
June 2026 Movement Café: Data Centers
June 2026 Movement Café Energy Impacts of Data CentersJune 17, 2026 9am AK / 10am PT / 11am MT / 12pm CT / 1pm ETSponsored by the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement, the informal, virtual space of the Café facilitates conversation, connection, and community focused on creation care and justice issues.Energy ShiftsData Centers, energy use, and rising energy costs are a hot topic of conversation at a number of Annual Conference sessions this year. Even as it is ever more urgent to reduce energy costs to the purse and the environment,...
Baltimore-Washington Conference Divests from Fossil Fuels
By Rev. Sharee WhartonThe Baltimore-Washington Conference took a meaningful step toward faithful environmental stewardship at the 242nd Annual Conference by successfully passing the Resolution on Fossil Fuel Divestment. Rooted in a deep commitment to creation care and justice, the resolution was presented by Cynthia Taylor, who helped bring both clarity and urgency to the issue.Support from the floor further strengthened the call, with Sherie Koob and Rev. Sharee Wharton offering compelling statements that connected the resolution to our...
Energy and Transformation
By Cathy Velasquez EberhartThe Great Turning is a name for the essential adventure of our time: the shift from the industrial growth society to a life-sustaining civilization…The Great Turning is a reality. Although we cannot know yet if it will take hold in time for humans and other complex life forms to survive, we can know that it is under way. And it is gaining momentum, through the actions of countless individuals and groups around the world. To see this as the larger context of our lives clears our vision and summons our courage....
A Faithful Dive Into the Growth of AI Data Centers
By Dawn LewisArtificial Intelligence (AI) is swiftly being integrated into our lives. And, that incursion is happening quickly. Everything from our social media accounts to our appliances to our decision-making is shaped by AI in today’s world. AI and its impact on our lives and livelihoods are definitely a topic for discussion, but there is also the issue that AI usage requires extensive networks of data centers, which for them to function requires massive amounts of energy as well as lots of water and large land tracts. Around the country,...
Promoting Energy Solutions
By Ian Urriola-SchonewolfThe “Equip and Resource Local Church Trustees for Carbon Neutral Evaluation and Planning” resolution before the Upper New York Annual Conference seeks to help local churches move from abstract creation care commitments to practical, actionable planning. Building on existing commitments already found in both the Book of Discipline and recent General Conference legislation, the resolution aims to deepen the relationships between the conference’s Creation Care Justice Team and local church boards of trustees to magnify...
May 2026 Newsletter
The May Newsletter and May flowers are arriving! In Oregon, May blooms include the mimicking monkeyflowers, hairy balsamroot, and Pacific ninebark—a wild rose! For joy! The solitary bees that overwinter in the ninebark’s hollow stems are waking up. I am in prayer for our communities and wild lands as this year will be one of extraordinary drought. A record warm winter has left us with only 2% of our mountain snowpack. More than ever we see the urgency to care for each other and creation.This newsletter is packed with the resources you...
April 2026 Newsletter
As followers of Jesus, we ask ourselves, “What can we do?” We know actions count. We have responsibilities. We care. We know we can’t be wholly letting go. This edition of the newsletter brings the needs of water into focus. With so much of our Earth covered by water, with water such a necessity for all of life, we have a myriad of ways to do something, and the articles and stories below call those to mind. But sometimes we are called to let go of our need to “do” and to trust instead. Be sure to read and savor “The Nest You Leave...
Worship Series Coming for Season of Creation
Worship Series Coming from UMCJM for Season of Creation, featuring themes related to the Feast of Creation/Creation in Christ Sunday by Rev. Laura Baumgartner As has been the pattern for the last several years, the Worship Team from the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement is developing a new Season of Creation worship series for use in September 2026 or when worship leaders determine it is best for their congregations to be introduced to the change in the calendar. Given the new liturgical holiday, Creation in Christ Sunday/The Feast...
Embracing Creation’s Call: Reflections from the Kootenai National Forest
Cover photo: Sunlight shines over the Kootenai River in the Kootenai National Forest. Photo by Rev. Ross JanovecBy Pastor Ross Janovec04/30/2026Living and ministering in Libby, Montana, nestled within the vast expanse of the Kootenai National Forest, has very much shaped my understanding of creation justice and the sacredness of our shared home. Here, the towering Tamarac, rushing rivers, majestic mountains, and expansive skies are not distant backdrops but intimate companions for the lived experience of my daily life and ministry. This deep...
May 2026 Movement Café: New Feast Day of Creation
May 2026 Movement Café New Feast Day of CreationMay 20, 2026 9am AK / 10am PT / 11am MT / 12pm CT / 1pm ETSponsored by the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement, the informal, virtual space of the Café facilitates conversation, connection, and community focused on creation care and justice issues.New Feast Day of Creation The Holy Spirit is bringing something new! On September 1st, the church celebrates a new holy day, the Feast of Creation! For United Methodist calendars, this day will be called Creation in Christ Sunday. This new holy...
May 2026 Creation Justice Tips: Loving Nature
Uncommon care for our common green spaces—national, state, city, neighborhood, and pocket parks, greenways, biking and hiking trails—each a patch of Eden, calling us to tend and keepfor all creatures for all time.May 2026 Immerse yourself in nature. Try forest bathing (using all your senses to connect to your environment), hiking, enjoying a park, hunting for waterfalls and wildflowers, going to a botanical garden or arboretum, getting out on the water in a sailboat, kayak, or canoe. Renew your commitment to care for the nature that renews...
Creation in Christ! Ecumenical and Methodist Resources for the Feast of Creation
New! Creation in Christ Sunday/Feast of Creation is coming to churches September 1, 2026. See “What Is a Feast Day? Questions and Answers About the New Feast of Creation.”A brand-new Christian feast day, the Feast of Creation, comes to the worldwide church this year on September 1st. This new feast day is the culmination of years of discernment across Christian traditions globally, starting in earnest in March at Assisi, Italy, in 2024. For United Methodists and denominations following the Revised Common Lectionary, this new holy day will be...
Creation in Christ Sunday and the New Feast of Creation
Find out more about the new holy day observance for the United Methodist Church, Creation in Christ Sunday / Feast of Creation! Celebration of the brand new world-wide Christian feast day begins on September 1st, 2026. What is a feast day? Church world is abuzz with stories about a new Feast Day for Creation. So, what is a feast day? A “feast day” is a special day on the yearly church worship calendar. For Christians, feast days are holy days. These are days to praise God with special emphasis on events of the scriptures and the life of the...
Save on Your Energy Bill With a Phone Call
We would like to introduce a quick way to check your energy bills that might immediately help you save thousands of dollars. This comes from the Green Team at Mountain View UMC in Boulder. They were able to help Lafayette UMC in Colorado save more than $5000/year simply by making a phone call to their electrical utility. NOTE: We know that across the four states of our conference, there are multiple utilities to deal with. We have learned this simple savings from our work with XCEL Energy. We believe that this is available through other...
If the Ocean Has a Soul: Review
by Rev. Richenda Fairhurst There was so much to love about this book. Perhaps, though, I have to start with the stories. Rachel G. Jordan has a gift for sharing the insights and wisdom of her Christian faith alongside her true-life experiences as a marine biologist studying coral ecosystems and coral preservation. Each story she offers is both a faithful reflection and vibrant case study of God’s perfect cosmos. For Rachel, as a Christian and a scientist, the glory of God is reflected in every underwater inch of the creation, in every fist of...
The Nest You Leave Behind
By Dottie Yunger Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths (Psalm 148:7)There is a moment in the life of a sea turtle that feels, at first, like absence. She leaves the sea and comes ashore—awkwardly, heavily, out of the element that usually holds her. She searches, tests the ground, and finally begins to dig. It is not a graceful process. It is slow, deliberate, and exposed. And then, when the nest is ready, she lays her eggs. As they drop, she catches them in her hind flippers. One after...
New Creation: An Easter Reflection
By Sharon Delgado This post includes an excerpt from “Creation Crucified: The Passion of the Earth,” which is Chapter 4 of Sharon’s book, The Cross in the Midst of Creation “In the midst of suffering and death— be it individual, social, or ecological— the promise given to the Earth community is that life in God will reign. So speaks the resurrection.” — Cynthia Moe- Lobeda, “A Theology of the Cross for the Uncreators”Amid today’s threats to democracy, rule by corporations and plutocrats, escalating violence, economic suffering, environmental...
Clean Water/Clean Heart
By Gregory Waldrop Why do we call our planet Earth; most observers would look at its 75% fluid make-up and name it, more appropriately, Water! As the Creation stories suggest and evolution theorizes, when water arrives and finds its place in our world, life abounds. Once water shows itself, life happens full force. In our faith life, new life shown in baptismal waters requires everything water provides—cleansing, support, refreshment, nourishment, relief, adventure. Water makes life and holy water makes life new. Where in your...
Creation Care Sermon from Rev. Suzanne Calhoun in Cal-Nevada
“Broken Creation Care”From Broken Together Lenten Sermon Series by Rev. Suzanne Calhoun, Nevada City United Methodist ChurchCalifornia-Nevada Annual ConferencePreached March 8, 2026Scripture: Genesis 1:1-2:3Video available on YouTube ChannelNCUMC Church @nevadacitymethodistchurchAs we come to the place of broken creation care in our series, we are moving this week from the ways that we personally are broken, the ways that community is broken, to the ways that certain things about the world that we share globally are broken. And I thought that...
April 2026 Movement Café: Marine Ministry ~ Oceans and Discipleship
April 2026 Movement Café Marine Ministry: Oceans and DiscipleshipMarine EcotheologyApril 15, 2026 9am AK / 10am PT / 11am MT / 12pm CT / 1pm ETSponsored by the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement, the informal, virtual space of the Café facilitates conversation, connection, and community focused on creation care and justice issues.Marine Ministry: Oceans and DiscipleshipMarine Ecotheology The April Cafe will celebrate Marine Ministry: Oceans and Discipleship featuring Rev. Logan Jackson with Marine Ecotheology, Rev. Dottie Yunger...
April 2026 Tips: Sacred Waters
April showers bring May flowers. That little capsule of truth reminds us how interconnected we are, which is especially true related to water. What we do matters.April 2026 Through the waters of baptism, we are reminded of God’s renewing grace and gift of water that literally keeps us alive. Working to keep water safe, clean, and available to all is a sacred trust. Check out your own water usage with this tool at watercalculator.org, which also gives practical tips for reducing use. Drought is increasingly affecting all of us. Treat water as...
March 2026 Newsletter
March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb, so the common proverb goes. It is a proverb built as many proverbs are, around the natural cycles of things. It is a proverb that resonates for the church calendar this year, also, as Palm Sunday and Passion Week bring the Lamb into Jerusalem in readiness for Easter. This month’s newsletter includes this Lenten offering from the Creation Justice Task Force of the California Nevada Conference. Additionally, we encourage you to attend to the action alerts, pray for the sojourner and the...
Funding and Training: Two Ingredients for Progress
Granting Funds for Local Projects With a mission statement that guides us to “equip, empower, connect, and support God’s people as they respond to the sacred calling of creation care,” the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference Creation Care Ministry Team decided in early 2024 that “support” also needed to include funding. We developed a system that enables local churches to apply for grants up to $500 to assist them with projects, such as Food security and safety (e.g. installing an in-ground or raised bed garden, distributing food,...
Get Dug-in. Garden Growing with Noah Curtis
“Just being around plants is good for you.”—Noah Curtis Noah Curtis got dug-in to the garden from about four years old. His first experiences with fresh-growing produce came as a child helping his father tend the family garden. By junior high school he had claimed some of that family garden as his own, and by 24, he started his own farmstand business, encouraging people to get dug-in to their own gardens, and share that so-good produce with their neighbors. “When I was a kid, I was always outdoors,” says Curtis. “I was really into reptiles...
Delving Into Ethical Questions Related to Climate Change: Texas Impact “Changing by Choice”
“If we know how to address the climate crisis, why do we fail to act?” is not a scientific question, but an ethical one. But it might be the key to unlocking the potential of humankind to finally address this multigenerational scientific challenge. Texas Impact announces a new study resource for people of faith who want to go deeper in conversation with others about climate change. “Changing by Choice” is a series of five videos with prepared discussion guides to guide a conversation about climate change as a matter of faith. In preparation...
March 2026 Movement Café: Church Gardens and Land Stewardship
March 2026 Movement Café: Church Gardens as Land StewardshipMarch 18, 2026 9am AK / 10am PT / 11am MT / 12pm CT / 1pm ETSponsored by the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement, the informal, virtual space of the Café facilitates conversation, connection, and community focused on creation care and justice issues.Land Stewardship Join us in March for a Movement Café focusing on church gardens as land stewardship. Presenters in the Kentucky Conference, Western North Carolina Conference, and Northern Illinois will talk about about...
Hope Harvest: Sowing Community and Feeding Families in Central Appalachia
Cover: Conference leaders and members tending to the community garden. Located in Big Creek, Kentucky, the Central Appalachian Missionary Conference seeks to bring hope to rural Appalachian communities. CAMC’s Hope Harvest Initiative is one of the conference’s most tangible expressions of its mission to serve Christ by serving others, addressing hunger while nurturing community and stewardship across the region. Hope Harvest brings communities together through food distribution, sustainable gardening projects, and educational outreach rooted...
March 2026 Tips: Marching Onward
March holds us in the clutches of winter while spring beckons us to what’s new—including ways of living our covenant as stewards of creation. Move to a new level of appreciation of and care for Earth.March 2026 Plan for April’s Earth Day/Month. Consider visiting local environmental centers or setting up a resource fair with handouts, seedlings, samples, and crafts such as making seed balls or mobiles from nature items. Look for a service-to-Earth project, such as trail or invasives clearing. Hold an outside worship service with liturgy on the...
February 2026 Newsletter
Greetings, Beloved. It has been quite a month. Between ice storms and ICE swarms, among other complications, we are all quite a bit disoriented and distraught. Nevertheless the work to further love and justice in the world proceeds because we are doing it together! When one of us loses power or is overwhelmed by grief or violence, others step in to offer support and take up the work. Together we find clarity of purpose and courage to act. This newsletter is no different. With stories and resources from across our United Methodist Connection,...