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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June 2024 Newsletter
There is wisdom in living our lives in sync with the seasons of nature and that is equally true for the ebb and flow of action and reflection in our human cycles within the church and beyond. For those living close to the land, spring is a time of preparation and planting, shifting seasons and hard work. Within the church we have just moved through a busy spring of Lent, Easter, and Pentecost, and a VERY extended season of preparation and action at General Conference. While the good work of annual conference sessions is still underway, we...
May 2024 Newsletter: General Conference Review
The postponed 2020 General Conference of The United Methodist Church finally happened, and monumental decisions were made to set the course of our worldwide denomination for the future. While news media will focus on removal of harmful human sexuality language and international regionalization, the revised Social Principles were an amazing update to the UMC voice, as well. And, when it comes to Creation-focused legislation, accomplishments also abound. Over the next several months, this Newsletter will continue to share how the seeds of these...
Wake Up World Curriculum and A Minute for Mother Earth Update June 2024
Having so many resources developed to use in green teams and churches is very exciting. If your team is ready to begin educating the rest of your congregation, check out Wake Up World, A Curriculum on the Climate Crisis for Faith Groups. Easily facilitated by anyone, this six-class series includes videos and instructions for facilitation and can be offered online or in person. The authors, Dr. Bob and Anita Dygert-Gearheart, are available for consultation, if you have questions (541- 951-2897 or adygertgearheart@hotmail.com). The curriculum...
June 2024 Tips: Dollar$ and Sense
You have more powerthan you may realizebecause of the “sense” that guides your use of the “dollars” you have. Money talks.Use your power for God’s good. Share these Tips with your family, friends, and congregation. Choose any or all. Forward them to someone you care about. Cut-and-paste to put them with your email signature, in your letters and emails, worship bulletins, newsletters, social media, or website.June 2024 Tips Of the many daily financial decisions you make—from the grocery store, to where you bank, to the stock market, to...
June 2024 Movement Café
June Movement Café: Summer Resources for Creation JusticeJune 19th 2024 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.Summer Resources for Creation Justice As we slip into summer, we offered the June 19 Creation Justice Movement Cafe as a space to explore resources for inspiration and reflection. In particular, we were excited to feature Leah Rampy, speaker,...
The Revised Social Principles: Community of All Creation
The Revised Social Principles passed at the 2024 General Conference. Mark Davies chaired and Sharon Delgado served on the initial team that was convened by the General Board of Church and Society to draft the section of the Revised Social Principles that focuses on creation. “The great lesson that our blessed Lord inculcates here…is that God is in all things, and that we are to see the Creator in the glass of every creature; that we should use and look upon nothing as separate from God…who pervades and actuates the whole created frame, and...
May 2024 Tips: Beyond Recycle—the Other R’s
After decades of promotion, “recycling” has entered the everyday language of most people. In many urban settings at least, curbside pick-up is standard. Yet, the rates of recycling remain low, and landfills grow, degrading land, water, and the quality of life and property values of people without power who live nearby—not by choice. Before we default to Recycle, let us employ the other R’s, for God sake. Share these Tips with your family, friends, and congregation. Choose any or all. Forward them to someone you care about. Cut-and-paste to...
Support for Full Fossil Fuel Divestment Grows
Support for full fossil fuel divestment grows as The United Methodist Church moves to care for creation and address the climate crisis—including adding new divestment options.See also: Creation Justice Breaking Through! General Conference Wrap Up from Fossil Free UMCCharlotte, North Carolina—It came down to the wire, in the last moments of General Conference. With members of the body crying out to be heard! But in the end, the legislation that Fossil Free UMC hoped would receive a hearing and vote was instead referred, and so deferred. This...
Creation Justice Moves to the Center With General Conference Actions
by Rev Richenda Fairhurst For creation justice advocates, the work of decades found an exhilarating moment this week when, in literal moments on Tuesday morning, the General Conference delegates approved consent calendars A04 and B04, and Bishop Plambeck called for a vote to approve them. A minute later, a total of 185 petitions were in the history books. A04 passed with 92% of the vote, and B04 with 95%. Those votes affirmed justice, struck down harmful language, and brought creation justice into the center of church life. If you blinked, if...
May Movement Café
May Movement Café: New Landscape for Creation Justice in The UMCMay 15th 2024 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 Landscape for Creation Justice The United Methodist General Conference is officially over, but actions taken will provide new pathways in the Creation Justice landscape. The May 15th Movement Café was a opportunity to delve into and...
The Call to Join Together to Achieve Netzero Is Heard and Passes at General Conference
by Rev Richenda Fairhurst One of the most important actions we can take as a church is to achieve net zero in our lives as people of faith, and in our denomination. One of the many petitions addressing climate justice heard and passed by General Conference this week was legislation to support just that goal. The petition as it passed the plenary reads: …Be it resolved, that we the people and churches of The United Methodist Church, confess our failure to properly steward God’s earth; ask for God’s help in restoring Creation; and join...
“The Power of a Team”: Green Teams Legislation Passes at General Conference
Rev. Stacey Harwell-Dye, pastor of Mercy and Justice Ministries at West End UMC in Nashville, supported the green team’s efforts to bring recycling to the church’s practices. The congregation participated in a Blessing of the Bins, highlighting Creation care as an act of loving God and neighbor. By Rev Richenda Fairhurst Green Teams are popping up everywhere—in both faith-based and secular organizations. In the UMC there are now green teams and/or creation care teams in a number of churches and conferences across the denomination. Many of...
In Pictures: Disaster Ministries Debuts Its New Solar Trailer for General Conference.
By Rev Richenda Fairhurst Disaster Ministries brought some important new equipment to General Conference this week—a car/truck trailer equipped with solar panels, chargers, cables, and batteries—all designed to bring comfort and aid to those affected when a natural disaster strikes. This new trailer is ready to be replicated and deployed. The hope is that using solar trailers will give conferences and churches an essential mobile relief center in the face of the worsening storms of the climate...
General Conference Passes Legislation for Sustainability Practices at Annual Conferences
By Rev Richenda Fairhurst Another one for the history books! Yet another legislative petition written by an active member of the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement (UMCJM) passed late Wednesday afternoon at General Conference. The petition, Sustainable Practices for Annual Conference Sessions, is succinct and its simplicity is its brilliance. And its subject is something those who work on sustainability can really relate to. The legislation simply says: Amend ¶603 Annual Conference Organization. Add, 4. The annual conference sessions...
Richmond hopes Church Lands Use legislation will “restore the harmony in God’s plan.”
By Rev. Richenda Fairhurst Creation justice is emerging as a great spiritual nudge at General Conference. Creation care legislation is bubbling with support through legislative committees, and they are now headed to the plenary floor. As the delegates turn to the Spirit-led work of final legislative discernment, many creation justice advocates are celebrating and praying for the continued success of these petitions. Check back to the blog, where we will be sharing a lot more about these petitions and their authors, starting with the Church...
General Conference Updates
The May 2024 newsletter offers a good report of all of the important Creation Justice related activities and successes from the 2024 General Conference held in Charlotte, NC at the end of April 2024. Additional updates and news articles are linked below. Study Guides and Resources for reflecting on actions taken at General Conference and next steps for implementation: Creation Justice Legislation at General Conference Study Guide Net Zero Legislation General Conference 2024 List of final language of What passed at General Conference (The same...
A Journey of Conviction: The Earth Day Vigil and Creation Justice in The United Methodist Church
by Richenda Fairhurst, pastorrichenda@gmail.com April 23 2024 A Journey of Conviction: The Earth Day Vigil and Creation Justice in The United Methodist Church On Monday, on the eve of General Conference, United Methodists gathered at First Church in downtown Charlotte to share their conviction that The United Methodist Church must take necessary, faithful action—urgently—for creation justice. The journey for creation justice in the church began in the 1930s and 1960s with recognition of the importance of good stewardship of soil and...
Prayer Walk for Creation
The Creation Justice Movement is providing a walking devotional in six languages. The 13-19 minute audio linked below can be played on your device. The devotional will take you through The Green a park across from the Charlotte, NC Convention Center. You may want to have your pause button handy and remember to wear footwear for walking on grass. It is our hope that this self-guided activity will provide a connection to God and nature during your stay in Charlotte for General Conference 2024.
Earth Day Vigil Press Release
Press-Release-Vigil-FinalDownload
Divest Your Funds at Wespath: How to Get Started
Divest Your Funds at Wespath: How to Get Started Did you know that Wespath already has fossil free funds as part of its options for investment? It is largely not known, but it is true. In 2016, two United Methodist conferences passed resolutions requesting fossil free investment options for clergy and others with pension investments at Wespath. The result was that Wespath created three fossil free funds. While we continue to work and pray for full divestment of The United Methodist Church, those with investments at Wespath can already move...
April 2024 Newsletter: General Conference
The UM Creation Justice Movement will be very present at General Conference this year in Charlotte. General Conference is the one-and-only body that can officially speak for The United Methodist Church. It is a once-every-four-years conference with delegates, both clergy and lay, coming from every annual conference throughout the connection around the world. It is imperative that the UM Creation Justice Movement make ourselves known at General Conference. The timing is great as General Conference begins on April 23, the day after Earth Day....
April 2024 Movement Café
April Movement Café: General ConferenceApril 17th 2024 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.General Conference Couldn't make it? Here's what happened. Summary of the April 17 Cafe The April 17th Movement Café was all about the upcoming General Conference, which takes place in Charlotte, North Carolina, April 23–May 2, with some events starting as...
March 2024 Newsletter: State and Local Advocacy
The work for creation justice is multifaceted. A big part of it is educating fellow people of faith to understand the urgency of this work. Another part is the action we take in our congregations to be more Earth-friendly in the way we run our buildings and care for our grounds. Likewise, the choices we make in our individual lives are key. And, of course, prayer and worship that center creation justice is essential. Still, we recognize that many of the threats to creation are systemic, rooted in the laws by which we live together as a...
BONUS April Café: MFSA and UMCJM at General Conference
BONUS Movement CaféApril 4th 2024 1pm PT / 2pm MT / 3pm CT / 4pm 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.Climate Teach in: Climate Justice Legislation for General ConferenceCouldn't make it? Here's what happened.Please join us for a special webinar where leaders from the MFSA and UMCJM will address General Conference, the resolutions put forward for creation justice, and the next steps...
April 2024 Tips: Me Power and We Power
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed individuals can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” What Margaret Mead, the famous anthropologist, said played out in the story of Earth Day. One man, distressed over the environmental degradation he saw, initiated the first Earth Day, 53 years ago. He claimed his “Me Power.” Another man, employing his organizing skills, joined him and made possible the expansion of Earth Day so that it now reaches billions of people in 192 countries. Together they turned the...
April 22 Earth Day Vigil for Creation: General Conference 2024
UM News Photo Essay of Earth Day Vigil for Creation Live Stream Recording of Earth Day Vigil 2024 The day before General Conference begins in Charlotte, North Carolina - April 22 - is Earth Day. We will gather at First UMC Charlotte and online for a special evening worship service featuring Dr. Musa Dube, scholar of African Eco-feminisms.United Methodist Creation Justice Movement in partnership with United Women in Faith, Global Ministries, and General Board of Church and Society, invites you for a special Earth Day Vigil on April 22nd at...
BONUS Café: A Conversation on Divestment with Bill McKibben
BONUS Movement CaféMarch 7th 2024 10am PT / 11am MT / 12pm CT / 1pm ETHosted by Fossil Free UMC, the UMCJ Movement Cafe, and Climate Cafe MultifaithA Conversation on Divestment with Bill McKibbenOur conversation will center the divestment efforts of people of faith, and the effort to divest in the United Methodist Church. We will hear from Bill McKibben and also William H. Morris. There will be time for Q&A, and to learn out what we can do as United Methodists to be good stewards and faithful investors. Couldn't make it? Here's what...
Devotional for Lent: Let Us Be A Lifeline People
From a reading on the 2nd Sunday of Lent: Hoping against hope, Abraham believed that he would become "the father of many nations," according to what was said, "So numerous shall your descendants be." Romans 4:18, NIV In the book of Amos, the prophet relates a vision where he sees God “standing by a wall, with a plumb line in his hand.” Amos then hears God say, “I am setting a plumb line in the middle of my people Israel. I will never again forgive them.” (Amos 7:7-8) This is a devastating vision. A plumb line is a rule of measurement that is...
March 2024 Movement Café
March Movement Café: General ConferenceMarch 20th 2024 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. General ConferenceCouldn't make it? Here's what happened.Our March 20th Movement Café featured the movers and shakers of General Conference. We heard from Mittie Quinn who spoke to the many organizations that are part of LYNC including Black Methodists for...
Climate Advocacy in Texas
No one said that advocacy for climate justice was easy. In fact, successful advocacy takes many forms and requires patience, perseverance, and above all else, flexibility. That is especially true in Texas, a red state where there is considerable denial of the dangers of a changing climate and where politicians have made profits for oil and gas companies more important than the health and well being of Texas’ citizens as well as the air, water, and land of our state. When most people think about advocacy, their thoughts go first to meeting...