Hosting a Discussion with a Group:
Are you ready to welcome people from your church +/or community to discuss our call to Care for Creation? You are not alone: reach out to people on our map that may be near you and see if they can offer help. However… the true experts are all around you already. Your community needs to be […]
Tools for Talking and Listening
Being church together doesn’t have to mean we have one mind. Listening to the Holy Spirit within each of our stories can help us move beyond disagreement and confusion. There is no one way to help us along this journey, but there are many resources to help us find common ground. Below are some suggestions […]
Covenant with Creation Adapted for Spanish Speakers
We hope that the Pacto Congregacional de Cuidado para la Creación will be useful to support Spanish-speaking congregations to reflect together about all the ways our faith is reflected in how we treat each other and share resources. The step-by-step supporting materials for this covenant can be found here (click). Download pdf here: Pacto Congregacional […]
5 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day as Church
Integrate Creation Care elements into your worship service: See LRC’s Earth Sunday (Third Sunday of Easter) Worship Guide. view or incorporate our past Earth Day worship virtual services, get inspiration from our partners at Creation Justice Ministries, or simply worship outside! Get involved with the National Faith + Climate Forum Ask your Church Council to […]
Tools for Talking and Acting on Climate with Faith-based Language
Blessed Tomorrow’s Moving Forward Guide ecoAmerica helps leaders from the local government, the public health sector, and faith-based cohorts figure out how to usher people into urgent action on climate change. This brief guide provides you with information and resources to reduce energy use, to build resilient houses of worship as refuges from a changing […]
Planning and Carrying Out Green Events
LRC & ELCA are in the process of developing a holistic event guide (click here – continually updated) to ensure our events are getting better and better for people & the planet. Explore the work in progress linked above and see below for another great overview from the past: Guidelines for Ecologically Responsible Events* *Prepared […]
Congregational Covenant and Organizing Kit: An Overview
A step-by-step kit to help your congregation organize for creation care — worship, education, buildings and grounds, advocacy, and personal discipleship — plus a downloadable PDF.
Church Bulletin and Newsletter Input
There is plenty of information “out there” on how we can make steps to live a life with less of a negative impact on our neighbors and bring the Outside in… but that’s only if you happen to go looking for it. Perhaps adding a few simple pieces of inspiration that can work for your fellow […]
Consider Caring for Creation Coaching
What is ELCA Coaching? Click here for a Ministry Description Why would you need a Creation Care Coach for your Synod or Congregation? To help transform the action plans, resolutions, pledges, etc. into active progress by having a trained individual accompany you/your team as you ensure goals are clear and attainable. How can you find a […]
Sample resolutions to edit and submit at your next synod assembly
Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action (World Council of Churches) This model resolution, written by the Northwest Intermountain Synod Eco-Faith Leadership Team, asks for wider ELCA participation in the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action (2025–2035). It has passed in synods across the ELCA. Edit it and bring it to your […]
Green Synod Mission Statement
[Please adapt this mission statement for your use] As a synod committed to care for creation, we affirm creation in all its glory and beauty. We acknowledge God as the source of all things. We acknowledge Christ as the redeemer of all things. We acknowledge the Spirit as the sustainer of all things. As a […]
Climate and Hunger Connections
Take yourself, your class, or your congregation on a journey that explores the intersections between climate change and hunger with the ELCA. These toolkits are designed to be a program-in-a-box or customizable segments of information and activities for use in many congregational or educational settings. Download : Climate and Hunger Toolkit
Worshiping with Creation
We have traditionally done worship focusing on our human relationship with God and our human relationships with each other. Now we need to fill our worship also with elements of God’s relationship with all of creation and with our human relationship with creation (and with God in creation). Here are some suggestions for how to integrate creation fully […]
Stewarding the Gift of Water: ELCA Advocacy Fact Sheet
Theological background and information on water stewardship globally, nationally, and locally. Under the “Find Your Watershed” section of the Factsheet you can click on the link to the USEPA site and input your zip code and you will be able to locate your watershed. Download: Environment_Factsheet_Clean_Water or go to the ELCA Advocacy Resources page.
Our Watershed Moment and more Water resources
Our Watershed Moment, a toolkit from the EcoFaith Network of the Minneapolis Synod, introduces the concept of a watershed and includes resources for theological reflection, worship, youth, education, advocacy, and water stewardship in the home. See also: Watersheds: Our Water, Our Home (2018) Educational materials for all ages, including Church Leaders Guide and Litany.
Eight Ways Pastors can Give Care for Creation Leadership
The Role of ELCA Pastors in Care of the Earth Stewardship of the Earth: The people of God are called to the care and redemption of all that God has made. This includes the need to speak on behalf of this earth, its environment and natural resources and its inhabitants. This church expects that its […]