A Visual Theology of Creation Justice: Introducing our New Logo

I am excited to share Creation Justice Ministries' new logo with you. As we work to educate, equip, and mobilize Christians to protect, restore, and rightly share God's creation, we needed a symbol that could capture both the depth of our mission and the theological vision that drives our work. The logo incorporates all the elements of creation – water, plants, sky, and creatures (human and more-than-human) into a whole that evokes the planet earth. This is both an ecological and theological assertion: that when the elements come together, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Emergence and Perichoresis
Ecologically, we call this emergence. Emergence is when distinct patterns and behaviors emerge out of complex parts. One example is starling murmurations, where thousands of individual birds move in synchrony, creating fluid, ever-changing patterns in the sky without a single leader directing them. Each bird responds to her neighbors, and together, they form something beautiful and dynamic—more than just the sum of individual movements. This emergent behavior reflects a deep truth about creation - that the interplay of relationships and interconnections creates new possibilities.

Theologically, I can't help but think of perichoresis, the divine dance of mutual indwelling between the Persons of the Trinity. In perichoresis, the three persons of the Trinity exist in a relationship so deeply interconnected that their unity does not erase their distinction but rather enhances it. Just as starlings in murmuration create something greater than themselves through relationship, so too does creation find its fullest expression in the interweaving of all its elements—water, plants, sky, and creatures—held together by the breath of God.

And, of course, the elements themselves are significant: the goodness of green life, the sanctity of water in our traditions, the cross over all in creation, and the dove, symbolizing creaturely life, unity and ecumenism.

Christ Over All
Overarching all these elements is the cross, reminding us that in Christ “all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17). This cosmic Christ is not just the savior of human souls but the one through whom all creation finds its purpose and healing, the one through whom all things are reconciled. This isn’t just poetic metaphor - it’s a radical claim about our relationship with creation: that we are tasked with Jesus’ ministry of reconciliation, partnering with Christ in healing and restoration.

Yet the cross also confronts us with the reality of suffering—human and ecological. Creation itself groans, as Paul writes in Romans 8, awaiting redemption. The cross stands at the intersection of that groaning, revealing both the depth of the world’s wounds and the depth of divine love. The suffering of Christ is not disconnected from the suffering of the earth. The same forces that exploit and crucify—the logic of domination, extraction, and violence—are the forces that desecrate creation, treating it as expendable rather than sacred.

​But the cross is not the end of the story. In Christ’s resurrection, we see that suffering and destruction do not have the final word. The empty tomb is a sign that new life is possible, that what is broken can be restored, that even in a world scarred by climate crisis, there is hope for renewal. The resurrection is not just about individual salvation; it is the first fruit of a new creation, the cosmic reconciliation through which heaven and earth are joined again.

The linocut print above is from Grace McMullen, of Tabletop Prints. Commissioned by Creation Justice Ministries in 2021.

To take up the cross in the work of creation justice, then, is to embrace both lament and hope. It means seeing and grieving the wounds of the world—polluted rivers, clear-cut forests, communities displaced by rising seas—while refusing to surrender to despair. It calls us to enter into solidarity with those who suffer most from environmental harm, to stand against systems that commodify and destroy, and to practice resurrection through acts of restoration, advocacy, and care. The cross reminds us that love is costly, but resurrection promises us that love will ultimately heal the world.

Indeed, it is in the taking of the eucharist, and in breaking the bread of communion, that we remember our role as Christ-followers and world-healers. As Sally McFague writes, the body of the world is also the body of God. While that body is broken, as it is in the breaking of the communion bread, we are invited to take in the body and participate in its healing. So, perhaps its not a coincidence that the yellow cross image overarching the logo evokes the bread of eucharist.

The Dove
I want to take a moment to share more about the dove in our logo. On one level, the dove represents unity and peace-- a fitting symbol for our ecumenical work bringing together Christians across communions and denominations to care for God's creation. But the dove's significance runs deeper through our scriptural tradition. I want to offer a triptych of scriptural stories about the importance of the dove to our work:

Noah's Ark: We meet the dove in Genesis when it is sent out from Noah's ark into a world transformed by climate catastrophe. The dove returns with an olive branch, not just signaling the recession of waters, but bearing witness to life's resilience. In our climate-changed world, this dove reminds us that even in the midst of loss and transformation, hope may be found. Even in the midst of the destruction of the world, resilience and regeneration are possible. It reminds me, too, of these words from Timothy Gorringe: "I suggest that in the face of the present global emergency, ark building might be the task to which theological ethics leads us."

Jesus' Words in Matthew 10: As Jesus sends his disciples out on their ministry into a hostile world, he says "Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." Like those first disciples, today we face powerful opposition as we work for creation justice, particularly in our policy work. The dove's innocence is not naïveté but rather a gentle and pure-hearted commitment to truth and justice in the face of systemic challenges. When we advocate for creation, we must combine the strategic wisdom of the serpent with the dove's unwavering dedication to love and to seeking what is right - especially when confronting the "wolves" of injustice.

Jesus' Baptism: Finally, at Jesus' baptism, the Spirit descends like a dove, joining heaven and earth in that sacred moment. The same waters that destroyed in Noah's flood now become waters of blessing and new life. The dove's presence reminds us that all of creation - water, air, land, creatures - participates in God's work of redemption. When we gather at the baptismal font or beside streams and rivers, we remember that these waters are both holy and ecological, sustaining both physical and spiritual life. The dove invites us to see all of creation as coursing through with divine presence.

A Visual Theology of Creation Justice
This work of creation justice rests on three pillars - protect, restore, and rightly share God’s creation. These are pillars we sometimes call the three "E's": Ecology, Eschatology, and Economy. We protect God's ecology, recognizing that every creature and ecosystem reflects divine love. We participate in God's eschatology by restoring creation, bringing heaven to earth. And we engage in God's economy by ensuring creation is rightly shared among all members of God's household.

In this way, our logo becomes more than a simple representation of nature. It is a visual theology that reflects both the mystery of divine communion and the ecological truth that life flourishes through connection. Through Christ, who holds all things together, we are called to the work of creation justice - protecting, restoring, and rightly sharing God's good gift of creation. This is not just environmental activism with religious language; it's a fundamental expression of Christian faith and practice. When we work for creation justice, we participate in God's ongoing work of reconciliation, where heaven and earth are joined once again, and all creation flourishes as God intended.
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- Avery Davis Lamb is Executive Director of Creation Justice Ministries.