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CREATION JUSTICE MINISTRIES
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Creation Justice Stories: Pastor Email

12/19/2022

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For Kathy Ellis, the experience at the Pastoral Care for Climate workshop was life-changing. We are delighted to share Kathy's reflection with you below. We hope you will get a sense of loving community among the 42 pastors who gathered with theologians and scientists in Beaufort, NC, to connect climate change and faith.

When our lives are changed, it is often because we more fully realize the life-changing love of God - for us, for our neighbors, and for all creation - and learn to share in it.
 
The fourth Sunday of Advent is dedicated to love. Today we invite you to give a love offering to Creation Justice Ministries. With your support, we can bring more pastors and ministry leaders to a deeper love of creation and of God.

​
The Pastor’s workshop in Beaufort was life changing. That last session on goal-setting had so much energy and direction. And what a wonderful surprise to hear that the science faculty had gained from being with US! That inspires me to include un-churched populations whenever possible.

One  thing I came away with is that it’s not fair to ask a church leader to open a discussion on climate change without this kind of support.  That leader would be “opening a can of worms” that includes the questions “is God abandoning us?” “Does God break His/Her covenant?” if he/she initiates such a discussion --and tells the truth. Pretty daunting. This conference was a model that I hope can be replicated many times.

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When my husband picked me up, he was returning from visiting friends in Wilmington, NC. These friends are very church-active. They were all flooded in Hurricane Florence, had had dead animals floating in their yards. Their churches have never mentioned climate change even once. These friends were fascinated that I was attending a faith-based conference on the subject and wanted very much to know more. The need to talk, learn, and pray is very great.
When my husband picked me up, he was returning from visiting friends in Wilmington, NC. These friends are very church-active. They were all flooded in Hurricane Florence, had had dead animals floating in their yards. Their churches have never mentioned climate change even once. These friends were fascinated that I was attending a faith-based conference on the subject and wanted very much to know more. The need to talk, learn, and pray is very great.
​

I send my deepest appreciation to you, Karyn, and the others for providing this opportunity.

Kathy Ellis
St. James’ Episcopal Church, Warrenton, Va.
Creation Care Task Force, Diocese of Va.

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Creation Justice Stories: Joy of God's Marine Creation: "Blue Theology"

12/8/2022

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by Gabrielle Poli 
Sometimes the joy of God’s creation is embodied in a single sand crab. This summer, a group of Blue Theology students headed down to Asilomar Beach to collect data on the local crab population. Blue theology hosts students each summer to engage in ocean conservation from a Christian perspective, through service-learning projects and contemplative practice.
The pacific mole crab, (“sand crab”) is an indicator species— an abundance of sand crabs indicates a healthy ecosystem. Students sifted through sand to search for crabs. These little creatures tend to inspire all kinds of emotions; some students are afraid, some are grossed-out, some are in awe. This group described the crabs as “weird,” “creepy,” and “like little aliens.” Some didn’t want to touch one.
Until, that is, someone squealed with delight! One student held up her crab, belly-side up, and exclaimed, “she’s pregnant!” Everyone huddled together to see the bright orange eggs in this mother’s clutch. Jaws dropped over the news that each clutch holds over 45,000 eggs! One particularly hesitant student smiled, “aww, so many babies!”
Determined to find more crab-mothers in the “sand nursery,” the group’s attitude had gone from sand-crab hesitant to sand-crab adoring in one moment. The group collected and measured hundreds of sand crabs, recording the size, age-range, and gender of each. 
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This is joy: an opening to life and love in the most unfamiliar of places. At Blue Theology, this is how we develop ocean advocates: by creating opportunities for students to connect to the ocean through joy, forming a heart connection. And to fully lean into joy requires some openness to the unknown.
This is joy: an opening to life and love in the most unfamiliar of places. At Blue Theology, this is how we develop ocean advocates: by creating opportunities for students to connect to the ocean through joy, forming a heart connection. And to fully lean into joy requires some openness to the unknown. Joy is a spiritual practice. A practice of openness to the divinity right at our feet. Of digging through sand and flipping over crabs. Don’t forget to check for eggs!
​
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Creation Justice Stories: Peace-Building in Creation

12/2/2022

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by Katerina Gea
This ambassador reflection is part of Creation Justice End of Year fundraising campaign.
Give to support our efforts to protect, restore, and rightly share God's creation.
​Hello, happy second Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of Peace! My name is Katerina Gea. Last year I participated in the CA Truth and Healing Fellowship through Creation Justice Ministries. Two other fellows and I listened to Indigenous, church, and environmental leaders over the course of a year. We identified opportunities for Christian communities to follow Indigenous leadership toward ecojustice here in California, and we’ll soon be releasing a resource on this theme. 
Two other fellows and I listened to Indigenous, church, and environmental leaders over the course of a year. We identified opportunities for Christian communities to follow Indigenous leadership toward ecojustice here in California, and we’ll soon be releasing a resource on this theme.
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​We are called to be peacemakers in the way of Jesus, the prince of peace. And yet as many of us are painfully aware, Christianity all too often became a religion of empire for European colonizers, and inflicted violence on the land and Indigenous and Black peoples. Being peacemakers today means that we must pursue repair and restoration for these harms.

​
​CJM’s fellowship program helped me learn about the relationships of care that Indigenous peoples have developed over thousands of years with the land and waters in California. I am excited to share paths of peacemaking we can take as Christian church communities through supporting Indigenous efforts to restore, rematriate, and steward their traditional homelands where we live as guests.
​

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    About this Blog

    This blog shares the activities of Creation Justice Ministries. We educate and equip Christians to protect, restore, and rightly share God's creation.

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  • About
    • Mission
    • Staff
    • Work with Us
    • Board of Directors
    • Members and Partners
    • History
  • Campaigns
    • Take Action!
    • Climate Resilience
    • Ocean
    • Public Lands >
      • Public Lands & Church Camps
      • Public Lands: Prayers and Sermons
    • Pastoral Care for Climate Retreats
    • Conservation >
      • What is 30 x 30?
      • California
      • Grand Canyon
    • Youth & Young Adult Engagement
    • Water
    • Endangered
    • Energy >
      • Coal
      • Ideas for Toxic Free Living
    • Climate Change >
      • Climate Change - Get Involved
  • Donate
    • Monthly Giving
  • Resources
    • Resource Hub
    • Resource Hub (blog)
    • Earth Day Resources
    • Racial Justice Resources
    • Video Resources
    • Events >
      • Pastoring for Justice & Healing in a Climate Justice
      • Pastoral Care for Climate North Carolina
    • Services
    • News
  • Blog
  • Policy Statements/Letters
  • Faithful Climate BIPOC Fellowship
  • New Page