CAPSULES
Creation Justice News and Views
Fall 2020

Our news updates are made possible through grassroots donations. Please consider making a contribution.

DONATE

Got a creation justice community news tip for us? Email us at [email protected]! For ongoing news updates, check our Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to our Creation Justice Weekly social media roundup.

ELECTION 2020

• Creation Justice Ministries Election Engagement Resource Page which includes which includes Faithful Democracy resources endorsed by many Creation Justice Ministries member communions.
• Democracy, Values & the 2020 Election: A Reflection Guide for Faith Communities. Check out this awesome multi-issue voter guide from Interfaith Power& Light and Faith in Public Life.

• Make your voter plan: Tell us how you are #VoteReady and check out how the Creation Justice staff plan to vote here.
• Oct 20 6-7pm ET Creation Justice Faithful Democracy & Climate Resilience webinar
• Oct 21: Energizing the South Virtual Phone Bank Party
• Nov 3: Election Day

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RESOURCES

• TOOLKIT for taking action to protect the Northeast Canyons & Seamounts: Learn about the many ways the faith community has taken a stand to protect God's marine creation and find ways to get involved.
• Churches & Sea Level Rise, A Faithful Resilience Guide: This 6-part guide has theological reflections for sermons or Bible study, questions for reflection, action steps for your church, and examples of churches building community resilience.
• The Fierce Urgency of Now: Created for Earth Day Sunday 2020, this Christian worship and education resource has felt very timely for all of 2020. Download at www.creationjustice.org/urgency
• 52 Ways to Care for Creation: Check out Creation Justice Ministries' weekly challenge to care for creation.  Do the challenge yourself, or put it in your church's bulletin for your whole congregation. Take a photo for social media, tag us, and use the hashtag #CareforCreation. You can find the link to the page with the bulletin inserts here. ​
• Racial Justice Resources A compilation of recent racial justice resources from our member communions
• Ecology & Ecumenicity: Facing Division and Imagining Reconciliation in the care of our Common Home with the Orthodox Christian Studies Center at the University of Fordham University
  

GET INVOLVED

• Creation Justice Ministries' Monthly Action Center Check this new action center monthly to find different ways for you and your congregation to be more involved in caring for God's creation. 
• Plant a Laudato Si' Garden A Laudato Si’ Garden is created through a small project dedicated to an area of our city where you can plant together trees and shrubs to integrate with the surrounding flora and host animals such as birds, butterflies and other insects.
• Attend a Virtual Town Hall: Members of Congress hold town hall meetings in order to hear from their constituents and share policy updates. Town halls are usually free and open to the public, and are a great way to have your voice heard. This year most will be virtual, making them easier to attend. Check out Interfaith Power and Light's Town Hall Guide to help you get to your next town hall and bring the faith-based message of care for creation.
• Sermon Campaign: Our Children's Trust Climate Change Lawsuit In solidarity with the 21 youth who have taken the U.S. federal government to court for neglecting to take action to abate climate change, clergy and youth are encouraged to make a pledge to preach a sermon on climate justice. Liturgical resources and case updates are provided. Help spread the word on social media at the hashtag #EachGeneration.​​
  
• Become one of 50 new monthly #CreationJustice Giving Partners at the #CreationJustice Monthly Giving page.
  

NEWS​

• Mapping Faith and Coastal Resilience-Avery Davis Lamb, Compass 9/23/20
  
• Election 2020: How Seven Climate Conscious Young Christians are Deciding their Vote Brian Roewe, Earth Beat 09/22/20
  
• Climate Change and Wildfires-Presbyterian Mission 09/14/20
• Now that I'm a grandfather I am raising my voice in support of preserving America's beauty and wonders- Rev. Mark Meeks, The Denver Post 09/14/20
• With Biden, Democrats' platform links climate, justice, jobs- Brian Roewe, Earth Beat 08/21/20
• Episcopal Leaders Renew Calls to Protect Arctic Refuge after Trump Administration's Latest moves on Drilling- David Paulsen, Episcopal News Services 08/18/20
• Climate Change in Nepal- Dhiraj Adhikari, Third Way 08/07/20
• Churches Alone Can't Stop the Killing of Forest Defenders- Andrew J. Wight, Sojourners 07/28/20

CREATION JUSTICE MINISTRIES EVENT

Your community can become a resilience hub by engaging in the democratic process. Rev. Dallas Conyers of Southeast Faith Leaders Network and Dr. Kristina Peterson of the Lowlander Center will talk about the intersection of voting, public policy, climate displacement, and racial justice. You'll learn how to advocate for policies that build resilience and how to build a more resilient democracy for all. Register HERE.

MORE EVENTS

• Oct 4, 18th, & Nov. 1st: A New Heaven and a New Earth: Progressive Christian Students Imagine a New World, reflecting on racial, economic, and ecological justice. Register here.
• Oct 12-13: Breathing New Life into Our Nation: Repentance/ Reformation/ Reparations. A National Council of Churches virtual Christian Unity gathering. During closing worship, Creation Justice Ministries Executive Director  Shantha Ready Alonso will  receive the J. Irwin Miller Award for Excellence in Ecumenical Leadership.
• Oct 14: Join Ohio and West Virginia faith leaders for an online info session about a letter-writing campaign in opposition to the PTTG petrochemical plant proposed for Belmont County, OH.
• Oct 15 12pm ET: JustFaith Ministries will host a virtual event to unveil the Sacred Land curriculum, written in collaboration with Creation Justice Ministries
•  Oct 15: Executive Director Shantha Ready Alonso will speak on emerging bioethics issues at CRISPRCon
• Oct 17: Climate Justice, Advocacy, and Faith: Developing and Eco-Justice Ministry, featuring Rev. Mariama White-Hammond - A virtual webinar with the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum
• Oct 18: Public Trust Film Screening and Discussion- The Creation Justice Policy & Outreach Associate Annika Harley will be a panelist in the discussion
• Oct 21: Green Your Church Virtual Workshop: Starting and Sustaining an Earth Care Team hosted by Presbyterians for Earth Care
• Oct 22 & 23: Energizing the South: A People's Justice Council Virtual Conference on Just Energy
• Nov 16: "Drawdown for Congregations" webinar with Interfaith Power & Light
  
• Nov 17: November Resilience Workshop- Spiritual Resilience
  
• Nov 19: The Condor & the Eagle film screening- the event offers an opportunity to come together as people of many faiths, many cultures, and many nations in witness and common purpose: to honor the Earth and its Indigenous communities.
  
• Dec 15: December Resilience Workshop- Climate Migration
  

REFLECTIONS

• A Prayer for Summer's End- Jessica Maudlin, Presbyterian Mission 09/22/20
• Message of His Holiness Pope Francis for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation 09/01/20
• Healing Primordial Waters, Rev Dele, A Designer of Resilience
• Prayer in the Midst of Disaster, Rev. Dr. C. Jeff Woods, American Baptist Churches USA

POLICY UPDATES

• California Religious Leaders Applaud Governor Newsom's Executive Order to Protect 30 percent of California's Land and Ocean by 2030 -Shantha Ready Alonso, 10/07/20
  
• Creation Justice Ministries Celebrate the Passage of the Great American Outdoors Act in the US House of Representatives 07/24/20
  
• Letter to WV Gov. Jim Justice on Covid-19, the Reclaim Act, & Just Transition