​Creation Justice Churches: Five Big Reasons to Become One!

Creation Justice Churches guides congregations in discerning how they can best embody a commitment to care for God’s creation. There are five big reasons why every church should want to be a Creation Justice Church:

1. It’s our first calling! In the opening pages of Genesis, we learn that the first job that God gives to us humans is to care for God’s creation (Genesis 2:15).
2. It’s what Jesus would do! The apostle Paul spells out how Jesus sought to put right the broken covenantal relationship between God and all of creation (Romans 8:20-24).
3. Clean air, clean water—those are good things! If there is something that should bring together Christians in common cause, it is protecting the gifts of creation. Who doesn’t want clean air and water?
4. It’s about justice! As Christians, we seek justice—to be in right relationship with God, our neighbors, and all of creation. From racial inequities to the ongoing legacy of colonialism, creation justice is deeply intertwined with multiple matters of justice. The current climate crisis gives matters of justice utmost urgency.
5. It’s in our DNA! The UCC’s Commission for Racial Justice was the central organization in the watershed events of the environmental justice movement. It is one of the most significant parts of our denominational heritage, and every UCC church has the opportunity to continue this powerful legacy.​

The Creation Justice Churches program is not a prescribed list of things to do but a process of discernment on how to best care for God’s creation. In its own way, each church will determine how to fulfill this primary calling. To assist in this process, the heart of the Creation Justice Churches program is a set of four discernment questions with four accompanying resource pages of ideas for what your congregation can do to embody creation justice. In order to give sufficient, but not overwhelming options, each resource page offers exactly five ideas.  In fact, the process of applying to become a Creation Justice Church includes exactly five steps!Learn more about the process of becoming a Creation Justice Church.“The Creation Justice Churches program is so badly needed at this particular time in history. The Church has a special role to play in helping save the earth and its creatures from degradation and even destruction. This program sets the tone, leads the way forward, and joins with others in this movement.”—David Andes, Member of Elon Community Church, Elon, North Carolina

Resources for Creation Justice Churches

Creation Justice Covenant

Six Ways to Ignite Ministry with Theology, Worship, and Spiritual Practices

Five Ways to Expand Your Circle of Awareness and Advocacy

Five Ways to Walk the Talk

How It Works: Becoming a Creation Justice Church in Five Steps

The Creation Justice Church program assists congregations in making the ministry of environmental justice an integral strand in the DNA of their faith community. A congregation can be designated as a Creation Justice Church by taking these five steps:

Step One: Create or Designate a Leadership Group or Green Team
Many green church programs place an emphasis on creating a green team. That is an appropriate step for many congregations, and Creation Justice Ministries offers 5 tips for starting a green team. In some churches, however, it might be advisable for the governing council or the social justice committee to drive the process of becoming a Creation Justice Church.

Step Two: Reflect on Where You’ve Been and Discern Where You Can Go. 
The Creation Justice Church program is not rigidly prescriptive but instead assists churches in developing creative and ambitious aspirations that are well-suited for a congregation’s own particular context as it seeks to further discern its sense of call and the development of corresponding ministries. To support congregations in their own process, the Creation Justice Church program offers guiding questions to consider along with resource pages that offer ideas for what can be done. Before jumping into envisioning where you might go as a congregation, affirm where you have been and where you are. Early in the process, gather together your team or committee to recall the strengths of the congregation’s ministries that have led you to this point. Give space as well for allowing group members to name their current passions and interests in relation to creation justice.

Helpful Tips: Before proceeding further, have a phone or Zoom conversation with Marissa Salgado, Church Engagement Manager for Creation Justice Ministries. Marissa reviews each submitted application and can be a helpful conversation partner during the process of becoming a Creation Justice Church. Email Marissa to connect ([email protected]). Also, check out our resource page that shares video profiles of churches, a sample Creation Justice Church application, and articles written by members of Creation Justice Churches.
With this foundation, embark upon a process of considering the following discernment questions and accompanying resource pages that are grouped according to “The Four Dimensions of a Creation Justice Church:”

1. Theology, Spirituality, and Worship
   Resource Page: Six Ways to Ignite Ministry with Theology, Worship, and Spiritual Practices
   Questions to Consider: How can your congregation intentionally reflect upon God in relationship to caring for creation? How can it bring theological understandings of creation care and justice into its services of worship? How can it nurture and sustain itself through spiritual practices that connect people to the surrounding natural world and the gifts of God’s creation?
2. Institutional Life and Practice
   Resource Page: Five Ways to Walk the Talk
   Questions to Consider: How can your congregation integrate care for creation into the life and work of its ministry teams, committees, and governing council? How can your congregation embody care for creation through its building and land use policies and practices?
3. Circles of Awareness and Advocacy
   Resource Page: Five Ways to Expand Your Circle of Awareness and Advocacy
   Questions to Consider: With particular attention to socioeconomic factors such as race, class, and global inequality, how can your congregation research and inform itself about environmental justice issues at the local, state, national, and/or global levels? How can this awareness correspond to congregational advocacy and action?
4. Connections to a Broader Movement
   Resource Page: Five Ways to Connect to a Broader Movement
   Questions to Consider: Within your denomination or community, what are the ways in which your church can connect with others, whether it is through a conference task force, a campground, your denominationalnewsletter, or other points of contact? Outside of your denomination or community, what are the ways in which your church can connect with interfaith, ecumenical, or secular partners engaged in environmental justice work?

​Step Three: Draft a Creation Justice Covenant
In many of our traditions, the most solemn and sacred commitment one can make is that of a covenant. It marks a serious promise to God on the part of a congregation. A covenant also entails a promise among congregants to each other as they seek to walk together in all God’s ways . After a prayerful process of discernment, those who have been leading the church in seeking designation will draft a Creation Justice Covenant to be presented to either the congregation or the governing council for a vote. There are no requirements for how it is to be written but one can read a sample covenant to begin the process of generating ideas for what should be included.

Step Four: Vote to Adopt the Creation Justice Covenant and Become a Creation Justice Church
The Creation Justice Covenant and the decision to become a Creation Justice Church need to be ratified by either a congregational vote or the vote of the church’s governing body. A congregational vote is recommended because it ensures greater ownership and participation on the part of the congregation as a whole.

Step Five: Submit an Application
To become designated, one must simply complete this form which is based on the guiding questions listed earlier for the four dimensions of a Creation Justice Church. To submit the form:

• Fill out and submit the application online. (available after filling out the intake form and meeting with Marissa Salgado)
• Download application. The hard copy can be emailed to the UCC Environmental Justice Program or mailed to:

Environmental Justice Program
United Church of Christ
PO BOX 71957
Cleveland, Ohio 44194

Bonus Step:
Spread the Word and Keep It Up!Once your church is recognized as a Creation Justice Church, it will receive a Creation Justice banner. Gather the congregation to take a picture with the banner before putting it on display. Next, let others know about what your church has accomplished. Send a press release along with the photo of church members with the banner to local media outlets. Ask your regional offices to announce your designation in their newsletters and social media platforms. Last, but not least, find ways to maintain creation justice as a core part of your church’s DNA. Here are five ways that can be done:

• On each Earth Sunday (the Sunday closest to Earth Day), have the entire congregation recite its Creation Justice Covenant in unison during worship.
• Each year revisit the discernment questions for the four dimensions of a Creation Justice Church in order to measure, evaluate, and set goals for continued progress. Make a practice of submitting a one-page annual report to the church’s leadership council. Email your report to Creation Justice Ministries.
• Create an annual event to keep your congregation’s creation justice knowledge fresh and up-to-date. Examples include an environmental justice guest speaker series, an all-church book read, a movie night, or a community fair featuring local environmental organizations.
• Become a Creation Justice multiplier. Through personal contacts in your denomination or through committees, annual gatherings, and newsletters, find ways to encourage and accompany other congregations in becoming Creation Justice Churches.