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Newest Resource: The Canopy of Creation
Trees appear more often in Scripture than any member of creation except humans.
They are woven through God's story... from Eden's garden to the cross to Revelation's vision of leaves "for the healing of the nations." Yet in cities across America, tree canopy follows the same fault lines as historic redlining. Neighborhoods denied investment generations ago often lack trees today, experiencing temperatures up to 13°F hotter and significantly worse air quality than tree-lined neighborhoods nearby. This resource equips congregations to address tree injustice through theological reflection, worship, storytelling, and practical action. Download it to find sermon starters, prayers, original songs, children's activities, advocacy guides, and stories of communities already doing this work. Designed for year-round use—Earth Day, Arbor Day, Season of Creation, or whenever your community is ready to engage. Let's grow a canopy of creation together. |
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Last Year's Resource: The Power of God "The Power of God: From Extractive Theology to Transformative Faith emerges at a critical moment in the story of creation and church. As Christians living through cascading ecological crises, this is a moment we might rediscover and reimagine how God’s power moves through all of creation — from the mighty cedars to the smallest fungi, from raging floods to gentle rains, from electrons moving through our power lines to the quiet energy that flows through every living cell." |
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Click on a picture to download the comprehensive Earth Day compilation for that year. These resources include liturgies, action ideas, Bible studies, informational articles, and more.
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Earth Day 2024: Plastic Jesus |
This resource is designed to help congregations think more deeply about the ways that plastics impact our lives and God's creation. It is also intended to equip people of faith to take actions to address this epidemic in faithful and practical ways. |
Earth Day 2023: Sowing Seeds | Each year, Creation Justice Ministries offers Christian education materials to equip faith communities to protect, restore, and more rightly share God's creation. The 2023 theme is "Sowing Seeds" and focuses on food system, climate change and regenerative farming.
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Earth Day 2022: Weathering the Storm |
Each year, Creation Justice Ministries offers Christian education materials to equip faith communities to protect, restore, and more rightly share God's creation. The 2022 theme is "Weathering the Storm" and focuses on faithful climate resilience and action. |
Earth Day 2021: A New Heaven and a New Earth | Each year, Creation Justice Ministries offers Christian education materials to equip faith communities to protect, restore, and more rightly share God's creation. The 2021 theme is "A New Heaven and a New Earth" and focuses on health, environmental racism, and eco-justice.
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Earth Day 2018: Sense of Place | The "Sense of Place" resource offers insights about living in harmony with local ecosystems and watersheds, rightly sharing places with a diversity of peoples, and respecting the history of your place.
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Earth Day 2017: Environmental Justice with Indigenous Peoples | This resource will help equip Christian communities explore the impact the Doctrine of Discovery has had on our country, the Church, our relationship with God's creation, and one another.
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Earth Day 2016: Care for God's Creatures | This Christian education resource includes information about how we learn from God's creatures, and explores the meaning of our Genesis call to dominion over all creatures. You will also find sermon starters and liturgical ideas for a Blessing of the Animals ceremony and a creature-themed worship service. You will find supplementary materials at www.creationjustice.org/creatures
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Earth Day 2015: Have You Anything Here to Eat? I As disciples of Jesus Christ, we commit to daily living out our faith. We do this individually, in community with one another, and with the rest of God’s creation. On this Earth Day Sunday, we reflect in particular on how climate and food concerns impact us. How does food production and consumption impact the climate? How does climate change affect growing and accessing food?
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Earth Day 2014: Water, Holy Water I Water is the cradle of life, expression of God’s grace. “Just as water is the essence of all life, water is also the primary element in the life of a Christian, where the sacrament of Baptism marks the sacred source of the spiritual life” noted the Ecumenical Patriarch Batholomew, also known as the Green Patriarch, in his letter on water. Yet almost one billion people today do not have access to clean drinking water.
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Earth Day 2013: Sunday Morning Sustainability I
Many of us have similar Sunday morning routines. These routines, like our other daily activities, create an ecological “footprint,” which impacts God’s Creation—both people and planet. As we examine our routines and adjust them to create smaller ecological footprints, we can be better caretakers of God’s Creation and we can improve lives around the world. |
Earth Day 2012: A Life of Abundance (Energy and Ethics) I Conversations about energy often revolve around the concept of scarcity. But the truth is that God has given us energy sources in abundance. We may have a finite supply of some sources of energy
like coal and gas, but sun, wind, and water are examples gifts from our Creator with the potential to generate power in perpetuity. |
Earth Day 2011: Where Two or More Are Gathered (Eco-Justice as Community) I Community has always been central to God’s mission. In Genesis 2:15 God declares that “it is not good for man to be alone.”Creating a united and God-centered community was an ongoing struggle for the Israelite tribes, for the exiled wanderers in the desert, and in the voiced communal praise, gratitude, and sorrow of Psalms and Lamentations.
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Earth Day 2010: Sacred Spaces and an Abundant Life (Worship Spaces as Stewardship) I The blessings of God are evident all around us, including in the sacred spaces that make up our houses of worship. These sacred spaces are where we come to be spiritually nurtured, enriched, and recharged. These spaces become a gathering place to meet in fellowship with our neighbors, and are the center of our mission activities.
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Earth Day 2009: Celebrating and Caring for God's Creation I Going Green It’s the latest trend in everything from the food we eat to the places we live to the transportation we take to the products we use. With the recent explosion of media attention to the environment, one might think
that protecting the Earth is a new idea. It’s not. In fact, Creation care is at the core of our Christian tradition. |
Earth Day 2007: Our Daily Bread (Harvesters of Hope and Gardeners of Eden) I “Sow for yourselves justice: reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, till (God) may come and rain righteousness upon you.” - Hosea 10:12 (NRSV) “He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful.”
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Earth Day 2006: Through the Eye of a Hurricane (Rebuilding Just Communities) I Hurricane Katrina, the first Category 5 hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, combined with Hurricane Rita, forever changed the Gulf Coast region and how the nation views itself. The major damage to the coastal regions of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama made Hurricane Katrina the costliest natural disaster in the history of the United States.
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Earth Day 2005: Sacred Oceans & Seas I he oceans, teeming with sea life, vibrant coral communities, and vast beauty, are part of God’s treasured creation. When God created the oceans, God declared them “good.” We receive
the oceans’ bounty on our tables and experience the ocean’s beauty as we participate in recreational activities. As God’s stewards, we are called not only to enjoy the oceans, but also to care for them as a sacred gift from God. |
Earth Day 2004: Life-Giving Breath of God (Protecting the Sacred Gift of Air) I O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures . . . When you send forth your breath, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground. – Psalm 104:24,30
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