Five Ways to Walk the Talk
If you think about it, every ministry and committee in a church—from the prayer shawl knitters to the finance committee—does something that relates to the environment. Everyone has the opportunity to walk the talk, and that’s how creation justice becomes a commitment that pervades the entire life of your congregation. There are a number of initiatives and projects that can invite people into the process of thinking and acting in the spirit of creation justice:
- Go for the low hanging fruit! Get started by tackling a project that will give your entire congregation some momentum. For example, one can begin composting in ways that engage your congregation and engage children. Many churches have made use of the energy efficiency planning resources provided by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Program. A church can also have a energy audit done by either (1) a utility company, (2) a private sector company, (3) a state energy office, or (4) a faith-based non-profit.
- Go for the edible fruits! Through church-based community gardens, provide food or opportunities to grow food for the homeless, low-income households, or refugees. Moreover, a congregation can do climate-friendly landscaping that pulls carbon out of the air with trees and shrubs. The environmental benefits increase when native trees are planted.
- Go wide and go deep! An inclusive process that invites people throughout the life of the church to be stake holders in envisioning and implementing new practices is important. Do a Green Church Inventory that invites every church committee and ministry to join the effort.
- Go for the bold! Jesus made a bold statement as he knocked over tables and cleansed the temple of money changers. Churches can do their own temple cleansing today by divesting from fossil fuels or switching to banks that don’t finance the fossil fuel industry.
