Caring for creation in the summer
The sixth baptismal covenant promise challenges us to “cherish the wondrous works of God, and protect and restore the beauty and integrity of all creation.” Summer is a great time to cherish, protect and restore the natural world all around us. Be sure also to take time to enjoy the outdoors as you Pray, Learn, Act and Advocate along "the Path"!
An Episcopal Path to Creation Justice is an excellent resource for congregations seeking to begin or expand their creation justice ministry. If you are in Province I (New England), watch for news about how to join the next cohort. Meanwhile:
Pray:
- Hold a neighborhood prayer walk or an outdoor worship service.
- Use the rich tradition of Rogation Days to draw attention to parish and personal ministries grounded in the natural world where we live.
Learn:
- Use the Episco-Pols podcast series to learn how you can “Vote Faithfully” (among other topics) and then launch a discussion.
- Play the Climate Conversations card game, available online or in print.
- Take a field trip to a native-plants garden or watch a video about the Homegrown National Park initiative.
Act:
- Get out and get dirty! Find space to plant a native-plant pollinator garden (see resources above) or even a Good News Garden.
- Learn about the urban forest movement and partner with others to create one in your community.
- Participate in or organize a local clean-up event.
Advocate:
- State and national elections are underway! Many advocacy groups, including our own Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations and Interfaith Power & Light, are organizing non-partisan campaigns to educate and encourage voters. Secular groups like the Environmental Voter Project and Third Act also have active get-out-the-vote programs.
- If you live in Massachusetts, join the Massachusetts Episcopal Network for the Poor People’s Campaign or Episcopal City Mission and support legislation that will help to create a more just society.
- Join the Creation Care Justice Network and the Coalition to Stop Private Jet Expansion in the campaign against an infrastructure that, if built, will significantly increase pollution and actually negate the state’s carbon-emission-reduction goals.
Additional suggestions are available on the Episcopal Church website, on the An Episcopal Path to Creation Justice website and in the Creation Care Justice Network's Sustainable Life resource list.
Creation Care Justice Network
We are Episcopal clergy and lay people across Massachusetts, working together to help our congregations PRAY, LEARN, ACT and ADVOCATE on behalf of God's creation and to mobilize a robust, justice-centered response to the ecological and climate emergency.
Here is a short video that frames our mission: a call to climate action in Massachusetts. Please take a look, and then sign up to join our network. Whether you're an experienced climate activist or just beginning your journey, we need your skills and input as we work together to protect the web of life that God entrusted to our care.
If you join the Creation Care Justice Network, you'll receive a monthly newsletter, Green Justice News.
- Sign up here to get connected with the network and receive its e-mail updates.
Ready to roll up your sleeves, leap into action and make some new friends? You're invited to join a working group:
- Action and Advocacy works with groups such as Massachusetts Interfaith Power & Light to encourage church and community action and to advocate for policy changes.
- Spiritual Practice and Grounding offers prayers, liturgies and practices to engage with creation and a theology that centers environmental wholeness.
- Communications and Networking focuses on developing a stronger network among congregations and diocesan groups around creation and climate justice.
For more information e-mail creationjusticeepisma@gmail.com.
If another meeting is more than you can manage, please fill out this short survey to help us learn more about our collective Episcopal community here in Massachusetts.
Meet our diocese's creation care advisor
Robert A. Jonas
The Rev. Dr. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas
The Rev. Dr. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas serves as a liaison to the Creation Care Justice Network. She works in both Episcopal dioceses in Massachusetts and the Southern New England Conference, United Church of Christ to build emotional and spiritual resilience as we mobilize action to address climate emergency.
To invite her to preach, lead a retreat or speak in your church, contact her at mbj@revivingcreation.org or 413-341-3566.
She maintains a website, RevivingCreation.org, which includes blog posts, articles, sermons, books, schedule and more. You can sign up for her monthly newsletter, Creation Care Network e-news and get a message on the first of the month that includes opportunities to learn, pray, act and advocate for the earth.
Massachusetts bishops declare climate emergency
On March 23, 2021, the bishops of the Episcopal dioceses of Massachusetts and Western Massachusetts declared a climate emergency. From their declaration:
“We believe that God is calling us all to embrace brave and difficult change. Everything we do as faithful individuals and as a church must reckon with the unprecedented emergency in which humanity now finds itself.
“We therefore encourage all Episcopalians to explore The Episcopal Church’s Covenant for the Care of Creation , a commitment to practice loving formation, liberating advocacy, and life-giving conversation as individuals, congregations, ministries, and dioceses.
“We strongly urge congregations across Massachusetts to pray, learn, act, and advocate as we build a bold and faith-filled response to the greatest moral challenge of our time.”
Read the bishops’ full declaration and their suggested actions and resources here.
View recordings of four webinars on responding to the climate emergency here.
Green Loans and Fossil Fuel Free Fund
Diocesan Green Loans are low-interest loans of up to $100,000 that enable congregations to make energy-efficient changes to their buildings.
- Green Loans are awarded on a rolling basis.
- Congregations interested in applying for Green Loans will find more information and application materials on the Green Loans page.
Fossil Fuel Free Stock Fund: For information about investment opportunities with this broadly diversified portfolio, contact Charlie Jordan, Investment Coordinator, Trustees of Donations (cjordan@diomass.org or 617-482-4826, ext. 557).
Sustaining Earth, Our Island Home Carbon Tracker
Click the screenshot above to watch a video invitation from Bishop Gates.
Want to know what your household's carbon output is and how you can reduce it? Want to get others in your congregation and community to work together to reduce your combined carbon footprint? The Episcopal Church's "Sustaining Earth, Our Island Home" online carbon tracker can help.
Go to www.sustainislandhome.org, scroll down to "Massachusetts Diocese" and then click on the "Join the Challenge" button below Bishop Gates's video and letter. The tracker is organized by diocese, congregation, city and region.
Additional Resources
- Episcopal Church creation care webpage: The Episcopal Church's "Covenant for the Care of Creation" is a commitment to practice loving formation, liberating advocacy and life-giving conversation as individuals, congregations, ministries and dioceses. Explore the covenant here and sign up for the newsletter and opportunities to formally adopt the covenant in your community.
- Creation care action alerts and advocacy resources, courtesy of The Episcopal Church's Office of Government Relations
- Diocese of Western Massachusetts webpage for creation care includes resources on PRAY, LEARN, ACT, ADVOCATE; Earth Day, Creation Season and more.
- Massachusetts Interfaith Power and Light: Offers energy assessments for houses of worship; fees for energy assessment are charged on a sliding scale. Also works to mobilize faith communities to advocate strong climate legislation in Massachusetts.
Follow on Facebook:
Episcopalians Caring for Creation hosted by Episcopalians in the Diocese of Massachusetts
Creation Care hosted by Episcopalians in the Diocese of Western Massachusetts
Episcopal Creation Care hosted by The Episcopal Church
Green Anglicans hosted by the Anglican Communion Environmental Network