Creation Care Justice Network

Seasons of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany

God is with us!  This promise is proclaimed throughout the liturgical seasons of Advent and Christmas, and in Epiphanytide.  God promises to companion us along the pathways of our lives, paths full of hope and anxiety, of sorrow and joy.  The following resources are compiled and offered by the Creation Care Justice Network to help prepare for, celebrate and then live in the light of God’s life-giving presence and life-sustaining promise.

Pray:

• Hope and Surprise: Reflections for the Season of Advent.  The Very Rev. Ken Gray, the former dean and rector of St. Paul’s Cathedral in Kamloops, B.C., shares his experience in environmental ministry and climate justice advocacy through these daily reflections. Download this free resource as a PDF.  
• Lament with Earth is a series of five free seasonal events honoring the pain of loss through the liturgical year. The winter event, “Festivals, with the Element of Fire,” invites us to “enter the darkness with whatever light our consciousness brings.”  Register for the series here, including the event on Dec. 4.  All events are recorded.

Learn:

• Creation Justice Ministries has released Truth, Healing and Repair. It is a “Christian call to Environmental Justice and Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples” and a guide for churches “in their journey towards environmental justice in partnership with Indigenous communities.” 
• God’s Creation Waits is designed to encourage children in grades 2-5 “to develop an awareness for all of nature and to appreciate it as a gift from God.” Written by Anne Neuberger and offered by the Catholic Climate Covenant, it is easily adapted to other denominations’ spiritual formation programs. 

Act:

• Traditional holiday menus focus on meat dishes, but there are many eco-friendly ways to supplement or replace the turkeys and hams. Forks over Knives is one of many sites helping beginners start this journey. One Home One Future provides links that delve deeper into the “Faith and Food” connection. They also provide resources for celebrating “Sustainable Holidays.”
• For a short faith-based guide, consider the Advent Simplicity Challenge from the Ignatian Solidarity Network.

Advocate:

How do we choose which cause to support?  The Creation Care Justice Network has adopted guidelines to help with that discernment process.   

The Episcopal Public Policy Network sends out periodical action alerts on a broad range of issues, including environmental justice and the climate crisis. 

An Episcopal Path to Creation Justice is another excellent resource for congregations seeking to nurture their creation justice ministry. A second cohort of congregations and companions across Province I have begun their journey. For more information, e-mail episcopalcreationpath@gmail.com.

Additional sites, within The Episcopal Church and beyond, are listed at the end of this webpage.

Creation Care Justice Network 

The Creation Care Justice Network comprises Episcopal clergy and lay people across Massachusetts, working together to help 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 from 2022 that frames the network's mission. Whether you're an experienced climate activist or just beginning your journey, the network welcome you into its work to protect the web of life that God has entrusted to our care.

Sign up here to get connected with the network and receive Green Justice News, the e-mail newsletter that the network independently produces.

For more information e-mail creationjusticeepisma@gmail.com. 

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

Additional Resources

• An Episcopal Path to Creation Justice supports congregations as they amplify and accelerate their response to the climate emergency.  For more information contact episcopalcreationpath@gmail.com.
   
• Creation Care Ministry of The Episcopal Church:  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.
   
• Creation care action alerts and advocacy resources from The Episcopal Church's Office of Government Relations
   
• Creation Care Ministry of the Diocese of Western Massachusetts.
   
• Massachusetts Interfaith Power & Light offers energy assessments tailored to the needs of houses of worship, and works to mobilize faith communities to advocate strong climate legislation in Massachusetts.
   
• One Home One Future provides resources to build thriving congregations, support faith leaders, and strengthen local communities in their efforts to protect creation and advance just and equitable climate solutions.

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Episcopal Creation Care hosted by The Episcopal Church

Green Anglicans hosted by the Anglican Communion Environmental Network

Episcopalians Caring for Creation hosted by Episcopalians in the Diocese of Massachusetts

Creation Care hosted by Episcopalians in the Diocese of Western Massachusetts