By Lisa Brenskelle
For more information on any of the below, or for creation care assistance/information, contact Lisa Brenskelle at [email protected] or see our new website! The team is seeking additional members. If you would be willing to serve, please contact us.
The mission of Lutherans Restoring Creation is to promote incorporation of care for creation into the full life and mission of the church, working in five areas: worship, education, discipleship, building & grounds, and public ministry/advocacy. For some timely information in these areas, see below:
Worship
Consider using liturgical materials from Saying Yes to Life in Lent. Offer 52 Ways to Care for Creation as bulletin inserts each week. Check out Eco Preacher 123 – A Theology of Water. A new creation-focused prayer is posted each week. Creation-focused commentaries on the lectionary are available from a Lutheran source.
Education
Attend Reconnecting Communities after a Natural Disaster, online, on Feb. 26. Participate in the Living the Change Weekly Discussion Group to create an actionable plan to reduce your carbon footprint, online beginning Feb. 21. Learn how to turn your lawn into a native vegetable garden in an online program on Feb. 5. Educate using the resource Environmental Justice with Indigenous Peoples. Refugia Faith, an online program on Feb. 16, offers a conversation with the author of the book of the same name.
Discipleship
Share these “Bulletin blurb” eco-tips (+ verses & quotes) with your congregation. Join the weekly online discussion of the film, The Face of God, beginning Mar. 1. For Lenten devotions, take a look at A Grounded Faith and/or Becoming Rooted. For family Lenten devotions, consider Into the Wild. To align your finances with your values, attend Greening Finances for Faith Communities & People of Faith on Mar. 5.
Building & Grounds
Learn how to turn your church lawn into a native vegetable garden in this online program on Feb. 5. To align your church finances with Christian values, attend Greening Finances for Faith Communities & People of Faith on Mar. 5. Attend REAP Solar Grants & Your Rural Business online on Feb. 2 to understand federal grants for rural churches to go solar. Get educated on the various solar incentives in the IRA (inflation reduction act). Learn about Community Solar, and how it benefits low to medium income households. Your church could lead the way on this in your community!
Public Ministry/Advocacy
The weekly Opportunities to Care for, Learn About, and Enjoy Nature features volunteer events in the greater Houston area. Participate in a Beach Clean-Up in Galveston on Feb. 26 in Galveston. A new eco-justice advocacy opportunity is posted on the synod team’s website each week. Join Interfaith Advocacy Days in Austin Feb. 19 – 21. Prepare to advocate on the Farm Bill, which is up for renewal this year and has significant sustainability impact.
February & Early March Creation Care Events
- Climate Solutions 101 – February 14, 6 p.m., online
- Faithful Resilience: A Study on Climate Resilience for Faith Communities – Wednesdays thru February 15, 6 p.m., online.
- Turning Lawns into Native Vegetable Gardens – Sunday, February 5, 3 p.m., online
- Living the Change Weekly Discussion Group – Tuesdays, February 21-May 9, 6 p.m., online
- Tour de Houston (Lutherans Restoring Creation Bike Team rides) – Sunday, February 26, 7:30-8 a.m. start, Houston
- Beach Clean-Up – Sunday, February 26, 2–4 p.m., Galveston
- Reconnecting Communities after a Natural Disaster – Sunday, February 26, 6 p.m., online
- The Face of God – Wednesdays, March 1–March 29, 6 p.m., online
- Greening Finances for Faith Communities & People of Faith – Sunday, March 5, 3 p.m., online
- Justice Advocacy Event – Sunday, March 12, 9 a.m.–1 p.m., Christ the King Lutheran Church, Houston.