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 the need for Spiritual Reformation to Address Climate Change in your Reformation Sunday observance. Join online prayer services for the opening & closing of the Season of Creation. Check out these Liturgy Resources for Including Animals for the commemoration of Francis of Assisi. A new creation-focused prayer is posted each week. Creation-focused commentaries on the lectionary are available from a Lutheran source.
Education
Join Integrative Design for Community Resilience online on September 24. Participate in a thought-provoking online weekly book discussion of The Planet You Inherit – Letters to My Grandchildren When Uncertainty’s a Sure Thing. Plan to attend Climate Solutions 101, online, beginning September 12. Use Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported Fishing to connect faith & fishing. Parenting for a Healed Planet will be sure to interest parents/grandparents in your congregation.
Discipleship
Share these “Bulletin blurb” eco-tips (+ verses & quotes) with your congregation. Join the Living the Change Weekly Discussion Group online, beginning Sept. 7, to create a personal plan to reduce your carbon footprint by 50%. Learn about the One Home, One Future campaign & consider how you can participate. Learn how you can influence the climate crisis with your investments in Climate Finance. Join Going Plant-Based for Our Climate and Heath. Your Faith Community Can, Too! online on October 8 to consider the diet-faith interconnection.
Building & Grounds
Plan now to get a discounted rain barrel in Houston on Sept. 17. Can your church fill a gap in community solar to benefit lower-income communities? Learn how you can Help a Non-Profit Go Solar, including your church. Climate & Energy Resources for Faith Communities can save you money and care for creation. You can still save on solar by joining the Houston Solar Co-Op.
Public Ministry/Advocacy
The weekly-updated Opportunities to Care for, Learn About, and Enjoy Nature features volunteer events in the greater Houston area. Distribute the Faith-Based Appropriations Toolkit to support advocacy on this topic. Prominently display the How to Be a Down Ballot Voter poster on a bulletin board. Use Voting: A Matter of Faith to educate on this topic. A new eco-justice advocacy opportunity is posted on the synod team’s website each week.
September and Early October Creation Care Events
- The Planet You Inherit Book Discussion Group for the Season of Creation – Wednesdays, September 6 – October 4, 6pm, online
- Living the Change Weekly Discussion Group – Thursdays, September 7 – November 30 (except Thanksgiving), 6pm, online
- God’s Work, Our Hands Justice Advocacy Event – Sunday, September 10, 9am-1pm, Christ the King Lutheran Church, 2353 Rice Blvd., Houston, 77005
- Climate Solutions 101 – Wednesdays, September 12 – October 17, 6pm, online
- Rain Barrels for the Houston-Area Community – Sunday, September 17, 12:45-2pm, 1st Unitarian Universalist Church, 5200 Fannin St., Houston
- Integrative Design for Community Resilience – Sunday, September 24, 6pm, online
- Justice Advocacy Event – Sunday, October 8, 9am-1pm, Christ the King Lutheran Church, 2353 Rice Blvd., Houston, 77005
- Going Plant-Based for Our Climate and Health. Your Faith Community Can, Too! – Sunday, October 8, 3pm, online