By Lisa Brenskelle
For more information on any of the below, or for creation care assistance/information, contact Lisa Brenskelle at gcs.lrc@gmail.com or see our 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
Get ready for the Feast of Creation on Sept. 1. Equal Exchange has a new bulletin insert about fairly-traded mangos & cashews. Here are some creation care liturgical resources. A new creation-focused prayer is posted each week. Creation-focused commentaries on the lectionary are available from a Lutheran source.
Education
Attend Building Resilient, Sustainable Health Systems online on July 26 to hear about the great work at Houston Methodist. Join Lutherans from around the country for a virtual screening of two parts of the Faith+Climate Series on July 21. Recent webinars with a creation focus by the Parliament of the World’s Religions could serve for adult or youth education. Use podcasts from Biologos to get creation care conversations going. The 4-part video series All of Life is good for small groups.
Discipleship
Share these “Bulletin blurb” eco-tips (+ verses & quotes) with your congregation. Work online with a facilitator to create a plan to reduce your household carbon footprint in Living the Change. Take on the W.I.L.D. Zero Waste Challenge in July. Got time for one creation-focused devotion? Here are two: Caring for Creation or Stewarding God’s Creation.
Building & Grounds
Check out what solar + battery storage did for this Florida resident and consider the potential impact at your church. Could your church be a resiliency hub in your community? Read how a resilience hub at a church in New Orleans became something more. Get inspired by: the church forests of Ethiopia, the Plaster Creek Stewards at Calvin University, and Florida’s ECHO Farm. While your church may not be able to do exactly what these organizations are doing, how can you put your building & grounds to work caring for all creation? Join the Cool Congregations Cohort, meeting online on the 4th Monday, to start or re-activate your green team.
Public Ministry/Advocacy
The weekly-updated Opportunities to Care for, Learn About, and Enjoy Nature features volunteer events in the greater Houston area. Missed Ecumenical Advocacy Days this year? Listen to recordings of portions of Ecumenical Advocacy Days. And, you can listen to the recording of the Interfaith Justice Advocacy Workshop using password: RfMiXUk4. Engage on ELCA environmental advocacy & federal policy in Coffee with Christine, online on July 8. Plan an advocacy-related activity for the Week of Action (Aug. 23 – 30) for the Covenant for Our Future. A new eco-justice advocacy opportunity is posted on the synod team’s website each week.
July Creation Care Events
- Living the Change – ongoing thru August, dates/times individually scheduled, online
- Building Resilient, Sustainable Health Systems – Sunday, July 26, 6 p.m., online